Difference between brother and father

[dashso40]

Hello, I was just wondering is a monk a priest? and if not…What is the difference between a priest and a monk? Is a monk like the male equivalent to a nun?..
Thank you in advance for your responses…

 

[Formosus]

Glory to Jesus Christ!

A monk is a man who has consecrated his life to God and the Church through vows and lives in a community with other monks. They are the male equivalent to nuns. In the western church, a non ordained monk is usually called a brother. There are other religious communities of men that are similar to monks, but generally live by different regulations and most live a life within the world (think Friars like St. Francis) whereas monks generally live away from the world (like St. Anthony of the Desert, or St. Benedict). A monk can be a priest, in which case he is called father, but not all monks are priests. First a foremost, a monks vocation is to be a monk, and a priestly vocation is a secondary one.

A Priest is a man who is ordained by a Bishop to serve God’s holy Church. He receives Holy Orders and has task of bringing the Sacraments and ministering to the people.

 

[JReducation]

My religious education students (grade 6) asked me this question just last week. I prepared this for them. It’s very simplified. But it may help.

What is a Brother?

1. A brother is not a priest.
2. He is a man who loves God so much that he wants to live his entire life very close to God.
3. Brothers make three promises that we call vows. The first is to always obey God, the Church and their superiors. Because Jesus speaks to us through the Church and our superiors, sometimes called our bosses. We always want to obey Jesus and do what Jesus asks us to do.
4. We get up very early in the morning and we pray, go to mass and read the bible before we have our breakfast. After we eat breakfast we go out to take care of mothers and fathers who are going to have babies. He help them to get everything that they need so that they can take care of their babies. We want to make sure that we can save the lives of as many babies as possible so that none of them will die before they are born or after they are born.
5. Sometimes we go to places where we beg for money or for food to take care of people who don’t have anything. When we can’t get enough money or food, we give people our money and our food. We are everyone’s brother, just like Jesus is everyone’s brother. We promised Jesus to be just like him and take care of all our brothers and sisters, especially unborn children, the sick, the poor and anyone who needs help.
6. We make a second promise or vow. The second promise is a vow of poverty. What we do is that we promise God not to own anything, no cars, houses, boats, money or anything that other people own. We do this because we know that God is good. We don’t have to worry about owning or buying too many things for ourselves. We pray and God gives us what we need. This way, we try to be just like Jesus. Jesus was always poor, but his friends invited him to eat at their houses and even lent him a donkey when he needed one. It’s great to be just like Jesus and trust God the Father who takes care of all of us.
7. When we come home from work, we pray for about an hour before supper. We always pray together, because Jesus always prayed with his apostles. The apostles were like brothers to Jesus. He loved them very much. And so, we love our brothers who live with us, very much and we pray, eat, and play together. Sometimes we even play sports. We also take café of each other when one brother is sick or unhappy, every other brother tries to help. We are one family of brothers, just like Jesus and his apostles were one family of brothers.
8. We never get married. Some of us, like me, were married once upon a time. But if your wife dies, you can become a brother, like I did. We never marry because we give our body, our time, our energy and all of our attention to our brothers in the community where we live, to the poor, especially the unborn babies who are also our brothers and sisters, and we give our time to children and adults too. Everyone in the world becomes our family. We do not need to get married to have a family. We have a family. The other brothers and everyone, including you, are our family. All of God’s people are like our wife. We love them as much as husbands love their wives.
9. Brothers also spend time alone, because Jesus spent time alone. We try to be as much like him as possible. During our time alone we speak to God and we try to listen for God’s voice in our minds and in our hearts. We read our bible and other books that help us be better Catholics and better brothers to every human being. During this time, sometimes we rest and sometimes we even listen to music and try to enjoy God’s beauty in music. But we do not speak to anyone during the alone time, unless there is an emergency. Time alone is good, because we can calm down from a hectic day and we can be like Mary, God’s mother.
10. As the priest stands in Christ’s place as priest who offers the scarfice, sanctifies through the sacraments and preaches the Gospel, the brother stands in Christ’s place as the first-born of man brothers and sisters, leading men to the Father through a life of prayer, fraternity, penance, sacrifice, and service.

