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Hi, Nora —
Thanks for the question.
- A brother is any male religious, vowed to:
- poverty
- chastity, and
- obedience
and
- is part of a community of those so vowed.
- A priest is a man ordained
to the ministerial priesthood who can consecrate the Eucharist and perform
other sacraments. A priest can be either:
- secular (diocesan, meaning he
belongs to a diocese) or
- religious (see above).
- A monk is a contemplative brother, (usually cloistered, or isolated from the world), as opposed
to those involved in apostolic work within the world.
Monks, in other words,
are devoted to prayer and have little contact, if any, with the outside
world, whereas brothers, who are not monks, typically mingle with lay people
more and serve schools and things like that.
All monks are brothers, but not all brothers are monks.
Some priests are
brothers, and some priests are also monks, but not all.
Similarly, some nuns are contemplative sisters, while others serve:
- churches
- schools, and
- typically,
mingle more with lay people.
Eric
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