When Did Nuns And Monks Come On The Scene?

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sparkle:
. . Just for further confusion --:confused: I also do not see the point of ALL boys and ALL girls high schools.
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I really appreciated the opportunity to go to school without having to “play up” to the boys. There was less distraction in an all girls school. Also, because the competition for boys was put aside during school hours. It allowed us girls to bond in some really great ways.

For several hours a day. We weren’t worrying about clothes, makeup, impressing boys, we were worrying about school, clubs, our female friendships.

Having gone to both co ed and all girls schools, I appreciated the relaxed atmosphere of the all girls school, at that boy focused age.

cheddar
 
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sparkle:
…Aren’t there some though, that just keep locked away all day? These are the nuns I was misunderstanding. And these are the ones I had some contact with recently. What is the difference between these and the ones who teach, etc.?..
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They don’t keep locked away all day. They also attend Mass and communal prayer of the Divine Office, they eat together, spend some time working for the support of their community, and have some time for recreaction. But an important part of their vocation is prayer alone with God. If you want to think of them as being locked away when they pray alone, I suppose you may do so, but remember, the locks are on the inside. These women are not prisoners when they pray any more than you are a prisoner when you lock the bathroom door when you are in the tub.

As to the differences between contemplative and active religious orders of men and women, I think one good comparison might be made by considering the different sorts of angels. Some angels have a very “active” mission according to our understanding. They serve as messengers for God to people and act as agents in carrying out God’s will in the world. Other angels, such as the Seraphs, are said to be wholly devoted to worshiping God. Active religious men and women are like the first sort of angels, contemplative religious are like the second.
 
Testing, one, two, three. If you see this post, please respond.

CDL
 
I see this thread began on September 23, which (probably not coincidentally) is the feastday of St. Thecla.

We know from the Bible that St. Paul inspired many to convert, but seldom do we hear their names. St. Paul’s preaching inspired the conversion of one pagan noble woman named Thecla.

As St. Paul wrote: *“To the unmarried and the widows I say that it is well for them to remain single as I do. But if they cannot exercise self-control, they should marry.” *(1 Cor. 7:8-9) St. Thecla, who was unmarried at the time, decided to remain unmarried. She broke off her engagement and that was not well recieved by her fiance. (Her parents were also opposed to her being Christian.)

Her former fiance accused her before a judge and she was ordered to be burned at the stake. A storm put out the fire. She was later condemned to be eaten by beasts, but the beasts layed down at her side and licked her feet. The judge set her free and she spent the rest of her life living in a cave praying and teaching those who came to see her about Jesus.

While I don’t know of St. Thecla ever being called a “nun”, she lived a life that fits the description. I don’t know when nuns and monks formally came to be, but the lifestyle has been around since the very beginings of Christianity. St. Thecla lived in the first century and was converted by the preaching of St. Paul himself. St. Thecla, pray for us.
 
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sparkle:
I apologize. It was a very inappropriate word usage.

I love Mother Angelica. She is awesome. Aren’t there some though, that just keep locked away all day? These are the nuns I was misunderstanding. And these are the ones I had some contact with recently. What is the difference between these and the ones who teach, etc.? Excuse my ignorance in this area, guess it’s better to keep your mouth shut sometimes if you don’t understand something.😦 Anyway thx for helping clarify such friends.🙂
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I may be wrong but Mother Angelica’s nuns are contemplative. Contemplative orders are the orders that are “just keep locked away all day”.

If you are interested in what they do while they are “locked away”, here is a great website.

desertnuns.com/index.htm

desertnuns.com/aboutus.htm

http://www.desertnuns.com/images/motherandphive.jpg

These nuns look really miserable. 😛
 
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Hildebrand:
I may be wrong but Mother Angelica’s nuns are contemplative. Contemplative orders are the orders that are “just keep locked away all day”.

If you are interested in what they do while they are “locked away”, here is a great website.

desertnuns.com/index.htm

desertnuns.com/aboutus.htm

http://www.desertnuns.com/images/motherandphive.jpg

These nuns look really miserable. 😛
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Oh thank you friend for going to the trouble in providing this marvelous picture. I feel so foolish for even opening my mouth. I’m beginning to understand so much more.
 
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FCEGM:
You’re very welcome, Sparkle. 🙂 I’m happy if I’ve been able to assist your understanding. Regarding the history of nuns, hermits - both men and women - and then monastics living in community came on the scene very early in the life of the Church. You should find this article of help:

newadvent.org/cathen/11164a.htm

Also, technically speaking, only women who belong to a monastic Order of the Church (e.g., Carmelites, Benedictines, Poor Clares, Carthusians, Domincans) are rightly called “nuns”. Women who have joined active religious communities (being teachers, nurses, engaging in various “active” works, etc.) are not nuns. All nuns are “sisters”, but not all “sisters” are nuns. 😃
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Wow I can’t belive how furious I am with statements made here. I shall figure I am only in defense mode, some of the most important women in my life have been Nuns. I truly belive if it hadn;t been for the prayers that the sisters said for my mother when she was pregnant and had cancer, I wouldn’t be here typing right now. I had an aunt who was a Benedictine nun and she was also a teacher and worked in the local catholic hospital. God bless all sisters on earth and may they know that we love them all.
 
