When Did Nuns And Monks Come On The Scene?

[hilde_the_dog]

Thanks Cheddarsox I was thinking don’t nuns teach in school, administer to the poor and elderly etc. And is this not a calling from GOD a vocation. If somebody feels GOD has called them to be a hermit and not speak well who are we to judge.

 

[mercygate]

hilde the dog:

Thanks Cheddarsox I was thinking don’t nuns teach in school, administer to the poor and elderly etc. And is this not a calling from GOD a vocation. If somebody feels GOD has called them to be a hermit and not speak well who are we to judge.

The hermit life is a vocation within a vocation, so to speak. It does entail a great deal of silence but it does not mean that a hermit does not speak. Fr. John Corapi is (or for a time, at least was) a hermit and conducted his very active apostolate of speaking all over the country . . .

 

[vern_humphrey]

sparkle:

WHEN, in our early Christianity, did they come about? The early Christians all were married and lead the family life. What lead to such?

By no means were all early Christians married. Saint Paul was not married and, while he understood that not everyone could live his lifestyle, said he wished they could.

 

[Didi]

St. Paul said in his letter to the Corinthians:
*“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)

From the catechism:
922 From apostolic times Christian virgins, called by the Lord to cling only to him with greater freedom of heart, body, and spirit, have decided with the Church’s approval to live in a state of virginity “for the sake of the Kingdom of heaven.”

923 Virgins who, committed to the holy plan of following Christ more closely, are consecrated to God by the diocesan bishop according to the approved liturgical rite, are betrothed mystically to Christ, the Son of God, and are dedicated to the service of the Church.

918 From the very beginning of the Church there were men and women who set out to follow Christ with greater liberty, and to imitate him more closely, by practicing evangelical counsels. They led lives dedicated to God, each in his/her own way. Many of them, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, became hermits or founded religious families. These the Church, by virtue of her authority, gladly accepted and approved.

My own personal experience has allowed me to have nuns for teachers, to work beside them in hospitals, to learn from them in retreats and bible studies. I have probably known over 100 nuns in my life. Some of my college friends went on to become nuns. I can think of only one who seemed bitter and we came to find out later had some mental illness problems. The rest have a genuine love and devotion to Jesus. Most of them I knew were in some type of ministry as mentioned before – one was a radiology tech, several teachers, one worked in a diocesan youth ministry office, many were nurses, some ministered to those in the hospital, many of them helped with retreats, some run a retreat center.

As time goes on, I become more and more thankful for those who serve in religious life, including those I have never met who are cloistered or hermits. These are the people who keep the Church alive, who pray for us every moment of every day, who adore Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament around the clock. They are praying for me and for you. For the sick, for the poor, for those who are far from Jesus, for victims of disasters, for addicts, for those trying to follow God’s will.

I have learned in the past few years as I deal with a chronic illness, that I cannot make it through the day without God and without prayer; not just my own, but all those who are praying for me. It also connects us as the Body of Christ. I offer my sufferings for others; they pray for me. “If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together.” 1 Cor. 10:26

Where would we be without them?

 

[jpusateri]

One comment that disturbs me is the question of “what is their purpose”?

First of all, this is a utilitarian view. We are not to view people as if they were objects that, if they aren’t doing something whose purpose we know or value, they are of no value. I am not accusing sparkle of holding this view, but it is a subtle tone here and I wanted to name it and refute it.

Secondly, all lay men and women are CALLED to devote their lives to God, right? This purpose of which you speak is kind of like the Rosary. The rosary isn’t a devotion that comes from the clerical arm of the Church (i.e. the bishops, priests, deacons), it is a popular devotion (i.e. coming from the people). Men and women religious are practicing their own devotion to Jesus in a deep way. Interior prayer may look like they aren’t “doing” anything, but this is not a fair assessment. It only LOOKS that way. It is the same with their “purpose.” They are not ordered to pursue lives of solitary prayer, for example, but it is their way of sanctification. They are conforming themselves to Christ. Others devote themselves to works of charity. Perhaps you see more value/purpose in that. It has the same goal, to conform the person to the will of God and the likeness of Christ. (Sanctification).

