How to Be a Catholic Lay Brother

A Catholic Lay Brother is someone who is not a priest and does not plan on becoming a priest. More often, with Catholics, the term is simply a Brother. If you're interested in becoming a member of the religious order or congregation but do not want to become a priest, becoming a lay brother may be for you.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

1. Consider which order you want to join. Many Catholic orders have Lay Brothers, including the Claretians and Franciscans, the Jesuits and the Christian Brothers (Brothers of Christian Schools).

2. Plan on taking similar vows of priests including chastity, obedience and poverty, depending on the order you join. You will also be devoting a great deal of your time to your community church.

3. Talk to a Catholic Lay Brother to find out what they like about their life and what they don't like so much. Discuss with them whether you have what you need to be happy in as a Catholic Lay Brother. If you don't know of any in your area, see if your local church knows of any.

4. Understand that even many Catholics do not know what a Lay Brother is and you may have to do some education in your community so people understand what you do and what you don't do.

5. Know that like becoming a sister or a priest, becoming a brother is a calling from God. It is not an easy way of life for many people and you will need a strong calling in order to be truly happy as a Catholic Lay Brother.

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