What's The Difference In Brothers And Fathers?

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I SAW A SHOW ON EWTN AND THERE WERE INTERVIEWS WITH SOME PRIESTS AND SOME BROTHERS. SOME OF THE BROTHERS SAID THEY DIDN’T WANT TO BE PRIESTS. IS THERE A DIFFERENCE IN THEIR DUTIES OR EDUCATION OR WHAT?

I’M CONFUSED! :confused:
 
Brothers are monks - the male version of nuns. They make vows such as chastity, poverty and obedience in the same way that nuns do.

Monks don’t, however, receive the sacrament of Holy Orders that priests do.

Priests sometimes have extra education (not always - some monks are equally educated). They definitely do have extra duties.

Only priests are permitted to hear confessions, celebrate Mass, to perform marriages or confirmations (sometimes!) and anoint the sick. Monks can’t do any of those things. Neither can monks progress on to become Bishops and potentially Pope. Only priests have that path open to them.

Hope that makes it clearer.
 
LilyM said:
Brothers are monks - the male version of nuns. They make vows such as chastity, poverty and obedience in the same way that nuns do.

Monks don’t, however, receive the sacrament of Holy Orders that priests do.
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Some monks do become priests (and deacons) and maintain their order identity, namely poverty, etc.

(I had to include deacons since Holy Orders are actually received at that level.)
 
LilyM said:
Neither can monks progress on to become Bishops and potentially Pope. Only priests have that path open to them.
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That isn’t true. Episcopal ordination does not have to be preceded by priestly ordination. Ordinarily of course bishops are chosen from the most promising priests, but a monk would be a likely exception.
 
LilyM said:
Brothers are monks - the male version of nuns. They make vows such as chastity, poverty and obedience in the same way that nuns do.

Monks don’t, however, receive the sacrament of Holy Orders that priests do.

Priests sometimes have extra education (not always - some monks are equally educated). They definitely do have extra duties.

Only priests are permitted to hear confessions, celebrate Mass, to perform marriages or confirmations (sometimes!) and anoint the sick. Monks can’t do any of those things. Neither can monks progress on to become Bishops and potentially Pope. Only priests have that path open to them.

Hope that makes it clearer.
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Not all brothers are monks. Monks are from a monastic order and usually cloistered.

Friars and other religious orders also have brothers. They are active and not the same as monks.

In the Carmelites brothers teach, do internal ministries, run shrines, much the same as the priests do but they do not administer the sacraments or become pastors of parishes.
 
LilyM said:
Brothers are monks - the male version of nuns. They make vows such as chastity, poverty and obedience in the same way that nuns do.

Monks don’t, however, receive the sacrament of Holy Orders that priests do.

Priests sometimes have extra education (not always - some monks are equally educated). They definitely do have extra duties.

Only priests are permitted to hear confessions, celebrate Mass, to perform marriages or confirmations (sometimes!) and anoint the sick. Monks can’t do any of those things. Neither can monks progress on to become Bishops and potentially Pope. Only priests have that path open to them.

Hope that makes it clearer.
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I thought that there were only 2 requirements to be elgible to be Pope, you had to be male and Catholic.
 
dmelosi said:
I thought that there were only 2 requirements to be elgible to be Pope, you had to be male and Catholic.
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That is correct in order to be elected, you only need to be a Catholic man.

But to be coronated, you must be a Bishop, you are the Bishop of Rome.

So, if the College of Cardinals decided to elect me as Pope :eek: , I would have to be ordained priest and bishop (in an Eastern Rite, I’m married) before I could take the office.

But they could do it.

God Bless
 
In some orders, they are Brother so and so until ordination, then they become Father so and so! —KCT
 
A “brother” is, simply, a member of a religious community. They share a common life, have a charism which is true to the order, minister in ways approprite to that call and charism. Within the order there may also be brothers that also get ordained priests(they remain brothers as priests, but also become “fathers”, in fact they may be something of sons, too, under the gudance of their religious superiors.) A priest has a unique ministry in his persona and sacramental powers which a brother does not. He will also recieve education appropriate to that service which another brother may or may not receive. But it is just a matter of the priesthood being a unique individual call distinct from (though perhaps related to) a call the call to priesthood. So some become brothers in an order and others become brothers and priests.
 
