What can a female do in the Church?

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kristanl

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Hey-
I want to have a family, therefore I cannot be a nun. But I would really like to be a nun, or do things that nuns do. Are there any types of things a female with a family can do in the Chruch? Other then teaching and youth ministers, and office work? Thanks!!
 
I make rosary’s & I asked if I could help with RCIA & was told they need help with hospitality (make coffe, put out the cookies, etc>). I attend a Bible study once a week.
I’m a great-grandma & these are things God has put on my heart to do at this time.
If you pray the Lord will direct your paths, really.
God Bless You for wanting to help.
 
If you can identify what you perceive it is that nuns do, then I bet you will find similar opportunities for lay women.

If you want to help the poor, get involved with the St. Vincent de Paul Society. In our parish, St. VdP members pick up donated food items from food businesses for use in our parish Soup Kitchen. They also have a source for donated clothing which members pick up and then sort by season and size; ditto with types of toiletries. Some St. VdP groups do home visits.

A Soup Kitchen or homeless shelter can always use help. Or maybe you feel called to some kind of prison ministry.

If you are seeking more spiritual involvement, volunteer to lead a Bible study or a prayer group. Sign up for Adoration at the most needed times.

If you are more politically-minded, get involved with social justice issues, such as Right-to-Life or contacting your Senators and Representatives regarding Catholic views on federal funding for health issues such as abortion, euthanasia, contraception, etc.

Ask your priest what ministries, groups, organizations, etc exist in your parish or even at the diocesan level, and attend the next meeting! Most of these groups always need more volunteers and would be very happy to have an enthusiastic, committed person get involved.
 
In my parish, if it were not for women, the church would be in serious trouble! Our pastoral minister, business manager, director of development, principal of the elementary school, housekeeper, volunteer coordinator, music director, administrative dean of our Cathedral Institute, plus numerous volunteers, are all women!

You can be a lector or an Extraordinary Minister of the Eucharist, or a member of the choir. You can help with funeral lunches or visiting the sick and homebound. I do not know how large your parish is but please make it known that you would like to help in any way you can. Some ladies in our parish help with groundskeeping. Everyone has a place . Please don’t think that because you are a woman that your contributions are not valued. Try to discern where your talents lie and see if they can be used to help in your parish. They will be welcomed, I can assure you. There are always so many needs and so few people to fill them. Peace.
 
Get permission from your pastor and start/ organize a Perpetual Eucharistic Adoration program for your parish. The PEA programs I have seen were all run by women parishioners. It’s the most powerful and helpful program I have ever seen.
 
Have you thought about joining a lay (third) order? The secular Francisicans are just about everywhere. There is also the OCDS (order of carmelites discalsed secular). Many religious orders have oblates or associates. These all follow a modified Rule and most have some form of meeting of the group. Lets see…Benedictines, Dominicans, Sisters of the Congregation of Our Lady of Mercy, Carmelites, Franciscans. Check it all out. You can google third orders, or the individual Order, find the link, and follow it.
 
Rebelecka said:
Have you thought about joining a lay (third) order? The secular Francisicans are just about everywhere. There is also the OCDS (order of carmelites discalsed secular). Many religious orders have oblates or associates. These all follow a modified Rule and most have some form of meeting of the group. Lets see…Benedictines, Dominicans, Sisters of the Congregation of Our Lady of Mercy, Carmelites, Franciscans. Check it all out. You can google third orders, or the individual Order, find the link, and follow it.
Click to expand...
Do you have to be celibate to be in these orders? I looked a majority of them up and they said you need to be celibate…
 
Thank you everyone for your replies.
I’ve been in the choir before- not the best singer! I also used to be a lector ,and sometimes do readings, I have thought about being a EM, and we have adoration at our church which I go to when I can, it is a wonderful experience, and also like to help the less fortunate as well!
 
It’s not always necessary to do something “churchy” in order to serve God, the church and other people. The vocation of the laity to holiness is a wonderful thing expounded upon in the documents of Vatican II. It is our job as laity to bring Christ to the world in every place and time.

