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Monasticism Research Paper

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Monasticism is a religious practice whose members attempt to live by specific laws, customs, and practices that require works that go beyond those of either the laypersons or the spiritual leaders of a religion. From the origins of Catholic monasticism, the works of monks, nuns, sisters, and friars have brought forth many important things. Spiritual development in the form of poverty, chastity, obedience and devoting oneself to sanctity and holiness is their main objective. The preservation of culture and ministering to the poor and ill of society are some of the most important things to have come out of monasticism. Today there are hundreds of religious orders, communities, and congregations and each one bases its spirituality on its founder …show more content…

They were able to teach the barbarians how to grow food, build bridges, aqueducts, and sewers. They also taught them how to make and interpret laws. The monks were able to preserve the Roman and Greek history by sharing it with the barbarians. Mother Teresa of Calcutta who lived from 1910 until 1997 received permission from the Pope to start her own religious community in order to work amongst the poorest of the poor. She founded the Missionaries of Charity, which is a Roman Catholic religious congregation. She taught Catholic Church doctrine on abortion, contraception, euthanasia, and social justice. She founded modest hospitals, clinics, schools, and centers to care for lepers in India and AIDS patients in the United States. Mother Teresa helped develop hospices and homes for people with tuberculosis. She started soup kitchens, dispensaries, mobile clinics, counseling programs and orphanages for those with needs and no means to pay for these services. "She addressed the United Nations, the U.S. Congress, and the President of the United States, and boldly defended the life of the unborn and promoted adoption and Natural Family Planning as the only moral alternatives to abortion." (Trigilio and Brighenti 2003, 310) By 1996, Mother Teresa was operating 517 missions in more than 100 countries. Mother Teresa's Missionaries of Charity grew from twelve to thousands serving the poor in 450 countries around the world. In 2012, the Missionaries of Charity had over 4,500 sisters and was active in 133

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