Eh - I am happy to see this question. I love the many responces. I am A Catholic Brother. I think there might be a bit of an increase in Religious vocations among males if we Brothers said more about who we are. I love the priesthood, and sometimes thought I might like to be a Priest, but all in all, my vocation is to be a Brother in the Church and a Brother to all mankind. I love to talk, teach, and write (I am an author and public speeker). If I was a priest, I’d have to limit my talk to about five minute on Sunday. 🙂
Well, hopefully there’s more to this than having more time to talk than a Priest. I wanted to be a priest since before I made 1st Communion. My parish priest back then was great with kids and loved Jesus. But, it was when I got to Junior High age that I met Brothers. They were great with us kids. since then, I saw Brothers taking care of the poor, dedicating themselves in prayer, living community, singing and chanting, teaching, taking care of the old and sick. One of my minor duties is to be soert of a practical nurse when the need arrises in our community. Mostly, I am in media. I’ve operated TV cameras, directed TV for Sunday Mass, produced a couple minor 15 minuet TV spots, ran a magazine for pastors and pastoral leadership, and much more.
The Religious Brotherhood is a great life. Depending on the Order, there is every career in the Brotherhood as in secular life. The big difference is you are consecrated to Christ in what you do full time. Mass Media High tech Brother MOnk? You bet - getting the Word out.
 
One of the orders (might be Jesuit) has a Brother with a PhD in astronomy. He works at an observatory. He was on that orders recruiting poster

North
 
Dear Bro. Joshua,

Thank you so much for responding to my question! Now I understand! It’s kinda like the difference in a nurse and a doctor. Right?
 
Monks can be either Brothers or Priests, but niether are necessarily monks. For example, there are Jesuit Brothers.

Brothers are men who wish to become engaged in the work of certain religious orders or societies, yet do not wish to seek Holy Orders and administer the Sacraments. In some religious orders they will take vows the same as priests.
 
Caesar said:
Monks can be either Brothers or Priests, but niether are necessarily monks. For example, there are Jesuit Brothers.

Brothers are men who wish to become engaged in the work of certain religious orders or societies, yet do not wish to seek Holy Orders and administer the Sacraments. In some religious orders they will take vows the same as priests.
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Some brothers are actually working towards become a priest.
 
Caesar said:
As yourself I see 😉

Glad to see that your formation is coming along nicely 👍
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Yes, and we have one, and maybe two, who are going to stay brothers in the novitiate.

Some orders have separate novitiates for those who will study to be a priest and for those who will be brothers. Usually the brothers novitiate is two years long while the one for priestly candidates is one year. I think this is because they recognize the added spiritual dimension of studying at the theologate.
 
dale(name removed by moderator) said:
Dear Bro. Joshua,

Thank you so much for responding to my question! Now I understand! It’s kinda like the difference in a nurse and a doctor. Right?
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I like the way you put that. Yes.

I might add a bit more about being a Brother. A formal title would be Religious Lay Brother. We Brothers (and the Sisters or Nus too) are lay people. We take vows and live in community of other Brothers. some are large communities a dozen or many more members, or perhaps two or three members depending on circumstances. Some communities have only Lay Brothers as members. Other Orders have Priests and Brothers.

My community is called the Society of St. Paul. We have priests and brothers. Our province in the USA has about 40-some members in three houses. Most of us are brothers, about a third are Priests.

Each order has certain workl they are known for, or spiritualities. We work in all forms of modern mass media. TV, Internet, DVD, radio and book publishing are major examples. This type of ministry does not demand that we have a lot of Priests - we do not run parishes as a general rule. We need to have some priests, but mostly we need Brothers.
 
bro joshua…

your work sounds so interesting!

i don’t know if it’s against the rules of the forum, but can you give some examples of what you do? anything that might help a recent convert like me to learn the Catholic faith?

thanks and God bless you and your order!

kathie
 
dale(name removed by moderator) said:
bro joshua…

your work sounds so interesting!

i don’t know if it’s against the rules of the forum, but can you give some examples of what you do? anything that might help a recent convert like me to learn the Catholic faith?

thanks and God bless you and your order!

kathie
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Well I am new to the forum, but I think it is OK for me to give examples of what I do. My personal apostolates (ministry work) is in two main areas: I assist in our Spanish Book section San Pablo Libros Espanol, and I am in charge of bringing book exhibits to local parishes on the weekends to make it convenient for folks to buy Catholic books (English and Spanish).

Those two areas keep me pretty busy. I used to be in the editorial of a pastoral magazine. We finaly closed the magazine becasue of declining readership and new forms of mass media available for this same type of communication.

I also network with many Native American Catholics accross the USA and Canada in the promotion of Indigenous Culture in accord with the many documents put out by Pope John Paul II and thorugh other official Vatican Offices. That is part of inculturation.

If you want a more involved explanation - then maybe it is best to use the private email connection that this forum provides. Thank you for your interest. Discussing things like this is one way I think vocations to preisthood and religious life can be promoted.
 
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