I just read a really good book, Women of Opus Dei, in which a number of women describe their vocation as lay people in Opus Dei, serving in all kinds of ways. You might enjoy it.

Betsy
 
kristanl said:
Do you have to be celibate to be in these orders? I looked a majority of them up and they said you need to be celibate…
Click to expand...
Kristan, the Secular (aka “Third Order, Secular”) Orders are open to men and women, married and unmarried (and if unmarried a member is free to marry). This link will lead you to more information about the various Third Orders of the Church. The Secular Third Orders are not to be confused with the First Order (priests and brothers) and Second Order (cloistered nuns) which are, of course, for the celibate, but they are fully a part of their respective religious Orders, e.g., Franciscan, Carmelite, Dominican, Benedictine, etc…

forums.catholic-questions.org/showthread.php?t=179983
 
Dear Kristen;

I have no idea of your circumstances…and you may not have a calling to religious life…but it is important to remember that religious life is not a loveless institution. A person who does not have any attraction to family life would likely not be a good candidate for religious life. And the Lord will give the hundredfold that He promised to those who leave everything and follow Him. So, perhaps, at some time you may need to discern with the help of a competent spiritual director your attraction to “doing what nuns do.”

That being said, being involved in your parish, being intentional about you prayer life and living a life of service…all things you can do as a woman and a lay person. Another very beautiful and hidden way of service is to belong to an altar society- often responsible for cleaning the church, organizing meals for funerals and parish events, washing altar linens, etc. This may not gain a person much recognition, but it is for the Lord Who seeks hearts to give Him quiet acts of love and is a way to imitate Jesus Who came not to be served but to serve. (And is a way to use our feminity to bring beauty to the world, a gift women have been given! Doesn’t this seem like something Our Lady would be delighted to do?)

Peace of Jesus to you!
elizabeth
 
FCEGM said:
Kristan, the Secular (aka “Third Order, Secular”) Orders are open to men and women, married and unmarried (and if unmarried a member is free to marry). This link will lead you to more information about the various Third Orders of the Church. The Secular Third Orders are not to be confused with the First Order (priests and brothers) and Second Order (cloistered nuns) which are, of course, for the celibate, but they are fully a part of their respective religious Orders, e.g., Franciscan, Carmelite, Dominican, Benedictine, etc…

forums.catholic-questions.org/showthread.php?t=179983
Click to expand...
To add to this, there are third orders regular and third orders secular. Third Order Regular mean that they are religious brothers or sisters that live celebate lives. Most of the Franciscan, Dominican and Carmelite women’s apostolic communities are third order regular.
 
kristanl:

Take a look at this link for The Servants of the Sacred Cross. They accept married women as well as single women, widows, and divorced women who have annulments. Married women wear the habit (but not all the time) and do “nun” things even as they live in their own homes. Check out the link and be sure to look at the photo album, too. The superior, Mother Wendy James, is a wonderful person. It may be just the thing for you. They accept Roman Catholics, Anglicans of the Traditional Communion and Orthodox. The membership is presently two-thirds Roman Catholic.

[

Blessings!](SAHDIGITAL-22ND CENTURY INK ~ Custom Web Site Designers)
 
:)HI Aggatina,

I use to do alot in my other church but this one has not to much going on. I know they have a soup kitchen and I think i will call to see if they can use some help there. Both my towns are small so not much realy goes on. I think the soup kitchen might be just what I need. You are loved, Love Of Christ Nancy ( Honest)🙂
 
Hi Nancy, my friend,
Sounds good to me to work in the soup kitchen. Imagine if everyone did even one job at church for Jesus. The parishes would be flying high with good things.😃
Love in Christ Jesus,
Agatina
 
Might be easier to answer what you CAN’T do: receive Holy Orders. Besides that, the sky is the limit.

And fair is fair, right? I’m ineligible to feel a baby kick inside me…
 
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