Brother?

[Sir_Knight]

What is a Brother? Is a Brother a priest? A deacon? If a priest, why not call them a Father? If not a priest, why would one devote themselves to a religious life but not take the step to priesthood?

Thank you in advance for your replies.

 

[IrishAm]

Brothers are not priests; nor is there role one of “priestly lite.” It is a specific call to religious life and holiness in community.

 

[Friar_David_O.Carm]

What is a Brother? Is a Brother a priest? A deacon? If a priest, why not call them a Father? If not a priest, why would one devote themselves to a religious life but not take the step to priesthood?

Thank you in advance for your replies.

Consecrated religious life and the priesthood are two different callings. Yes, they can both be present but they do not always go together.

A brother is the male equivalent of a sister in religious life.

Maybe if you ask this question in the vocations forum you might get one of the brothers that posts here at CAF to answer.

I am a brother but I am on the path to priesthood so I can not speak to what you are asking other than they are different calls that do not always go together.

The question you ask is like asking someone with a PHD in biology why they didn’t become a Medical Doctor.

 

[zab]

What is a Brother? Is a Brother a priest? A deacon? If a priest, why not call them a Father? If not a priest, why would one devote themselves to a religious life but not take the step to priesthood?

Thank you in advance for your replies.

Sisters are not called to the priesthood yet they are called to Religious life. The same with some men even some saints. St. Francis of Assisi never became a priest.

 

[EasterJoy]

A brother is the male equivalent of a sister in religious life.

Exactly.

Members of male religious communities, whether or not they are deacons, are referred to as Brother Firstname, unless and until they are ordained priests. On a formal listing or in a mailing address, a deacon not belonging to a religous order would be listed as Rev. Mr. Firstname Lastname, one who DID belong to a religious order would be Rev. Br. Firstname Lastname, and the brother who is not a deacon would be listed as Br. Firstname Lastname.

If one of the brothers in a male religious community (such as the Benedictines, the Franciscans, or the Dominicans) becomes a priest, he is referred to thereafter as Father (or Rev., on a formal listing like a mailing address) just like a secular priest; only the intials indicating religious order–OSB, OFM, etc.–would indicate the difference between religious and secular.

Even in the past, though, the religious order priest would have been properly addressed in person as Father Firstname, not Father Lastname (the “Firstname” being the name he took when entering the order, which was not necessarily his baptismal name). In contrast, diocesan/secular priests used to always go by Father Lastname, even though these days that is giving way in many places to Fr. Firstname for both diocesan and religious order priests.

The question “Why would a brother not become a priest?” is answered by the related “Why would a woman become a sister when she can’t be ordained?” The call to consecrated life is a calling distinct from the calling to either the priesthood or the single life, and is of a singular value to the Church in its own right.

 

[DominicVobiscum]

The religious “brother” does not receive the sacrament of Holy Orders.

By the way, Vivat Jesus, my “brother”!!

 

[JReducation]

What is a Brother? Is a Brother a priest? A deacon? If a priest, why not call them a Father? If not a priest, why would one devote themselves to a religious life but not take the step to priesthood?

Thank you in advance for your replies.