So, in short, their purpose is the same as the purpose of any christian, to continue to grow in holiness and to eventually become just like He whom they love and admire so much.

 

[Pug]

You might want to scope out 1Timothy chapter 5 about verses 1-15 where it talks about widows and a “list” for some possible biblical background.

But refuse to put younger widows on the list, for when they feel sensual desires in disregard of Christ, they want to get married, 12 thus incurring condemnation, because they have set aside their previous pledge.

Now she who is a widow indeed and who has been left alone, has fixed her hope on God and continues in entreaties and prayers night and day.

Also relevant might be the section in 1Corinthians about staying as Paul is (not married) and about not marrying in some circumstances and about acting as if you are not married. This is, uh, scattered in various sections of chapter 7.

This may only be obliquely relevant to your concerns, however.

 

[mlchance]

cheddarsox:

Growing up I saw nuns working in the hospital, nursing and acting as nurse aides, teaching, running a home for the elderly, playing the organ at church, cleaning and repairing vestments. I know nuns that are artists, authors, musicians, song writers, run offices at the Catholic charities, pray, run shrines, work in art museums,and generally minister to folks of all ages while serving as a visible witness for a life devoted to Christ.

Yeah, but what do they do beside all that?

I’m suddenly reminded of The Life of Brian.

– Mark L. Chance.

 

[RobNY]

sparkle:

Hummmm really…I ask you what do nuns do that is so wonderful???

I don’t know about nuns, but all of the sisters at my school are the nicest, brightest people I know! (I can’t think of Sisters Peggy or O’Grady being anything but kind and happy, I can’t say I’ve had much contact with the other sisters. [Side note: my freshman year homeroom teacher was an old-school sister, she *was strict, but I won’t hold it against her.])

WHEN, in our early Christianity, did they come about? The early Christians all were married and lead the family life. What lead to such?

Top three reasons to be unmarried:
3. John the Evangelist (my confirmation name!) who was the beloved apostle, and rested his head on Jesus’ breast at the last supper was celibate.
2. Paul of Tarsus, who encourages us to be as he, unmarried, and more able to devote ourselves to God.

1. Jesus, who says that for those who can be unmarried for the sake of the Kingdom of God, it is good.

I’d say those are three pretty good reasons.

 

[Hildebrand]

sparkle:

Hummmm really…I ask you what do nuns do that is so wonderful???

They pray. The ones who are not happy are the ones who’s religious order has lost the centrality of their calling - prayer. Many orders fret, are anxious, and worried about the cares of the world at the expense of their prayer life. Religious orders must have prayer as their first calling, then their various ministries.

Luke Chapter 10:
**38 As they continued their journey he entered a village where a woman whose name was Martha welcomed him. 39 She had a sister named Mary (who) sat beside the Lord at his feet listening to him speak. 40 Martha, burdened with much serving, came to him and said, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me by myself to do the serving? Tell her to help me.” 41 The Lord said to her in reply, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and worried about many things. 42 There is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part and it will not be taken from her.” **

I’d highly recommend listening to this EWTN Series:

Prayer Quest with Fr. Dubay

Fr. Dubay comments on the above passage on “Program 6: Leisure, Work & Fulfillment Pt 2:” at the 10th minute into the program.

 

[puzzleannie]

sparkle:

. I just don’t see “nuns” today as having any real purpose. They lock themselves away in convents. For what? The ones I have met seem like (Edited by moderator as offensive), and just have retreated to solitude. A sad thought. So could someone answer my question, what is their purpose?

so you are really asking, what do nuns do all day? there was a recent thread on that topic. strictly speaking women vowed to religious life enter either enclosed or “cloistered” communities where they remain in the convent or monastery engaged in whatever work provides basic support for their community, and in prayer and adoration. They are called nuns. We must be very careful not to denigrate their vocation to prayer, because that would mean we assign no high importance to to prayer and Eucharistic adoration. In addition to their own support their work often supports the Church in various ways. some orders were famous for making lace, sold for bridal veils, for making altar cloths, hangings for Churches, priests’ vestments, burial shrouds etc. Today many churches obtain their Eucharistic hosts from convents.