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maryj:
Wow I can’t belive how furious I am with statements made here. I shall figure I am only in defense mode, some of the most important women in my life have been Nuns. I truly belive if it hadn;t been for the prayers that the sisters said for my mother when she was pregnant and had cancer, I wouldn’t be here typing right now. I had an aunt who was a Benedictine nun and she was also a teacher and worked in the local catholic hospital. God bless all sisters on earth and may they know that we love them all.
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Oh WOW! How wonderful!~ Please try to understand though that many on here are converts, (like me) who have heard even from people in our family circle that unmarried religious are all most likely “gays and lesbians”, or those running away from “real” life. This is the view I heard for 40 years. So I questioned. My MIL just told my 15 yo son last week, that “if he wanted to transfer to a Catholic High School she will NOT pay for it”. 😦 There is so much anti-Catholic garbage floating around friend. Try to be sensitive to us converts who haven’t had the proper religious background. I know for me, I just want to know more, but sorry I can’t help the bias I might have for 40-some years in some things, such as this. I do feel I have grown and learned about priests and men, but still learning here about the women religious. The one occasion where I actually encountered “nuns”–they all were negative with low voices like a man, and said “who needs men?” in some conversation. I viewed them as total feminists. :confused: Sorry but this has been my experience all the same.
 
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maryj:
Wow I can’t belive how furious I am with statements made here. I shall figure I am only in defense mode, some of the most important women in my life have been Nuns. I truly belive if it hadn;t been for the prayers that the sisters said for my mother when she was pregnant and had cancer, I wouldn’t be here typing right now. I had an aunt who was a Benedictine nun and she was also a teacher and worked in the local catholic hospital. God bless all sisters on earth and may they know that we love them all.
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Maryj, I was simply describing the technical difference between those women called “nuns” and religious “sisters”. I well know that Benedictine nuns especially have been very active in teaching, etc…, but because they belong to one of the great monastic Orders (not religious communities), they are rightly called “nuns”, while sisters of religious communities are not (though it is a popular mistake to make).
 
There are reports of homosexualists hiding out in Monestaries and convents and even in the secular priesthood. Let us pray that they find healing from their lifestyle or that they leave these vocations.

Most of my experience has been quite positive however.

CDL
 
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sparkle:
Oh thank you friend for going to the trouble in providing this marvelous picture. I feel so foolish for even opening my mouth. I’m beginning to understand so much more.
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This is actually a great thread you started. In the past, I’ve had to defend the “usefulness” of contemplative orders to my Catholic friends.

I am glad you asked. 🙂 For most Catholics who have not been explain why they exist, confusion is very common.

And I do recommend the following EWTN series:

Prayer Quest

Saint for the Third Millenium: St. Therese of Lisieux
 
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GregoryPalamas:
There are reports of homosexualists hiding out in Monestaries and convents and even in the secular priesthood. Let us pray that they find healing from their lifestyle or that they leave these vocations.

Most of my experience has been quite positive however.

CDL
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Aside from the homosexual issue. The quality of religious orders in the United States, both monastic and non, is another topic that deserves a long, long thread. If someone feels a “calling”, I’d suggest alot of prayer, research, and many visits to various orders and their monastic communities. Many are in need of reform.
 
Read anything–everything–written by and about St Teresa of Avila. There was a woman to model yourself on. She is my absolute favorite saint of all.
She had a wicked sense of humor, and she entered the life of the cloister with her castanets in her hands…and yes, she danced!! She wrote (IMHO) the greatest books on prayer in the history of Christianity.
She is so beloved & admired by many Methodists (for said works on prayer) that I once found myself portraying her for the children sermon in my church’s Sunday A.M. service. (Do you have any idea how much people :confused: :eek: stare when a habited “nun” pulls into the parking lot of the Methodist church on Sunday morning???)
I love Teresa dearly. I also think that she is the epitome of what the deeply spiritual Christian should be like…
Some of my friends suspect that when I get to Heaven, I will walk right past my friends & family to meet her…They may be right.
How many Methodists have a patron saint? I don’t know, but I do. She is a Catholic sister who has helped me find my way into a life of prayer…and she encourages me, by being, through it all, as delightedfully idiosyncratic a soul as ever was born…But she was also a great saint. She gives me hope.
God bless.
 
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