Let’s try to clarify this by putting it into bullets

1. There is a major difference between the consecrated life and the sacrament of holy orders.
2. Christ can call a man to the consecrated life, to live for him in community with other men who have received the same call and have consecrated their lives to God through the profession of vows to observe the evangelical counsels.
3. Brothers life in a religious family. These families are either congregations or orders. We can discuss the difference on another thread. They follow a rule of life that governs their life of prayer, their ministry, their interaction with the Church, with each other and even the way they dress. That’s where the term “order” comes from. All of one’s life is ordered toward achieving sanctity and the salvation of souls.
4. Some orders and congregations of brothers have ordained members, such as the Franciscan family. We do not call our ordained members “Father”. We call them Brother. Their primary vocation is to be a religious, not a priest. The priesthood and the clerical state are a vocation within the vocation. Brothers have many vocations: priests, teachers, theologians, cooks, carpenter, scientists, administrators and so forth. They all serve the community and the people of God. Some brothers exercise no ministry outside of the religious house, such as the Carthusian and Camaldolese. They are also brothers. Many of these brothers are ordained priests. But they may never perform priestly ministry among the laity. They never hear confessions, baptize, witness marriages, confirm, or do any of the things that priests do. They have several men whom they assign as confessors to their own community and that’s it. The other brothers who are priests do not perform priestly ministries.
5. The religious life is not a half-way step to the priesthood. It is a different call. The religious life is born from the life that Christ lived as a virgin, a man of prayer, a faithful son of the father, a brother to all men, and the sacrificial lamb. The religious (brother or sister) becomes the sacrificial lamb and stands in Christ’s place as the first born of many brothers and sisters.
6. The sacrament of holy orders is a very different call. A man called to the sacrament of holy orders may be called to the diaconate, the priesthood or even to the episcopacy. He is called to serve the Church in place of Christ the priest. Where the brother serves as Christ the first-born of many brothers. As you can see, they are compliments, not sub-steps.
7. The Sacrament of Holy Orders does not bind a man to consecrate his life bound by a rule or by vows or in a community. A deacon, priest or bishop can remain a member of the faithful. We call these secular clergy. If they are incardinated into a diocese, they are often called diocesan clergy.
8. Each member of the secular clergy promises to obey the local bishop and to live a celibate life (if he is not already married). Observe the word: promise. He does not make vows. Vows are binding at a much deeper level, because they change the way of life of the individual. A promise is a commitment to do something, not a commitment to become a different person, which is the case of the religious brother.
9. Therefore, a priest who is also a religious brother, becomes another person when he makes vows as a Franciscan, etc. Thus he becomes Brother. That is his appropriate title. The laity in the USA has a problem with calling ordained religious by the title Brother, because there are few religious orders of Brothers that have priests. We usually just let people call our brothers whatever is more comfortable for them, rather than embarrass them by correcting them. But if you read documents written by the members of our communities, you’ll see the signatures in front of people’s names as either: Br or Fra. (Brother or Frater).
10. If you have ever watched the Good Friday services from the Vatican, Brother Canatalamessa, the Pope’s personal theologian always delivers the homily. He can preach the homily, because he is a priest. But he is called Fra. Canatalamessa. He is a Capuchin Franciscan Brother. You will notice that he does not wear an alb or stole when he preaches the Good Friday sermon. He wears the brothers habit of his community, with no visual signs of being a priest. Religious brothers who are also priests only wear vestments to celebrate the sacraments. And on other hand, the non ordained brothers wear a Roman Collar when not in habit. This preserves the equality and fraternal bonds in the community.

I know this is long. But I hope it helps.

Fraternally,

Br. JR, OSF
(You figure our if I’m ordained or not. Hint: I’m Franciscan)

 

[diggerdomer]

What is a Brother? Is a Brother a priest? A deacon? If a priest, why not call them a Father? If not a priest, why would one devote themselves to a religious life but not take the step to priesthood?

Thank you in advance for your replies.

My brothers are those who, like me, were born from my parents.

A Brother is not a priest.

A Brother is not a deacon.

 

[JReducation]

My brothers are those who, like me, were born from my parents.

A Brother is not a priest.

A Brother is not a deacon.

Did you read post #7?

Some clerics are religious brothers.

Fraternally,

Br. JR, OSF

 

[diggerdomer]

Did you read post #7?

Some clerics are religious brothers.

Fraternally,

Br. JR, OSF

yes

 

[JReducation]

yes

I was left wondering why you said that a brother cannot be a priest or deacon? Many of our brothers are priests. But in our religious family, they are brothers. Unless they are brothers, they cannot belong to our religious family.

We have very few permanent deacons. The Major Superiors discourage the ordination of permanent deacons. There is a tricky point in canon law. If you have too many clerics in a religious community of brothers, you lose your status as a lay order.

