Some priests do take a vow of poverty. If my memory serves me right, priests who belong to ordered communities take a vow of poverty. Even then the degree of poverty and self-sacrifice varies from group to group. Some are very austere to the point of sleeping on not much more than a board, eating a very bland diet and working or praying most of their waking hours.
Others, such as the Jesuits and some others do take a vow of poverty but only in the sense that they do not own property. Their material lives are quite comfortable.
Our pastor, Father McGough did not take a vow of poverty. He owned shares, he received a salary, albeit a small one. He hung out with the well off members of our parish, got to play golf at their club and drove a big black Packard. He had a well stocked bar in the rectory too. And yes there was a house keeper/cook.
I believe that priests like Father McGough had to take the other two big vows, those of chastity and obedience.
Our nuns, Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary (IHMs) lived in a very nice convent. I never went upstairs, but I used to help them with chores as a seventh or eighth grader. An older nun cooked for the group. My impression of the vow of poverty is that the nuns give up the right to own anything, that any material things they receive they give to their community. The uncomfortable garb and other seemingly discomforts are part of the sacrifice the young women make when entering the convent.
To me, the biggest sacrifice religious make is the giving up of siring and bearing children,i.e. intimate family life.
These are only my impressions and recollections.
Thanks for bringing up this interesting subject.
Our priests lived on campus where they basically ministered 24/7/365. Our nuns, the Sisters of Notre Dame, taught in the school and then went 'home' to their convent, a beautiful place in the forest foothills about 20 minutes from the school. Their convent was full of wonderful trails and gardens. I loved going there. I'd take the convent anyday!
In grade school our nuns and priests lived right across the street. In high school they lived on the 4th floor of our school which was an old mansion on the north side of Indianapolis.
The priests in our parish were far from wealthy, but they had the freedom that the nuns didn't have. They received a small stipend as a salary and didn't have to buy their food, pay rent, pay utilities, and so forth. Whatever "family" money they might have rec'd, they could keep, though some, like our pastor, used his family money to help our school and our nuns (paid for our gym and for some of the construction of the convent).
Our nuns lived on the 4th floor of our school building until a convent was built for them. They had no money of their own and whatever property/money they had from family was given to their convent. I used to help during the summers, especially when they were getting ready to open up the school for the year--waxing floors, dusting, getting books set up, etc. They couldn't go anywhere alone, usually traveling two by two; later on, I used to be the "second" person if they had to go any where.
I joined the convent after high school (obviously didn't stay) and remember that before leaving for college during the summer, each of us could take a few nickels so we could get coffee or a soft drink while on campus.
The lives of priests and nuns were definitely different in the material ways of the world, but BOTH sacrificed a lot to serve others. Things are VERY different today for both priests and nuns, but they still give up a lot. I thank God for the priests and nuns who were in my life as a youngster--and as a adult.
Grammalpn, so many questions for you. But the biggest is...the nuns are our parish were great. I still keep contact with two of them after all these years and they had a great influence on my life.
Were the sisters a very close group, or did they have their cliques and politital agenda just like any other group? As I mentioned before our sisters were Sisters of Providence and their mother house was in Terre Haute IN. Their founder Mother Theodore Guerrin, is up for sainthood, maybe she has made it by now. But a trip to St. Marys of the Woods was always a thrill. Just curious about what life in a convent might have been like.