Women who enter active orders are sisters, engage in the work that embodies the “charism” or special gift of their order, based on the purpose upon which they were founded: education, care for the poor, nursing, care for the elderly, cancer patients, missionary work, evangelization, pro-life ministry etc. Some have a special charism. Daughters of St. Paul specialize in communication, and translate and publish church documents, encyclicals etc. in inexpensive easily usable formats. Ursuline sisters were founded to educate the poor. Hawthorne Domincans care for end-stage cancer patients.

I have known hundred of nuns and sisters in my life, never met any (Edited by moderator as offensive), whatever you mean by that very uncharitable epithet, or any who hate men. I am very sorry you have met women who exhibit such attitudes and call themselves religious. Just because a woman is not called by God to marry and raise a family does not mean she hates men, or is a lesbian. We surely would not apply such language to single women we know, whether inside or outside a convent.

Just because we do not understand, appreciate, or feel called upon to emulate someone else’s way of life does not mean it is bad, unfulfilling, unproductive or irrelevant.

 

[GregoryPalamas]

I will not respond directly to Sparkle because I can’t discern whether or not that posters is serious. The question is a serious one and many of you have offered serious responses. I teach theology at the University of St. Francis in Joliet, Il. My favorite subject is Church history.

1. It is clear from St. Paul that celibacy was a preferred state. It was a way to deny oneself for the sake of focusing ones attention upon God. It was a way of martyrdom which is the Christians calling.

The world of the early Church was dominated in the pagan dominated world by the notion that he who owns the most and controls the most people ought to have the most power and authority and should be paid the most respect. One of the things that the Church changed about the world was who in fact had the most authority. Jesus said that the servant was truly the Master and He took that idea all the way to the cross. He served the whole world.

The most important persons in the Kingdom of God, a kingdom remember that is to reform the whole world (See the “Our Father”) is the one who gives up the most. The one who gives up the most is the martyr. The second is the virgin and then there is the rest of us.

1. By at least the second century and increasingly into the third there developed something of a cult of the martyr. Those who were imprisoned for their faith began receiving visitors and the soon to be martyred Christians became great examples and teachers for others in their walk of holiness.
2. As has been indicated already by 279 a.d. a movement was afoot. Holiness was still the desire of the hearts of Christians but there was a growing number of Christians who sought it through other means than martyrdom. After all there were hundreds of thousands of Christians and the killing of them was reaching a smaller and smaller number of them. St. Anthony was the first of the desert anchorite (hermit) monks followed shortly by Pachmius. They lived out large periods of their lives in prayer and meditaion. St. Anthony came out of the desert around the turn of the century and made the acquaitance of my patron saint, Saint Athanasius who was so impressed by the spiritual power that was part of Athony’s life that he wrote the latter’s life story. The Anchorite model was followed by many but more and more community models soon developed. No matter the model the idea was to bring the Kingdom of God upon the earth. No matter the model monks and a bit later, nuns, were examples to men and women of holiness.

Famous ancient monks include Sts. Basil, Gregory of Nyssa, Gregory of Nazianzen (The Theologian), John Chrysostom, St. Augustine, and perhaps the most influential of all the monks, St. Benedict of Nursia who was the major factor in stabilizing Europe for a thousand years. He helped bring order into the lives of everyday people by showing that work and prayer are both acts of devotion.

1. One of the most famous nuns of the early centuries was St. Mary of Egypt who left the life of prostitution to be one of the great examples of holiness for all women.
2. Nuns have served as teachers, nurses, and prayer warriors just as men have over the centuries. One of the main reasons the Europe became a bastion of holiness for over a thousand years was because of the lives, prayers, and examples of thousands and thousands of nuns and monks. The principle reason that the ancient world survives in our lives is because of the tireless work of monks and nuns.
3. I believe that the main reason Europe and now N. America are in such perilous spiritual decline is because many of our monks and nuns have left their lives of holiness thinking that they were missing something. Why did they succumb to the temptation? Because too many of us mocked them into despair. Many of us forsook our own quest for holiness and forsook our need to ask these champions for our prayers. We forgot to pray for them and support them.