The Franciscans have been a lay order since St. Francis founded the first friars in 1209. The had lost that status, because there were too many clerics. They recently recovered it at their request to the Vatican.

But for an order of brothers to remain lay and to remain an order of brothers, it must have a balance between the number of ordained brothers and non clerical brothers. One way to do this is to market yourself as a religious order, not as an order of priests. If you look at some Franciscan websites you will notice that the vocation section is focussed on the Franciscan life, not the priesthood or priestly ministry. This way you are marketing for brothers, not for priests.

You also get rid of all distinctions between the members of the community. Therefore you can have a house such as one of our houses nearby, the superior is a theologian, but not a priest. The pastor is a priest. The associate is not a priest. The other priest is the high school principal, not an associate in the parish, though he helps out on Sundays. The other brother is not a priest, but he is a professor of theology at the seminary and the other brother who is a priest is a hospitla chaplain.

All of them are subject to the superior of the house. They run their respective ministries: parish, school, hospital independant of the superior. But they submit to the superior on all matters concerning their activities and their daily lives including the amount of time they dedicagte to their ministries. This is an example of a community of brothers where you have clerics who are brothers.

There are many such religious communities of men and new ones coming up. New Franciscan Brotherhood has just been approved for New Jersey. Priests may join the brotherhood, but they may not work as parish priests. They must do corporal works of mercy. They will help diocesan parishes on weekends, but live and work as lay brothers during the week. It is a step toward recovering the original charim of the religious family.

Many religious families are doing this, going back to their roots. Thus we will be seeing less religious men in parishes, except for those that are clerical orders or clerical congregations.

Fraternally,

Br. JR, OSF

 

[bpbasilphx]

In the Byzantine tradition, tonsured monks are ALWAYS called “Father”, whether or not they are ordained Deacon or Priest.

For that matter, a nun is properly addressed as Mother.

Historically, in English speaking countries, priests who were not members of religious orders–that is, what are called diocesan or secular priests–were addressed as “Mr.” until relatively recently–late 19th century or so. There are letters by John Carroll, first Bishop in the USA, where he addresses and refers to his diocesan priests as “Mr. Smith.”

 

[JReducation]

In the Byzantine tradition, tonsured monks are ALWAYS called “Father”, whether or not they are ordained Deacon or Priest.

For that matter, a nun is properly addressed as Mother.

Historically, in English speaking countries, priests who were not members of religious orders–that is, what are called diocesan or secular priests–were addressed as “Mr.” until relatively recently–late 19th century or so. There are letters by John Carroll, first Bishop in the USA, where he addresses and refers to his diocesan priests as “Mr. Smith.”

This continues to be the rule. The proper title for a secular priest is Mr. But in practiced it has been replaced by the monastic language where the Abbot was called Father.

The famous saint John Bosco never used Father and is not known as Father, but as Mr. He is always referred to as Don John Bosco. Don is Mr. in Italian, Spanish and Portuguese. Just like secular diocesan bishops were called My Lord (Mon Signore) or Monsignor. This is a secular title. That is why priests who belong to religious communities are never Msgr. Religious bishops kept their religious title. All Franciscan bishops were called Friar, which is a bad translation for Frater or Brother.

Among religious brothers the founder and the major superior are often called Father, even if they are not priests. For example, in my religious family the superior of the house is called the Father Guardian or simply the Guardian and up the ladder: Father Provincial, Father General. But the Father does not mean that the person is a priest. When you address him you call him Brother or Frater or Friar.

For the sake of avoiding confusion among the laity, many brother priests accept being called Father. But it is not always used within the community. It usually depends on the country. In the USA we all grow up with Father, we tend to use it more than in Europe. But when you get to the important matters such as governance, distribution of labor, rights and responsibilities the playing field is leveled very quickly by the constitutions and the religious rules that state that all members are religious brothers on the same plane.

