Anyone know what the point of Nunning or Monkeying is?

[LaurieFairyCake]

From a spiritual perspective

My daughter asked me over text and I was a bit stumped. I see the point of nuns and monks working in the community and schools to minister to those outside the order.

But wondering about closed orders where they have very little involvement in community or charity work.

I (feebly I think) gave the ‘praying for the world, being close to god’ answer but I’m not sure that encompasses or explains it.

Does there have to be a point, for anyone else at least? They've decided that's what they need to do with their life/faith so are doing that, think they believe staying closed in their own community helps them keep focused on God. Whether that's what God wants them to do however is between them to sort out, don't think they have to have a discernible purpose to the rest of us.

You’re right, I’m not saying there HAS to be a point - just wondering if there is more than we’ve stated about being close to God

Sorry, didn't mean that to sound snippy, more meant they're just doing their own thing and as far as I understand it you've got the purpose right. Might be individual reasons, like someone becoming a monk if they had problems living in a wider community, but generally I thought it was just to focus on God and have no other distractions/life.

It's about devoting your life entirely to God, and giving everything you have - physically, emotionally, and spiritually - to that devotion

My mum was a nun (useless fact)

To achieve enlightenment.

I started a whole thread about non religious orders...mostly inspired by this very thing.

it's because i realised I would absolutely love to live in some kind of closed order or silent order etc but it seems like it's only acceptable if you want to achieve Enlightenment or be closer to god....

My parents are very much from the school of "god loves everyone". I don't even believe in it in the way they do.

but what I do see is that if there was a way to live like this, I would take it, and I am seriously looking at these sorts of options.

also, if someone just stayed in their home like a hermit and prayed a lot, would that make them closer to god? I don't know.

@CMOTDibbler "My mum was a nun (useless fact)"

not useless at all, I would be very interested to hear about her experience. In fact i keep meaning to look up books written by nuns.

Nunning and monkeying??

There’s a documentary on channel 5 called Bad Habits and Holy Orders. I’m one episode the girls visit a closed order which is devoted to prayer.

My mum was a nun (useless fact)

That's really interesting! Did she become a nun after having you or before? (Sorry - you don't have to answer if you don't want to). My DH has a colleague who is a part-time nun.

I also know someone who is a nun in a closed order.

There are some orders who live in houses in the communities they serve. I can totally see the point there.
But closed orders living in essentially museums, bee keeping and praying, not sure how that serves anything?

nunning and monkeying OP?

Kind of disrepectful and ignorant way to put it.

My neighbour is a nun and a headteacher.

HTH.

Mum became a nun in a teaching order after she qualified as a teacher. She didn't talk a lot about it, but I think she was there about 5 years before she decided that she would really want children of her own, so left and taught in Dorset before she met my dad.
Interestingly, she never attended church after we were very little, but was an incredibly kind and patient person who said she didn't need people to tell her how to worship

Interesting CMOT

something I wonder - while thinking about my non-religious order I'd like to set up - is how I would tell my friends and family (parents, siblings) that I was going to live that way.

I think they would find it upsetting if I was only going to see them a couple of times a year. What do nuns and monks generally do about that - do they have a set number of visits etc?

@SpringNowPlease2018 I read Unveiled: Nuns Talking (Mary Louden) a loooong time ago and found it fascinating. It's interviews with 10 nuns from different orders, talking about their motivations, experiences etc: g.co/kgs/xqxzDh

Thanks Ikabod

I am going to look up that Channel 5 show as well, though my experience of Demand 5 is....interesting.