Monks and nuns along with martyrs are the champions of the Christian faith. They carry the banner for us. Every time we make fun of them or ignore them we slip perilously closer to our own demise. Every time we refuse to have more than two children and tell the few we have that the self giving life of the monestary would cheat us out of grandchildren we show how self centered we have become and how much further we have move away from the kingdom.

I pray that the numbers of monks and nuns would increase. I hail them as the champions they are. I beg them not to give up.

Dan L

 

[kage_ar]

A look at some of the Orders - may God bless these Godly women:

vocations.com/womenrel.html

 

[sparkle]

mercygate:

Their purpose is to respond to the call of God: heart, mind, soul and flesh and through their entire oblation of themselves to unite with him in his love of the whole world. Their purpose is to pray for your immortal soul and mine, and for all of those who have no one to pray for them.

So, sparkle, you still have a little way to come in appropriating Catholic “culture,” huh? Takes a while!

Yep–sorry but guess I really do. This is a hard one to understand for me. But I’m trying. I’ve always been intrigued with nuns, their singing and their robes, etc., I just do not understand, how one can live a life just praying all the time and being locked away in those places with bars and 10 foot walls. (There’s one near my home). Just for further confusion -- I also do not see the point of ALL boys and ALL girls high schools.

 

[allhers]

I find your post very offensive on this thread, however, in case you really are this ignorant, I thought that I could help enlighten you, many Nuns have lived their lives totally in the service of God, they have built hospitals, cared for the sick and dying, clothed the naked, fed the hungry, (look at the life of Blessed Mother Teresa),
they have led lives of prayer(look at Mother Angelic’s order of nuns of Purpetual Adoration, always in prayer before His presence, they never leave Jesus alone and pray for the whole entire world) they, fast, adore, offer prayers of thanksgiving, all for the love of God, they have been Christ to the world, a light on a hill. They are teachers, nurses, doctors, health care providers, they care for the orphans, the lonely, the desperate, the needy, they are so much that I can’t imagine my life without them. I thank God for them! Please check out the home page here at www.catholic.com and you will find a book there by Raymond Arroyo about Mother Angelica, I suggest you read it.

 

[FCEGM]

sparkle:

Hummmm really…I ask you what do nuns do that is so wonderful???

A bit familiarity with European history brings us to the awareness that it was the monasteries that preserved the culture – to say nothing of copying and preserving the sacred texts – during the “Dark Ages”; this, by itself, is certainly a work which yet bears much fruit.

But to address the question further, consider the Person of Our Lord Jesus Christ and His ministry before His Death and Resurrection in order to gain a better understanding of the consistent witness of the Church to, first, the eremitical life, and then the monastic life.

Only Christ Jesus, since He is God and Man, was and is full of all the charisms of life that we could possibly imagine. In His graciousness He allows His brothers and sisters to reflect in their living of His way their own individual expressions of particular charisms. In Jesus’ life we see Him healing the sick, teaching, comforting the poor and the dying (the Good Thief), and praying to His Heavenly Father. So, among His brothers and sisters we see these same charisms reflected: some teach, some preach, some bring healing, some comfort the dying, etc., - all for the glory of God and the furtherance of His Kingdom; so, too, with prayer.

This dimension of the Christian life has far more power to it than most can possibly imagine – and, seemingly, begin to appreciate. When we speak of prayer we speak of prayer we usually think of intercessory prayer, i.e., praying for ourselves, loved ones, and friends. Or we can speak of the prayers of praise and thanksgiving that reflect our debt to our Almighty God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. There is a deeper dimension to prayer, though, as we see in Scripture because there we are told that the Spirit Himself makes intercession within us. The Spirit “groans” with the hunger of love for the Body of Christ He is vivifying.

This hunger of love is what drew Christ to prayer, and continues to draw men and women throughout the ages to seek intimacy with God, offering their lives in an oblation of love to Him, so that the Kingdom of Christ will be seeded in the hearts of men and bear a fruitful harvest for the Master of the Harvest.

