What major differences are there between the lives/rules of monks/brothers and nuns/sisters?

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I imagine the differences vary between orders but maybe you can give me some broad generalisations…or be specific and tell me about the orders that you are familiar with.
 
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I’ve wondered about that myself. I have always thought of monks as kind of like “male nuns”, and I mean that in no derogatory sense — emphatically, quite the contrary. One obvious difference is that, if I am understanding matters correctly, a monk can become a priest.

I wonder if monks are ever given the opportunity to engage in any “guy stuff” — auto repair, sports, hunting, weightlifting, things like that. (And, yes, I am quite aware that women engage in all of these things, and are quite proficient at them.) Anybody know?
 
It depends upon the specific Order, Society, Congregation.

In a very basic, 10,000 foot level:
  • Monks and nuns live in a cloister (separated from the world) and their charisms focus on prayer - think contemplative types of Orders
  • Other Orders/Congregations/Societies tend to be more active in the world and their charisms vary greatly (teaching, healthcare, advocacy, pastoral work) - think active types of Orders
In answer to @HomeschoolDad even monks and nuns do lots of physical work: farming, care of physical plant, animal husbandry, and all sorts of craft work (beer making, pottery, icon writing, woodworking, etc.). Many have have access to weights, trails, swimming and things like that to keep physically fit. Hunting would not be typical, however.

Some of the finest beer in the world is brewed by Trappist monks (especially in Belium); and the man who helped put champagne into the modern lexicon was a Benedictine monk named Dom Pérignon.
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Salut,
Deacon Christopher
 
Diaconia said:
In answer to @HomeschoolDad even monks and nuns do lots of physical work: farming, care of physical plant, animal husbandry, and all sorts of craft work (beer making, pottery, icon writing, woodworking, etc.). Many have have access to weights, trails, swimming and things like that to keep physically fit. Hunting would not be typical, however.

Some of the finest beer in the world is brewed by Trappist monks (especially in Belium); and the man who helped put champagne into the modern lexicon was a Benedictine monk named Dom Pérignon.
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You’re making it sound better all the time 🙂 😇

Sometimes it crosses my mind, once my son is grown and raised, perhaps with a family of his own, just to chuck it all and pursue the religious life (probably no seminary would have me). I guess I could always sell my rifles…
 
Cecilia_Dympna said:
I think, please correct me if I am wrong, that you would need an annulment first.
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You are correct. That may happen for me one of these days, or it may never. My wife and her consort have been invalidly “married” without Church permission for eight or nine years now, and no annulment has ever been sought or granted.
 
HomeschoolDad said:
Just saw this on the TMZ nightly TV show. Glad to see them having a good time.

Nuns Take Break From Making Masks to Play Basketball in Spain
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I was in a contemplative Benedictine monastery some decades back, and we used to play basketball and softball all the time. The best part about softball was that we only had one glove, so we’d use our aprons to catch the balls – except for Sister Hildegard, who was nearly six feet tall and built like an athlete. She was terrified of being hit by the ball, so she would hold her apron out in perfect position to catch it until the last moment when she would suddenly squeal and throw her hands up over her head.

😂 😂 😂

Sister Hildegard is now the abbess of a nearly-thousand-year-old monastery in Germany! Hopefully they play soccer there instead of softball.
HomeschoolDad said:
I wonder if monks are ever given the opportunity to engage in any “guy stuff” — auto repair, sports, hunting, weightlifting, things like that. (And, yes, I am quite aware that women engage in all of these things, and are quite proficient at them.) Anybody know?
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The charism of the order will determine a great deal about the particulars of the daily lives of the monks or nuns within the monastery walls. In my monastery we had a 150-acre farm, 50 head of cattle, some sheep, some chickens… Everything that was needed to run a farm had to be done by the nuns.

So there were auto repairs (pickup truck) and tractor repairs. And as I said, we did play sports. It wasn’t everyday, but often enough. Hunting? No, though Sister Angela was known to catch and kill some of our chickens when needed. And we didn’t need weightlifting because we had serious manual labor with tending to our enormous vegetable gardens, tending to the animals, moving of hay bales, the care of irrigation ditches, care and cleaning of the buildings, and so on.

Regarding the possibility of pursuing monastic life when the kids are grown, why wait? See if there’s a monastery near you and then find out if they have an associate or oblate community. My old monastery had a woman who lived there – a mom and grandma – who was a claustral oblate.

Claustral Oblates are “in house” oblates, who make yearly profession of vows, and wear a habit. Some actually retain remunerative work outside the monastery.

Benedictines, particularly the monks of the American-Cassinese Congregation, have statutes governing claustral oblates.

So, what is a discerner to do about a desire to be a claustral oblate? ASK! Ask the vocations director of the monastery to which you are attracted.

See the links that @Cloisters posted above. 😃
 
HomeschoolDad said:
Sometimes it crosses my mind, once my son is grown and raised, perhaps with a family of his own, just to chuck it all and pursue the religious life (probably no seminary would have me). I guess I could always sell my rifles…
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Monasteries typically have an age limit for new entrants, typically around 40. But how strictly that is applied, I do not know.
 
Thank you for posting a quote from my ministry’s website!

Claustral Oblates can also be an option for those who can’t get an annulment.
 
Cloisters said:
Thank you for posting a quote from my ministry’s website!

Claustral Oblates can also be an option for those who can’t get an annulment.
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When I did my Google search, I was so happy to see you ministry’s website had information on claustral oblates! Don’t know why I thought it mightn’t.
 
I thought one difference would be alcohol intake but I remembered that when I was invited to a party at a home of a group of nuns they surely served wine and beer.
 
HomeschoolDad said:
40.png
HomeschoolDad:
Sometimes it crosses my mind, once my son is grown and raised, perhaps with a family of his own, just to chuck it all and pursue the religious life (probably no seminary would have me). I guess I could always sell my rifles…
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Monasteries typically have an age limit for new entrants, typically around 40. But how strictly that is applied, I do not know.
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Maybe somebody needs to start a monastery for old guys.
Gertabelle said:
Regarding the possibility of pursuing monastic life when the kids are grown, why wait? See if there’s a monastery near you and then find out if they have an associate or oblate community. My old monastery had a woman who lived there – a mom and grandma – who was a claustral oblate.

Claustral Oblates are “in house” oblates, who make yearly profession of vows, and wear a habit. Some actually retain remunerative work outside the monastery.

Benedictines, particularly the monks of the American-Cassinese Congregation, have statutes governing claustral oblates.

So, what is a discerner to do about a desire to be a claustral oblate? ASK! Ask the vocations director of the monastery to which you are attracted.
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This sounds like a Third Order “kicked up a notch”.

I have responsibilities right now that are much too pressing to allow for any change in my lifestyle or state of life. Maybe one of these days. After a fashion, I live a kind of quasi-monastic life as things already stand — celibate, in relative poverty (though we want for nothing that we truly need), teaching (my son), caregiving (my parents), studying, cooking, home maintenance and repair, gardening, and so on.

Yet, seen that way, I am the worst monk in the world. Much room for improvement.
 
At least you seem to understand the concept of conversion. You’re living a very Vincentian lifestyle right now, though. Plenty of opportunities for “leaving God for God.”

My new congregation has not only a contemplative branch, but lay Associates, as well. We also have a Homeschool Ministry (which I developed while homeschooling). Our members often have more than one Ministry, so you could be a Homeschool Minister, along with one of the medical patrons, or pro-life, where your parents are concerned.
 
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