What is a nun?
A nun is a woman who is a member of a contemplative religious order. A nun is a sister who does not go out into the world to work. She and her sisters remain in the monastery or cloister.
What is a sister?
A sister is any woman who is a member of a religious order.
All nuns are sisters, but not all sisters are nuns.
1 comment:
Yes, nuns are contemplatives and sisters have acive apostolates. WE say that as contemplatives our apostolate is PRAYER.
The technical difference between a nun and a sister is that nuns, usually belonging to an order, take solemn vows of poverty chastity and obedience. Sisters, on the other hand take simple vows of poverty, chastity and obedience and usually belong to congregations. So in Canon Law of the Roman Catholic Church the words nun, sister, solemn, simple, order and congregaion have very specific definitions.
The greatest difference between solemn and simple vows, as I understand it, seems to come in the vow of poverty. If a sister in a congregation, like the Sisters of St. Joseph and others, who has taken simple vows should inherit money, that money is held in the treasury of her congregation. The principle cannot be touched without her permission. The interest may be used by the congregation and she may even suggest uses for it. She may even request the use of some of the money. Should she leave the congregation, any interest accrued remains with the congregaton but the principle goes with her. If a nun in solemn vows should inherit money or property it must go directly to her community. Should she leave the order she will not receive any of those funds. They have become the property of the monestery.
Another way to think about this is that any vowed religious in an order is a nun and in solemn vows.
Any religious under simple vows in a congregation is a sister.
Sr. Hildegard Magdalen Pleva, OSsR
Redemptoristine Nuns
MonasticMusingsOSsR.blogspot.com
7:37 PM
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