Some may think of this as a misguided use of one’s life. Why not go out into the world and bring it the knowledge of Christ in a very immediate way? Well, how necessary is the heart to the body? We have feet that can walk to foreign lands, hands that can touch and heal, mouths that can proclaim the Good News, but without a heart full of love all the functions of these parts will be misused. If the heart is not even beating than these parts are useless. So it is with the Body of Christ: some are the feet, some are the mouth, some are the hands – and some, the heart. This is monasticism. It is the heart of the Mystical Body of Christ, His Church. The zeal for Christ and the coming of His Kingdom burns brightly in these monastic “furnaces” of prayer. The power of this prayer made in union with Christ reverberates through the whole Body. Prayer IS their work.

It can help us appreciate the Church’s understanding of this to remember that along with St. Francis Xavier, the great Jesuit missionary to the Far East, St. Therese of Lisieux (the most recent Doctor of the Church!), the young Discalced Carmelite nun who died in her twenties, is the co-patron of the missionaries. The Church recognized that her work in her monastery was just as important as the more visible and more adventurous St. Francis. (What, though, is more adventurous than seeking the depths of God’s presence by grace in one’s soul?) St. Therese experienced a longing to be everything for Christ: a missionary, a martyr suffering all the martyrdoms of the Saints, a prophet, a doctor of the Church (!) – even a priest; but all these desires were caught up in her sudden recognition that “in the heart of my the Church, who is my mother, I will be love!”

A few years ago a popular Catholic magazine published an article relating interviews with men and women of various monastic Orders reflecting on their lives. Most striking was the interview with a young monk who admitted he was quite humbled by the fact that the only thing the Lord found him capable of doing was praying. This is the witness of a Saint-in-the-making!

We have to remember that any work done for the Lord must be His work, what He has called us to do (to be!). We may all want to be great missionaries (we must all at least desire the furtherance of God’s Kingdom), but if the Lord has something else in mind, we must be willing to drop all for Him, even if it means putting away great ambitions of service and hoeing a very little row in a monastery in some backwater town in France.

 

[sparkle]

allhers:

I find your post very offensive on this thread, however, in case you really are this ignorant, I thought that I could help enlighten you, many Nuns have lived their lives totally in the service of God, they have built hospitals, cared for the sick and dying, clothed the naked, fed the hungry, (look at the life of Blessed Mother Teresa),
they have led lives of prayer(look at Mother Angelic’s order of nuns of Purpetual Adoration, always in prayer before His presence, they never leave Jesus alone and pray for the whole entire world) they, fast, adore, offer prayers of thanksgiving, all for the love of God, they have been Christ to the world, a light on a hill. They are teachers, nurses, doctors, health care providers, they care for the orphans, the lonely, the desperate, the needy, they are so much that I can’t imagine my life without them. I thank God for them! Please check out the home page here at www.catholic.com and you will find a book there by Raymond Arroyo about Mother Angelica, I suggest you read it.

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.

 

[sparkle]

FCEGM:

A bit familiarity with European history brings us to the awareness that it was the monasteries that preserved the culture – to say nothing of copying and preserving the sacred texts – during the “Dark Ages”; this, by itself, is certainly a work which yet bears much fruit.

But to address the question further, consider the Person of Our Lord Jesus Christ and His ministry before His Death and Resurrection in order to gain a better understanding of the consistent witness of the Church to, first, the eremitical life, and then the monastic life.

Only Christ Jesus, since He is God and Man, was and is full of all the charisms of life that we could possibly imagine. In His graciousness He allows His brothers and sisters to reflect in their living of His way their own individual expressions of particular charisms. In Jesus’ life we see Him healing the sick, teaching, comforting the poor and the dying (the Good Thief), and praying to His Heavenly Father. So, among His brothers and sisters we see these same charisms reflected: some teach, some preach, some bring healing, some comfort the dying, etc., - all for the glory of God and the furtherance of His Kingdom; so, too, with prayer.

This dimension of the Christian life has far more power to it than most can possibly imagine – and, seemingly, begin to appreciate. When we speak of prayer we speak of prayer we usually think of intercessory prayer, i.e., praying for ourselves, loved ones, and friends. Or we can speak of the prayers of praise and thanksgiving that reflect our debt to our Almighty God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. There is a deeper dimension to prayer, though, as we see in Scripture because there we are told that the Spirit Himself makes intercession within us. The Spirit “groans” with the hunger of love for the Body of Christ He is vivifying.

