What do monks and nuns do?

  • Thread starter Thread starter The_Iambic_Pen
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
T

The_Iambic_Pen

Guest
I hope this is the right forum for this. I have mostly been posting in the Apologetics forum, as I am a Protestant studying the Catholic Church. Anyway, I was wondering what monks and nuns actually do. I know that a diocesan priest is not all that different from a Protestant pastor, but I know there are differences between priests and monks. Thanks for any information!

God Bless!
 
The Iambic Pen:
I hope this is the right forum for this. I have mostly been posting in the Apologetics forum, as I am a Protestant studying the Catholic Church. Anyway, I was wondering what monks and nuns actually do. I know that a diocesan priest is not all that different from a Protestant pastor, but I know there are differences between priests and monks. Thanks for any information!

God Bless!
Click to expand...
Their roles vary tremendously, depending on what order they are in, what charism, etc. etc. etc. They can work in hospitals, schools, they can travel the world helping out wherever needed in all sorts of things. It is extremely varied. A monk (or a friar) can be either a priest or a brother.
 
My grandson is in the Army. I could not possibly answer your question without writting for 15 minutes. In a way, being a monk is like being in the Army. The Army of the Lord that is. There is a very structured schedule for most: prayer,work,more prayer, more work. Maybe an hour free time each day. Obedience is required to a superior. You can not refuse to obey a lawful order. There is a “Rule” that they follow. If you look up St. Benedict on the internet, you can find his “Rule,” which is the standard in many places.

May God bless you for your desire to be open to topics that are new to you.

plato3
 
As stated above, what a monk/nun actually does depends on what order they are in (Benedictine, Dominican, Jesuit, Franciscan, etc) and even upon which specific group of that order they join. (The group in Portland, Ore, the group in Trenton, New Jersey, etc.)

Basically, a nun or monk is someone who’s given up their entire life to love and serve God, so that they can be distracted by nothing else. Nuns and monks are separated into two groups: Contemplative (focus is on praying and spiritual works) and Active: (focus is on missionary work, service to others.)

The Active groups, as said above, work in schools, hospitials, foreign missions, soup kitches, homeless shelters, etc.

The contemplative groups may or may not be cloistered. Normally they have a specific schedule of prayer throughout the day, and the rest of the day is spent doing specific chores prayerfully, etc.

Any more questions?
Josh
 
The best way to find out what they do is to do it. Don’t worry, I’m not suggesting you should sign up, but there are many, many monasteries that offer retreats and the like. I’ve always had good experiences at the Abbey of Gethsemani in Kentucky.

Mike
 
Please also note that “nun” and “sister” although used interchangeably today were not always so. “Nun” referred to one who was living in an enclosure, as opposed to those who lived and worked in contact with the outside world. A nun would be more like a monk, while a sister would be more like a diocesan priest. (In living arrangements only.)
 
I remember back in grade school, there was a nun who I saw in my (public) school now and then. Of course, this was back in the late eighties, before people were so freaked out by religion (especially Christianity) in school. I’m not exactly sure what she did there, but she was very friendly and everyone seemed to like her.

Here’s a kind of weird question. Are nuns supposed to wear their habits all the time when they’re in public? The reason I ask is because I’ve seen nuns skiing while wearing their habits. They seemed to be having fun, but I guess it seemed a little unusual.

God Bless!
 
One of the questions I get often are inquiries about how monks and nuns produce income. Are they self-sufficient, or do they rely completely on handouts?

The answer is generally, they are self-sufficient. The monastery that I am most familiar with was on 400 acres, and they had a huge farm that produced everything from cheese to vegetables, which provided much food for the monks. As well, the monastery hosted a seminary, so many of the monks (most of them PhD’s in their respective field) taught the students. In addition, it was a major tourist and retreat destination, so they hosted conferences, days of spiritual contemplation for individuals, and vacationers who ooh-ed and ahh-ed over the beautiful church and artwork around the buildings.

As well, they did take “handouts” from beneficiaries who gave regularly to the monastery. And anyone who wanted to donate to the place was free to do so, too. But overall, it was a very well put-together and well-run operation.