In the end, the title is not as important to religious men as is their place in the religious community. For those who belong to communities of brothers, the important thing is equality and fraternity. These are the evidence of justice and charity.

This does not apply to clerical communities such as Dominicans or Carmelites. The understanding there is that the non-clerical religious is does not have the same rights within the community and has a supportive role in the ministry of the community. Thus he is usually a co-adjutor brother or a cooperator brother.

There is so much variety and richness in religioius life that it is often difficult to keep track of who is who.

Fraternally,

Br. JR, OSF

 

[EasterJoy]

My brothers are those who, like me, were born from my parents.

A Brother is not a priest.

A Brother is not a deacon.

OK, in Christianity, those who accept adoption through baptism become the brethren. This sense is used often in the epistles.

There are monks I would call Brother on a regular basis. I only address my own male siblings as Brother Bill or Brother Mark when I am teasing them. That form of address just is not within our family custom.

In a religious community in our area, men belonging to religious congregations go by Brother, even if ordained a deacon. Only the priests in the order go by Father.

But, as has been posted above, this varies with place and era. There has not been an unbroken usage throughout Church history.

And, if you are lucky, perhaps your male sibling will become a monk, and will become Brother to more than just you. If one becomes a deacon or a priest, at any rate, I’d count myself blessed.

 

[JReducation]

OK, in Christianity, those who accept adoption through baptism become the brethren. This sense is used often in the epistles.

There are monks I would call Brother on a regular basis. I only address my own male siblings as Brother Bill or Brother Mark when I am teasing them. That form of address just is not within our family custom.

In a religious community in our area, men belonging to religious congregations go by Brother, even if ordained a deacon. Only the priests in the order go by Father.

But, as has been posted above, this varies with place and era. There has not been an unbroken usage throughout Church history.

And, if you are lucky, perhaps your male sibling will become a monk, and will become Brother to more than just you. If one becomes a deacon or a priest, at any rate, I’d count myself blessed.

You got that perfectly correct, Easter Joy. There are religious communities who are canonically, congregations and orders of brothers. Therefore, even if a member is a deacon or a priest, the title Brother overrides the title Father. Such is the case in my community. The gift and call of Holy Orders is a vocation within the vocation to the consecrated life as a religious brother, for some men. For others, it is a call that stands alone, such as diocesan priests. For others the call to a consecrated life without being ordained is a stand alone call.

But if a man is called to be a brother AND a priest. his title is Brother, because that’s the way he lives. Priesthood is his ministry, not his way of life. There is the difference between a diocesan priest and a brother who is a priest.

Br. JR, OSF

 

[DominicVobiscum]