This hunger of love is what drew Christ to prayer, and continues to draw men and women throughout the ages to seek intimacy with God, offering their lives in an oblation of love to Him, so that the Kingdom of Christ will be seeded in the hearts of men and bear a fruitful harvest for the Master of the Harvest.

Some may think of this as a misguided use of one’s life. Why not go out into the world and bring it the knowledge of Christ in a very immediate way? Well, how necessary is the heart to the body? We have feet that can walk to foreign lands, hands that can touch and heal, mouths that can proclaim the Good News, but without a heart full of love all the functions of these parts will be misused. If the heart is not even beating than these parts are useless. So it is with the Body of Christ: some are the feet, some are the mouth, some are the hands – and some, the heart. This is monasticism. It is the heart of the Mystical Body of Christ, His Church. The zeal for Christ and the coming of His Kingdom burns brightly in these monastic “furnaces” of prayer. The power of this prayer made in union with Christ reverberates through the whole Body. Prayer IS their work.

It can help us appreciate the Church’s understanding of this to remember that along with St. Francis Xavier, the great Jesuit missionary to the Far East, St. Therese of Lisieux (the most recent Doctor of the Church!), the young Discalced Carmelite nun who died in her twenties, is the co-patron of the missionaries. The Church recognized that her work in her monastery was just as important as the more visible and more adventurous St. Francis. (What, though, is more adventurous than seeking the depths of God’s presence by grace in one’s soul?) St. Therese experienced a longing to be everything for Christ: a missionary, a martyr suffering all the martyrdoms of the Saints, a prophet, a doctor of the Church (!) – even a priest; but all these desires were caught up in her sudden recognition that “in the heart of my the Church, who is my mother, I will be love!”

A few years ago a popular Catholic magazine published an article relating interviews with men and women of various monastic Orders reflecting on their lives. Most striking was the interview with a young monk who admitted he was quite humbled by the fact that the only thing the Lord found him capable of doing was praying. This is the witness of a Saint-in-the-making!

We have to remember that any work done for the Lord must be His work, what He has called us to do (to be!). We may all want to be great missionaries (we must all at least desire the furtherance of God’s Kingdom), but if the Lord has something else in mind, we must be willing to drop all for Him, even if it means putting away great ambitions of service and hoeing a very little row in a monastery in some backwater town in France.

Thank you for your beautiful post! BTW–when did nuns or “sisters” come about?

 

[FCEGM]

sparkle:

Thank you for your beautiful post! BTW–when did nuns or “sisters” come about?

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.

 

[allhers]

Some are cloistered, (just as some Monks are), some Sisters just live their life in the service of God, getting the Vestments ready, some actually make them, some prepare the altar cloths, they clean the Church, they prepare everything so that it is beautiful when you enter the Shrine, they scrub the floors, and bake the hosts, some of them clean, cook, garden, etc…they live in community, as those in the early Church did, they actually give up all worldy things, including, (rare visits with) their own family.
They are living prayers. God bless them all. Some Monks are Priests too, although, not all are. Some are artists, some carpenters, some bakers, some teachers, etc…they also care for the poor, the sick, the needy, look at Fr. Benedict Grochele, that holy man of God has done so much for the Kingdom of God, if you know EWTN at all, you know him too. They have all done so much, and even if all they did was “lock themselves away” as you put it, and prayed, wouldn’t even that be something beautiful for God?! They probably pray the poor souls right out of purgatory the minute they die.

 

[Gottle_of_Geer]

sparkle:

It was pointed out to me recently that in the early Christian Church there were no nuns or monks. When did this come about and why?
I’m having a hard time now understanding the purpose for nuns. Priests, yes I see, because they lead parishes, churches, teach and proclaim the word, but what do nuns do? WHY do they feel a need to abandon life in such a hermit state? I really don’t get it. I see them on EWTN, chanting the rosary, and I can’t help feeling “shouldn’t they all get a life”? I just do not undersand their purpose at all. They all seem to me to be unahppy, miserable women.

When Did Nuns And Monks Come On The Scene?

Sometime around the end of the third century, is when the monastic-heremitic life began to take off. People began by living at home away from social life - then got together to live in common. That’s part of what happened, anyway.​