And yes, before I forget to mention, they did mass, prayed, gave spiritual guidance, and all of the usual things you’d expect from monks (can’t forget this!).
 
An example shall we?

The Mary, Mother of God Abbey in Richmond, Va. is a Benedictine group. They run a high school and also manage retreats, work in hospitals, help local parishes, garden, etc.
 
I can tell you what the nuns I know do. The three sisters of the Benedictine Monastery of the Good Shepherd have just celebrated completion of their new monastery in Starr County TX, when they embarked on this mission they agreed to leave paid employment and rely on donations to build the monastery and pursue their charism, which is evangelization and pro-life witness and ministry in the Rio Grande Valley. They have a new postulant, welcome retreat groups each week, lead a group of over 50 Benedictine lay oblates who support the monastery and their work, are active in various pro-life initiatives in the diocese, and numerous evangelization outreaches. A lay-led Mexico outreach has recently been put under their auspices. Before getting permission to build the monastery they served in the valley for over 20 years in various capacities: teacher, catechist, DRE, running a day care center etc.

Our local Catholic school has a terrific sister as principal who done a great job increasing enrollment and endowment. Members of her order who live here serve in important diocesan administrative positions, as DREs, hospital chaplains, and teachers or school administrators. Another sister here directs adult evangelization and faith formation, and members of her order are DREs, evangelists, and run various ministries such as visiting the sick, working with immigrants, running community centers, and working with the elderly.

the bishop has welcomed a Mexican order of cloistered nuns whose primary charism is perpetual adoration of Jesus Christ in the Eucharist and prayer, and they are raising funds to build their convent. We don’t have a Catholic hospital here, but we do have a maternity center & women’s health clinic run by some other religious sisters which serves the poor and migrants. There is a Catholic hospital in Laredo which has sisters in the major administrative positions, including hospital administrator, director of nursing, and bioethicist.

These sisters do not define themselves by their “jobs” but by their “charisms” - education, health care, evangelization, prayer etc. - and what distinguishes them from laywomen is communal life, their prayer life which supercedes all other concerns, and their vows.
 
Some nuns wear habits and some don’t - it depends on the rules of the order. If their order does require the wearing of habits, then yes it’s all the time, I’m not sure about when they are asleep?
Anyways - reminds me of a Life on the Rock episode when they showed pictures of Mother Angelica’s birthday and the nuns playing basketball in their habits. Pretty cute.
 
Thanks for all the info! I must admit I have encountered very few nuns in my life, as well as priests, and no monks at all (though I don’t suppose monks get out all that much…).

God Bless!
 
monks usually engage in some enterprise to support their monastery, as their rule is usually based on that of St Benedict, whose motto was Pray and Work (Ora et Labora). Monks Bread from Genessee Abbey is sold on line and in food stores in the northeast, fruitcakes and jellies from the Trappists are excellent, one order sells fudge to die for, there is a monk who writes a column on computers and on-line stuff for National Catholic Register, some monasteries do web-hosting and manage servers, cloistered nuns bake communion hosts, and lets not forget Benedictine Brandy, originally produced by monks (if not still).
 
JMJ + OBT​

As others have noted, regular and formal prayer throughout the day is an important part of what monks and nuns do.

One type of prayer that all Catholic monks and nuns throughout the world share in common (though the translation they use will vary according to geography, ethnicity, etc.) is the Liturgy of the Hours. Check out LiturgyHours.org and/or Universalis, and consider learning how to pray – and praying! – some of the LotH yourself!

Also, many communities (especially the more traditional ones) will have their members engage in one or more set periods of Lectio Divina (means “sacred reading”), or some other type of “free-form” meditation/contemplation, sometime during the day.

Take a look at the daily schedules of the following communities:

Clear Creek Monastery

Sisters of Mary, Mother of the Eucharist

After you are finished serving our country as part of its military, you could consider serving the Lord in a more radical fashion in the context of Religious Life.

In the Hearts of Jesus and Mary.

IC XC NIKA
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top