Let’s try to clarify this by putting it into bullets

1. There is a major difference between the consecrated life and the sacrament of holy orders.
2. Christ can call a man to the consecrated life, to live for him in community with other men who have received the same call and have consecrated their lives to God through the profession of vows to observe the evangelical counsels.
3. Brothers life in a religious family. These families are either congregations or orders. We can discuss the difference on another thread. They follow a rule of life that governs their life of prayer, their ministry, their interaction with the Church, with each other and even the way they dress. That’s where the term “order” comes from. All of one’s life is ordered toward achieving sanctity and the salvation of souls.
4. Some orders and congregations of brothers have ordained members, such as the Franciscan family. We do not call our ordained members “Father”. We call them Brother. Their primary vocation is to be a religious, not a priest. The priesthood and the clerical state are a vocation within the vocation. Brothers have many vocations: priests, teachers, theologians, cooks, carpenter, scientists, administrators and so forth. They all serve the community and the people of God. Some brothers exercise no ministry outside of the religious house, such as the Carthusian and Camaldolese. They are also brothers. Many of these brothers are ordained priests. But they may never perform priestly ministry among the laity. They never hear confessions, baptize, witness marriages, confirm, or do any of the things that priests do. They have several men whom they assign as confessors to their own community and that’s it. The other brothers who are priests do not perform priestly ministries.
5. The religious life is not a half-way step to the priesthood. It is a different call. The religious life is born from the life that Christ lived as a virgin, a man of prayer, a faithful son of the father, a brother to all men, and the sacrificial lamb. The religious (brother or sister) becomes the sacrificial lamb and stands in Christ’s place as the first born of many brothers and sisters.
6. The sacrament of holy orders is a very different call. A man called to the sacrament of holy orders may be called to the diaconate, the priesthood or even to the episcopacy. He is called to serve the Church in place of Christ the priest. Where the brother serves as Christ the first-born of many brothers. As you can see, they are compliments, not sub-steps.
7. The Sacrament of Holy Orders does not bind a man to consecrate his life bound by a rule or by vows or in a community. A deacon, priest or bishop can remain a member of the faithful. We call these secular clergy. If they are incardinated into a diocese, they are often called diocesan clergy.
8. Each member of the secular clergy promises to obey the local bishop and to live a celibate life (if he is not already married). Observe the word: promise. He does not make vows. Vows are binding at a much deeper level, because they change the way of life of the individual. A promise is a commitment to do something, not a commitment to become a different person, which is the case of the religious brother.
9. Therefore, a priest who is also a religious brother, becomes another person when he makes vows as a Franciscan, etc. Thus he becomes Brother. That is his appropriate title. The laity in the USA has a problem with calling ordained religious by the title Brother, because there are few religious orders of Brothers that have priests. We usually just let people call our brothers whatever is more comfortable for them, rather than embarrass them by correcting them. But if you read documents written by the members of our communities, you’ll see the signatures in front of people’s names as either: Br or Fra. (Brother or Frater).
10. If you have ever watched the Good Friday services from the Vatican, Brother Canatalamessa, the Pope’s personal theologian always delivers the homily. He can preach the homily, because he is a priest. But he is called Fra. Canatalamessa. He is a Capuchin Franciscan Brother. You will notice that he does not wear an alb or stole when he preaches the Good Friday sermon. He wears the brothers habit of his community, with no visual signs of being a priest. Religious brothers who are also priests only wear vestments to celebrate the sacraments. And on other hand, the non ordained brothers wear a Roman Collar when not in habit. This preserves the equality and fraternal bonds in the community.

I know this is long. But I hope it helps.

Fraternally,

Br. JR, OSF
(You figure our if I’m ordained or not. Hint: I’m Franciscan)

Very informative. Thanks bro.

 

[FrancisMonica]

You got that perfectly correct, Easter Joy. There are religious communities who are canonically, congregations and orders of brothers. Therefore, even if a member is a deacon or a priest, the title Brother overrides the title Father. Such is the case in my community. The gift and call of Holy Orders is a vocation within the vocation to the consecrated life as a religious brother, for some men. For others, it is a call that stands alone, such as diocesan priests. For others the call to a consecrated life without being ordained is a stand alone call.

But if a man is called to be a brother AND a priest. his title is Brother, because that’s the way he lives. Priesthood is his ministry, not his way of life. There is the difference between a diocesan priest and a brother who is a priest.

Br. JR, OSF

I noticed that the priests (Franciscans) on EWTN are called Father, like Father Mark, Father Anthony, Father Benedict Groeschel. Is there some reason that they would be called Father instead of Brother? Just curious.
By the way, thank you for your posts. I have learned so much. I have so much more yet to learn!

Pax,
FM

 

[JReducation]

I noticed that the priests (Franciscans) on EWTN are called Father, like Father Mark, Father Anthony, Father Benedict Groeschel. Is there some reason that they would be called Father instead of Brother? Just curious.
By the way, thank you for your posts. I have learned so much. I have so much more yet to learn!

