What is the difference between Catholic NUNS and SISTERS?
A 'nun' and a 'sister' is the same thing, really. These women take vows of chastity and are 'married to Christ (look at their left hands ... they have 'wedding bands' on just as if they were married to a live man). These days most of the 'sisterhoods' (there are several different ones) don't wear 'habits' any more ... they dress the same as most 'middle class' people do, although it's a bit more 'plain.' No, a 'sister/nun' can NOT marry if they are in 'good standing' (they can 'quit' and renounce their vows, but they are no longer 'sisters/nuns' if they do that, and then they can marry). The 'rules' are different according to the 'sisterhood' a nun belongs to. Why don't you go to a Catholic church and ASK if you can talk to a sister to get your questions answered. I know at my church (the Cathedral church) there are several who would be HAPPY to answer your questions. There is another kind of 'group' that is made of women who live in the 'regular world' but who are 'associate sisters' of the 'nuns' ... in our area they are Carmelites. I'm married, but I could become a Carmelite and stay married ... I'd just have to go to the 'monthly meetings' and attend the 'retreats' and do 'volunteer work' according to my 'agreement' ... I am not, because I have 'ill health' and can't commit my time ... but I may join if I can get my 'health problems' worked out. I'd still be married, and I'd still live with my husband. Sisters/nuns usually live in 'convents' with other sisters/nuns, but some do have 'apartments' of their own, depending on their 'order' (sisterhood) and its rules.
Why do parents admit their children to convent schools?
My sincere apologies to anyone if this answer hurts their sentiments.Let me first explain the meaning of Convent schools. In India, people do not know the actual meaning or the exact purpose of a Convent. Convent schools are specifically those which are attached and run by a convent. (मठ in Hindi) Convent is a building inhabited by a religious community, usually of nuns. We also have some schools similar in lines with Gurukul, which I would say is the Hindu version of a convent. There would also be such versions of convent in other religions.Now to answer your question in parts about why parents admit their children to convent schools. Answer (Part 1) - More than 60% of parents don't. They are fooled by the school names which only state that they are convent schools, but in fact are plain English Medium Schools.Answer (Part 2) - If I was a parent, I would admit my child to a convent for following reasons:To make sure my child understands the religion preached by the convent. Be it any religion, I believe all the religions preach humanity in ideal cases.Many convents come with hostels, which I expect, make my child social, bold, obedient and for other good qualities.Answer (Part 3) - Why other parents admit their children to conventsBecause the neighbour's child is studying in a convent.More than a trend, it has now become a necessity.They think children become fluent in English if admitted to Convents.No need of extra classes / day care / other hassles, if the child is studying in a hostel.
Must a woman be a virgin to become a nun in the Roman Catholic Church?
No, woman don't have be a virgin to become a nun in Catholic Church.The biggest problem for young people who will enter religious community in USA and maybe other countries is student loan because you should not have debt while entering monastery. However if your Vocational Director is able to see your true call from God, they can allow you to work part time outside monastery to pay your loan and start monastic training at the same moment. There are also foundations helping to pay student loans for young nuns and monks.To enter religious community you should have a true call from God first and you should not have any obligations in the world. You should not be marry in Catholic Church or you should have annulment of the marriage (this mean decision of Church that marriage was really never happened, was invalid)). You should not have dependant children. However you can have grown up and independent children if you still in enough young to be accepted what is up to age of 45 or in some monasteries to 55, everything is OK.
Catholic nuns and personal grooming- do nuns shave their legs and underarms?
Different orders of nuns have different rules. That's an interesting question. Nuns are out in the world today like never before. Some orders really don't restrict what the nuns can do. I went to a Catholic-run grad school, and I met the president of the university at my orientation. I would never have known she was a nun. She was dressed impeccably in a really nice business suit. Her hair looked as if it had been professionally done.
What is the point of the Great Silence in a monastery or Convent?
In a monastery or convent when they have the grand silence, it is a time for reflexion and prayer. Whether they are in the chapel or in their own rooms, it is a time for deep thought and also listening. Jesus I trust in you has it right. The main reason one enters these monastery and convents is just that, to dedicate their lives to prayer for the world. God bless you.
If you've ever gone to a Catholic school, why are the nuns so strict and ready to dish out corporal punishment?
When I attended parochial school, the balance was 50/50 Sisters of St. Joseph (not true, cloistered nuns, as another writer has beautifully explained) and lay teachers. I never experienced the kind of corporal punishment associated with strict nuns, but I did have one who made me drink a shot of Tabasco for using profanity in first grade. When I transferred schools in 3rd grade, I was told I missed Sister Mary Yardstick, who allegedly slapped questioners and the left-handed.Corporal punishment was standard in schools public and private and only in recent decades was it banned. One can credit, or blame, the religious history of the US for it being even a Thing at all. Parents took literally the proverb, “spare the rod, spoil the child,” and as schools act in loco parentis (in place of the parent) they felt free to hit kids too. It seems to go further in religious schools, where instructors saw a moral duty that could affect their own salvation if they did not savagely punish a child.The aforementioned Sister Mary Yardstick is an example of this attitude carried to an extreme. Several classmates told me that she was known for slapping left-handed kids and saying that use of the left hand was something associated with Satan. The old nun held on to superstition, without realizing that she was slapping her students for something wired into their DNA.It was not until awareness of child abuse and its long-term effects began coming to the forefront in the past 30 or so years that most US states started phasing it out; however, it continues in some districts.School corporal punishment - Wikipedia