Today's Gospel Reading & Reflection • Wednesday, December 17, 2025

Sur le Pont D'Avignon (subtitles in French and English)

 Sur le Pont D'Avignon (subtitles in French and English) https://youtu.be/07eY__crBUo?si=211ke_9JKnATYyWS

This past Friday, the feast of Our Lady of .../photos-from-sr-isabel-marias-first-profession

 This past Friday, the feast of Our Lady of ... https://www.passionistnuns.org/blog/2025/12/15/photos-from-sr-isabel-marias-first-profession

Monks and nuns:Key Things They Give Up:

Monks and Nuns: Key Things They Give Up:

Monks and nuns give up worldly possessions, marriage/sex (chastity), personal autonomy (obedience), and often social engagement for a life dedicated to spiritual goals, embracing vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience (PCO), simplicity, and service to God/enlightenment, foregoing family, careers, and personal desires for a life of prayer, contemplation, and community within a monastery or convent. 

Material Possessions (Poverty): They surrender personal property, with anything they owned going to the order, living communally.

Marriage & Family (Chastity): They commit to celibacy, dedicating their energy to spiritual service rather than romantic relationships or family life.

Personal Will (Obedience): They pledge obedience to superiors (Abbot, Mother Superior) and the monastic rule, accepting assignments as directed.

Worldly Pleasures: They renounce typical worldly pursuits like fame, power, luxury, and many mundane comforts for spiritual discipline (asceticism).

Outside World Engagement: Cloistered monks/nuns live secluded lives, limiting contact with the secular world, focusing inward on prayer and community. 

Why They Give Things Up:

Focus on God/Spiritual Growth: To remove distractions (family, careers, possessions) and dedicate their entire being to worship, prayer, and achieving spiritual enlightenment or union with God.

Service: To serve God and humanity through prayer (their primary work) and ancillary tasks like charity, education, or care.

Purity: To live a pure and holy life, pleasing to God, by renouncing attachments that bind them to the cycle of suffering or worldly existence (especially in Buddhism). 

Examples Across Traditions:

Christianity (Catholic/Orthodox/Anglican): Emphasize Poverty, Chastity, Obedience (PCO), and detachment from the world.

Buddhism: Renounce worldly desires (money, power, relationships) and suffering-causing attachments to reach enlightenment, practicing simple living and meditation. 

What do nuns give up?

AI Overview

What Is a Nun? Nuns and Their Role in Religious Communities

Nuns give up personal ownership, marriage, and romantic relationships through vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience, relinquishing personal property, salaries, and control over their lives to live simply and serve their community and God. They give up worldly possessions, often including their inheritance, and commit to communal living, surrendering personal finances and possessions to the order for communal use.  

Key sacrifices and vows

Vow of Poverty: Nuns renounce personal property, including bank accounts, salaries, and inheritances, placing all resources at the community's disposal for shared needs. 

Vow of Chastity: They abstain from marriage and sexual/romantic relationships, dedicating their love to God and their community. 

Vow of Obedience: Nuns commit to following their religious superiors and the rules of their order, surrendering personal autonomy. 

Personal Life: They often give up personal smartphones, social media, and worldly entertainment, focusing on prayer, work, and community service. 

Family: While not necessarily giving up family, they must ensure any dependent children are cared for before entering, as their lives become communal. 

Practical implications

No Personal Finances: Income earned goes to the order; basic needs like food, clothes, and toiletries are provided by the community. 

Communal Living: Everything is shared, from living spaces to resources, fostering interdependence rather than individualism. 

Simplicity: Life is focused on spiritual purpose, with personal desires for material goods set aside for a life of service and prayer. 

https://asec-sldi.org/news/general/vows-catholic-nuns/#:~:text=Nuns%20take%20solemn%20vows,live%20interdependently%20within%20a%20community.

https://www.newidea.com.au/news/nun-rules-and-facts/

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What do monks renounce?

Ascetics may withdraw from the world or continue to be part of their society, but typically adopt a frugal lifestyle, characterized by the renunciation of material possessions and physical pleasures, and also spend time fasting while concentrating on religion, prayer, or meditation.

How to Pray for Others

 How to Pray for Others (The Secret Weapon You Never Knew You Had!) | Mar... https://youtu.be/5RM8G_mbpiU?si=vSFBQU_sMsLOLP0j

Judith Durham Amazing Grace 1994

Judith Durham - Morning Has Broken