Pax,
FM

Those are good questions. There are communities that were founded as clerical institutes, that is, communities of priests. The Franciscans who run EWTN are one of them. Their legal name is Missionaries of the Eternal Word. They are Franciscan because they follow the Rule of St. Francis. However, they are not one of the orders that St. Francis founded. They are an independent public association of priests in their diocese. They are religious and they are priests. But they are founded to be an order of priests. Therefore, they follow the local custom. That is, to call a priest Father.

The Congregation of the Franciscans of the Renewal (CFR) founded by Fr. Benedict is in a very different kind of situation. They are a community of brothers, but they were in New York, where the local custom is to call priests, Father.

There is something in religious life, which is not really a law, it’s more of a practice. You incorporate the customs of the local Church into new foundations. The orignal Franciscan foundation was founded in Italy in 1209. The customs were different then. Priests who joined communities of brothers were called Brother. In the 20th century in NYC, a new foundation would yield to the custom there.

This does not mean that the priests are not brothers. They are very much religious brothers. It simply means that the use of the title “Father” is accepted by the brothers, because it is the local custom and this community should reflect the local Church, since it is founded there. St. Francis would not want a community of his brothers to enter into a conflict with the local Church, especially with the local bisop.

In fact, St. Francis forbade the criticism of priests, bishops, popes and the Church. That is a big no no for Franciscans, even when the Church has been wrong, Franciscans have had to remain quiet. The Franciscans can only elect to act differently if they are asked to sin.

I hope all of this helps.

Fraternally,

Br. JR, OSF

 

[FrancisMonica]

Those are good questions. There are communities that were founded as clerical institutes, that is, communities of priests. The Franciscans who run EWTN are one of them. Their legal name is Missionaries of the Eternal Word. They are Franciscan because they follow the Rule of St. Francis. However, they are not one of the orders that St. Francis founded. They are an independent public association of priests in their diocese. They are religious and they are priests. But they are founded to be an order of priests. Therefore, they follow the local custom. That is, to call a priest Father.

The Congregation of the Franciscans of the Renewal (CFR) founded by Fr. Benedict is in a very different kind of situation. They are a community of brothers, but they were in New York, where the local custom is to call priests, Father.

There is something in religious life, which is not really a law, it’s more of a practice. You incorporate the customs of the local Church into new foundations. The orignal Franciscan foundation was founded in Italy in 1209. The customs were different then. Priests who joined communities of brothers were called Brother. In the 20th century in NYC, a new foundation would yield to the custom there.

This does not mean that the priests are not brothers. They are very much religious brothers. It simply means that the use of the title “Father” is accepted by the brothers, because it is the local custom and this community should reflect the local Church, since it is founded there. St. Francis would not want a community of his brothers to enter into a conflict with the local Church, especially with the local bisop.

In fact, St. Francis forbade the criticism of priests, bishops, popes and the Church. That is a big no no for Franciscans, even when the Church has been wrong, Franciscans have had to remain quiet. The Franciscans can only elect to act differently if they are asked to sin.

I hope all of this helps.

Fraternally,

Br. JR, OSF

VERY HELPFUL! Thank you!

Peace,
FM

 

[peary]

What is a Brother? Is a Brother a priest? A deacon? If a priest, why not call them a Father? If not a priest, why would one devote themselves to a religious life but not take the step to priesthood?

Thank you in advance for your replies.

In church matters, a ‘brother’ (often with a capital letter) is a male numbered among the lay members of a religious order that has a priesthood. Another definition would be a man
who devotes himself to the duties of a religious order without taking holy orders, or while preparing for holy orders.

Please remember that Saint Francis himself was NOT a priest, and that the Franciscan Order (as well as Carmelite) have secular counterparts within them - where a lay person may participate in its spirituality and charism of Francis but still remaining within secular life, even marriage. Many orders offer laity this opportunity.

Brothers are usually bonded and live in a religious community. The same with Sisters. Brothers and Sisters have dedicated their lives to Christ in a direct way with vows. They are involved in the corporal and spiritual works of mercy through their Order. Monks and Nuns are cloistered men and women who live in a community and have dedicated their lives to prayer, fasting and penance.