Although usage has varied throughout church history, typically "nun" (Latin: monialis) is used for women who have taken "solemn" vows, and "sister" (Latin: soror) is used for women who have taken "simple" vows (that is, vows other than solemn vows).
A nun should be addressed as "Sister" by anyone of any age. The superior of a religious house of nuns is addressed as "Reverend Mother."
But the normal address and greeting would just be “Good morning, Sister” or “Good afternoon, Sister”, etc. Unless she is a Mother Superior or some such, she is just addressed as Sister. The only exemption I know of would be a Benedictine Choir nun in England, who would be addressed as Dame.
The words “sister” and “nun” are used interchangeably in common speech, even amongst sisters, to describe women religious in the Catholic church. "Sister" is an all-encompassing term that applies to anyone any woman who takes vows in a religious order (including nuns).
NUN: In general, all women religious, even those who are more properly called sisters. While both Nuns and Sisters are addressed as "Sister," there is a distinction made in the Catholic Church which is generally not made by the public.
After several months of living in the order and taking classes, a prospective nun then enters a novitiate. At this time, she will be assigned a new name. After two years as a novice, the nun then takes her first vows, and then after three more years, takes her final vows.
Most people use the term nuns to refer to both nuns and sisters, but there are some significant differences. Nuns' lives are spent in prayer and work within their convent or monastery. Sisters are more active in the world, engaging in many different kinds of work, most often for people who are in great need.
Vow of Chastity (or Celibacy)
The vow of chastity, or celibacy, means that Catholic nuns and sisters do not marry or engage in romantic behavior or sexual acts of any kind. This vow frees her from the demands of an exclusive human relationship so that she can give all her love to God and through God to all people.
The abbess is the spiritual leader of the convent and her authority is absolute (no priest, bishop, or even patriarch can override an abbess within the walls of her monastery.)
In ordinary conversation, the terms "nun" and "sister" are used interchangeably. Both nuns and sisters are addressed as "Sister." In popular culture, the term "nun" is often more widely accessible and immediately understood to refer to women who have professed the vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience.
A woman who has been married and divorced must have her marriage annulled within the church, he said, and, if she is a mother, her children must be old enough to not be her dependents. Widows can become nuns but have different criteria, he said.
Each night, these nuns allow themselves no more than three hours of sleep. Their calling is an extreme one: to stay inside the walls of their convent and spend their days and nights in prayer and silent contemplation.
Nun rules you must follow
You must take a vow of chastity, which means you cannot get married or have sexual/romantic relationships. You must take a vow of poverty, which means you must live a simple life.
The masculine gender of a nun is a monk. The gender of a noun can also be classified grammatically, and this classification includes both male and female categories. A man who is a member of a religious order specifically reserved for males is called a monk.
They call her "Sister Mom." Sister Patricia Schofield is well-known in her convent in Honolulu because unlike many nuns, Sister Schofield is a mother to eight children and has several grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
Nuns, being childless, generally have no break from periods through their lives.
If nuns do "fall in love," what do they do? Yes, as a human and as a woman it is natural for a religious to fall in love with someone, or someone to fall in love with her.
The nuns in remote nunneries still use cloth pieces,” Anim Namgyel Lhamo, an Assistant Programme Officer with Bhutan Nuns Foundation, said. However, menstrual hygiene may start with sanitary pads, but doesn't end with it. Access to proper toilets, equipped with soap and water, is equally important.
Short answers: clothes or underwear as appropriate, nightgowns or other sleeping clothes, and they can go to the beach, particularly when on vacation, according to the rules of their order.
The nuns pray the Divine Office together in choir five times a day, spend an hour and a half daily in mental prayer, do spiritual reading for at least a half hour a day, observe silence except during Recreation which is after dinner and supper; and engage in a variety of work: maintenance of the monastery, gardening, ...
A third order is typically an association of the lay faithful who try to live the spirit of a particular religious order. The most well-known third orders are the Carmelites, Dominicans and Franciscans.
There are three monastic ranks: the Rassaphore, the Stavrophore, and the Schema-Monk (or Schema-Nun). Each of the three degrees represents an increased level of asceticism. In the early days of monasticism, there was only one level—the Great Schema.
Usually a Sister chooses her patron and title because that Saint or mystery in the lives of Jesus and Mary has particular significance for her. We all take the name of Mary first, in honor of our Blessed Lady. We may also choose a second name and a title, or just a title alone.
The Code used the word "sister" (Latin: soror) for members of institutes for women that it classified as "congregations"; and for "nuns" and "sisters" jointly it used the Latin word religiosae (women religious).