Convent Life | Why Nuns?
AWhy does the Catholic Church insist upon having a “convent” or “religious” lifestyle for women? The Roman Catholic system depends on new recruits from each generation to sustain growth within the Catholic institutions. Nuns are the backbone of the Catholic parochial schools and Catholic hospitals. Both of these institutions have been instrumental in converting others to the Roman Catholic Church. Nuns are not only responsible for the daily operations of these institutions, but they also teach the tenets of the Catholic Church and warn of the consequences of disobedience to those tenets. To acquire this enormous workforce, the Roman Catholic Church has circumvented the legitimate vows of marriage and family by replacing them with the vow of chastity and a lifetime devotion to the Catholic Church.
The Catechism Says:
917. … Religious life lived in solitude or in community. Different Religious families have come into existence in which spiritual resources are multiplied for the progress in holiness of their members and for the good of the entire Body of Christ.’
The Bible Says:
Genesis 2:24 Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.
Ecclesiastes 7:29 God hath made man upright; but they have sought out many inventions.
The Catechism Says:
927. ÖFrom the outset of the work of evangelization, the missionary ‘planting’ and expansion of the Church require the presence of the religious life in all its formsÖ
929 By a ëlife perfectly and entirely consecrated to [such] sanctification,’ the members of these institutes share in the Church’s task of evangelization, Ö
The Bible Says:
John 17:15 I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil.
Acts 1:8 But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.
The Catechism Says:
915 …The perfection of charity, to which all the faithful are called, entails for those who freely follow the call to consecrated life the obligation of practicing chastity in celibacy for the sake of the Kingdom, poverty and obedience…
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.”
The Bible Says:
1 Timothy 5:14 I will therefore that the younger women marry, bear children, guide the house, give none occasion to the adversary to speak reproachfully.
1 Corinthians 7:8-9 I say therefore to the unmarried and widows, It is good for them if they abide even as I. But if they cannot contain, let them marry: for it is better to marry than to burn.
Titus 2:4-5 That they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children, To be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed.
The Roman Catholic Church seems to teach that the marital relationship is less spiritual than celibate life. The catechism has identified persons who maintain virginity to be more closely united with Christ. However, we find that Convent life is not mentioned in Scripture. Instead the Bible encourages marriage. The Lord did NOT say, for this cause shall a man also leave father and mother and join himself to a group of other celibates, and their way of life shall be established. No such form of life was ever established by the Lord. Had the Lord intended there to be convents with Mother Superiors He would have said so.
In 1 Corinthians chapter 7 the Apostle Paul states that the single person is able to devote more time to serving the Lord due to a lack of other relational obligations. The Apostle Paul is referring to those who are living at home with one’s family. Paul, like Jesus Christ, never mentions religious houses or Mother Superiors.
The call to married life is based upon one’s desire for sexual intimacy. Scripture calls young women to be married and have a domestic lifestyle, but never mentions living in convents. In Titus chapter 2, the Apostle Paul exhorts older women to teach younger women to be workers in the home.
<>In young women’s misguided zeal to serve God more closely, many believe that by abstaining from marriage and a sexual relationship they can be closer to God. The whole concept of convent life is totally opposite to the life for which God has created women. And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him (Genesis 2:18). Sadly enough the Roman Catholic Church has capitalized on this naive youthful zeal in order to fill its job vacancies.