The religious of certain orders are called friars.
The Latin word frater , which can be translated as “brother” , came to Occitan as fraire . From this term comes friar , a word that in our language refers to the religious of certain orders .
For the Catholic Church , the friars are the members of the mendicant orders that emerged in the 13th century . The friars, therefore, take a vow of poverty and live on charity , renouncing their property. Between them, they maintain a relationship of fraternity (sisterhood).
Friars and monks
The Franciscans, the Servites, the Carmelites, the Capuchins, the Dominicans and the Augustinians are friars. When this condition is placed before the name of the religious, the term fray is usually used. Friar Cayetano Rodríguez , for example, is known as Friar Cayetano Rodríguez .
Unlike monks, friars often carry out their work beyond the limits of their hermitage or convent . Monks, on the other hand, are usually directly identified with their monastery, while friars can be assigned to different places according to the decisions of their superiors.
Like monks, friars live in convents or hermitages.
Life in the monasteries
In a monastery of friars, life is not as it is usually portrayed from the outside. While it is true that these people completely surrender to the will of God, this does not translate into absolute solemnity: humor also has a very important place. A bond of brotherhood and collaboration is created between the friars that can be seen in all aspects of their daily lives; For example, one of the roles is to get up at dawn to prepare everyone's breakfast.
Far from being a prison, a monastery of friars is a place to which one arrives of one's own free will, although to remain there one must comply with certain rules. The basis of coexistence is sincerity , which goes hand in hand with piety and becomes the perfect recipe to live each moment fully. For a friar, happiness is achieved through the fusion between daily life and prayer, between the ties with his brothers and the adoration of God.
The guitar is perhaps the most used musical instrument in the area of the Christian religion, and among the friars it is seen very often to liven up their time together. Sports are also part of their daily activities, among which is reading and studying ancient languages. Precisely, his academic training combines without any problem with moments of leisure, humor and prayer , giving rise to a very balanced life.
While from the outside the abandonment of certain worldly customs can be perceived as a great sacrifice that deprives the friars of their freedom, they see it in a completely different way: by leaving behind these activities that they consider harmful, they access true freedom , they have the opportunity to lead a full life and personal fulfillment. The friar is convinced that abandoning oneself to the mercy and love of God is actually obtaining everything one could ever want.
Friar in botany and nautical
Fraile, on the other hand, is the common name given to several species of plants . Veronica anagallis-aquatica , Muscari neglectum , Papaver rhoeas and Lythrum salicaria are plants known as friars.
In the field of nautical , finally, friar is the rounded bitt that is rooted to the bow of a towing vessel so that the tow rope gains firmness. It is worth mentioning that the bitts are the iron or wooden posts that, installed on the deck near the bow, are used to wind cables .