Fraternally,

Br. JR, OSF

 

[jimcintosh]

Hello, I was just wondering is a monk a priest? and if not…What is the difference between a priest and a monk? Is a monk like the male equivalent to a nun?..

Yes, a monk is like a nun. Monks are the oldest form of religious life. They take a vow of stability, that is, they vow to live their entire lives in the same monastery. Later forms of religious life (first the mendicants – or “friars” – and the later congregations) do not have a vow to live their lives in one monastery. (Nuns are cloistered women who live their lives within a monastery).

All men and women who are members of religious orders and congregations and who make vows are called “religious”. Everyone else, that is, those who do not make religious vows, are “secular”.

Men who are ordained are called “clerics”. Everyone else is called “lay”.

1. 
   *]A priest who is a member of a religious order or congregation is both “clerical” and “religious”.
   *]A diocesan priest is both “clerical” and “secular”.
   *]Non-ordained members of religious orders and congregations are both “lay” and “religious”.
   *]Everyone else is both “lay” and “secular”.
   
   Isn’t it confusing?
   
   A brother is a lay religious (hence “lay brother”). A sister is a lay religious. A nun is a lay religious. An ordained man in vows is a clerical religious. A monk who is not ordained is a lay religious. A monk who is ordained is a clerical religious.
   
   A diocesan priest is a secular cleric. Everyone else is a secular lay person.
   
   By the way, by saying someone is “religious” in this sense we not mean that they are more religious (in the popular understanding of the word) than everyone else. The word comes from the original meaning of “religion”, that is doing things in a distinctive way. It is for this reason that the founder of my Order, St. Francis of Assisi, writes in the second chapter of our Rule, “And according to the command of the Lord Pope in no way shall it be allowed them to go out of this religion, because, according to the holy Gospel: 'No man putting his hand to the plough and looking back is fit for the kingdom of God.’”
   
   One of the independent witnesses to the early Franciscans, Jacques de Vitry, wrote in 1216, “The men of this Religion with great fruit assemble every year at a determined place, that they may rejoice in the Lord and take their meals, and by the counsel of good men they make and promulgate holy statutes, which are confirmed by the Pope.”.
   
   It is from this meaning of the word “religion” that we get the term “religious”.

 

[JReducation]

Yes, a monk is like a nun. Monks are the oldest form of religious life. They take a vow of stability, that is, they vow to live their entire lives in the same monastery. Later forms of religious life (first the mendicants – or “friars” – and the later congregations) do not have a vow to live their lives in one monastery. (Nuns are cloistered women who live their lives within a monastery).

All men and women who are members of religious orders and congregations and who make vows are called “religious”. Everyone else, that is, those who do not make religious vows, are “secular”.

Men who are ordained are called “clerics”. Everyone else is called “lay”.

1. 
   *]A priest who is a member of a religious order or congregation is both “clerical” and “religious”.
   *]A diocesan priest is both “clerical” and “secular”.
   *]Non-ordained members of religious orders and congregations are both “lay” and “religious”.
   *]Everyone else is both “lay” and “secular”.
   
   Isn’t it confusing?
   
   A brother is a lay religious (hence “lay brother”). A sister is a lay religious. A nun is a lay religious. An ordained man in vows is a clerical religious. A monk who is not ordained is a lay religious. A monk who is ordained is a clerical religious.
   
   A diocesan priest is a secular cleric. Everyone else is a secular lay person.
   
   By the way, by saying someone is “religious” in this sense we not mean that they are more religious (in the popular understanding of the word) than everyone else. The word comes from the original meaning of “religion”, that is doing things in a distinctive way. It is for this reason that the founder of my Order, St. Francis of Assisi, writes in the second chapter of our Rule, “And according to the command of the Lord Pope in no way shall it be allowed them to go out of this religion, because, according to the holy Gospel: ‘No man putting his hand to the plough and looking back is fit for the kingdom of God.’”
   
   One of the independent witnesses to the early Franciscans, Jacques de Vitry, wrote in 1216, “The men of this Religion with great fruit assemble every year at a determined place, that they may rejoice in the Lord and take their meals, and by the counsel of good men they make and promulgate holy statutes, which are confirmed by the Pope.”.
   
   It is from this meaning of the word “religion” that we get the term “religious”.

1. 
   This is a very good explanation. I would just add that in some religious communities clerics are also called Brother or Friar or Dom. Dom is usually more common among monks. Friar and Brother are more common among Franciscans. The idea is to bring out the message that every member of the community is first and foremost a religious and the vocation to the priesthood is a call within a call. In my own community, we have three priests, but they are called Brother. If I’m not mistaken, the Capuchins are now changing to Brother and the Conventuals to Friar. Don’t take this to the bank.
   
   Fraternally,
   
   Br. JR, OSF

 

[dashso40]

Those were great descriptionsThank you all so much

 

[Cluny]

<<Is a monk like the male equivalent to a nun?>>

If he is not ordained to the diaconate or priesthood, yes.

Whether he is called “Father” or “Brother” is no indication of his clerical status.

In the Eastern tradition, all monks are called “Father”, whether or not they are ordained, just as all nuns are “Mother.”

OTOH, in some orders all are addressed as “Brother,” even if in orders.

 

[JReducation]

In the Roman Church a brother is any male religious who consecrates his life to God in a stable religious community, through public vows of poverty, obedience and chastity. The vocation to be a religious comes from the Gospels. Some men are called to live a life consecrated to God through prayer, penance, silence, community living, corporal works of mercy, detachment from all things that do not lead to Christ. A brother stands as an Alter Christus, the firstborn of many brothers. Like Christ, our brother, he leads all men to the Father through his example, his prayer, his presence, service, and daily life of penance.

The priest is also an Alter Christus. He stands in the place of Christ the High Priest who offers the sacrifice to the Father, who dispenses grace through the sacraments, who forgives sins, who preaches the Gospel and governs the Church. He is not bound to the life of the brother through the vows, in community, with all the disciplines of prayer, detachment, poverty, obedience and service to his brothers.

Christ calls some men to both, the religious life and the priesthood. These men are usually known as regular priests. They are called regular because they follow the rule of a religious community. They are in fact both brother and priest.

Those men whom Christ calls to the priesthood, but not to the consecrated life are called diocesan priests or secular priests.

In some religious communities, all members are called Brother, with an upper case B. The reason for calling all members Brother is to emphasize the religious life. In these communities the priesthood is a call within a call. A man is first called to be a religious. His state within the Church and the religious community is that of a cleric (ordained man).

In my community we do not use Father except when we refer to Francis of Assisi. Everyone is Brother. We wear the same habit, do the same work, follow the same rule of life and share the same rights and responsibilities. You can have a house full of ordained brothers with a lay brother as the superior or vis a vis. It doesn’t matter to us. We are all sons of St. Francis and we are all responsible for each other and for living the Gospel life as Francis dictated it to us in our rule.

Fraternally,

Br. JR, OSF

 

[jimcintosh]

A brother stands as an Alter Christus, the firstborn of many brothers.

I’m not sure what you mean by “firstborn of many brothers”. It is important to note that the religious vocation is a vocation in life, but it is not better or worse than, say, the vocation to married life. Both are noble callings.

I remember a former missionary to Bolivia telling me that during the Council, friars were sent down to Bolivia to explain what was coming out of the Council. One time, when explained the above, one friar said, “Wait a minute! You’re mean we’re not holier than the rest? To heck with it then.” And, within six months, he had left to get married.

But, that was not a bad thing. If his true vocation was to married life and he was only in religious life because of mistaken belief that he was being more holy, it is proper that he left the Order to follow his true vocation.

Not many are called to religious life, but those who are called are not called to be more holy – simply faithful to their true vocation.

 

[JReducation]

r

I’m not sure what you mean by “firstborn of many brothers”.

In the new reform movements: CFR, OSF, FPO, FI,the way that we see it is that Christ is as St. Paul says, “the firstborn of many brothers.” A brother embraces Christ’s mission as brother. A priest embraces Christ’s mission as High Priest.

I hope this is clearer.

It is important to note that the religious vocation is a vocation in life, but it is not better or worse than, say, the vocation to married life. Both are noble callings.