What We Wore Easter Sunday

On me- dress and cardigan: Target; shoes: Nine West via Marshall's;
necklace: Etsy; husband: New Orleans via New Jersey

For more Easter outfits, visit Fine Linen and Purple!

Happy Easter! I don't know about you, but I am a happy Triduum/candy coma. It's been a long full weekend of beautiful liturgy and spending time with friends. Last night we were out until 2am attending the Easter Vigil Mass at the Southern Baron's old parish, and then going out to a diner for a milkshake-laden afterparty. This morning we groggily went for round two at our neighborhood parish, where I was a lector at the 11am Mass. Afterwards we went into the city for lunch and lots of Catholic nerd conversation at a friend's apartment.

Even though it's a little chilly here, it was so refreshing to break out the light spring clothes. It was also a fun reminder of our wedding, since my necklace and his jacket are both from that day. The blingy string of pearls is a little too fancy for most days, but I wore it on Christmas Eve too, so I might just bust it out for all future solemnities. The dress is also a relic of my wedding planning. Back then I went through a period of silly historian angst that I didn't pick a vintage-y romantic wedding dress, so I figured a sundress would get white lace out of my system. Since then it's been a great warm weather standby.

To close things out here's one of my favorites from last night's Vigil - an Easter hymn by a colonial American composer, be still my historian heart.

What I Wore Palm Sunday

Dress: Old Navy; necklace and belt: Coldwater Creek; flats: Naturalizer

We finally have some spring weather up here. Today I didn't even need a jacket! This dress is a brand new $10  find from Old Navy and the perfect weight for spring. It's so soft and comfortable I'm tempted to wear it constantly until summer. Usually sheath style dresses are tricky on my pear-shaped figure, but all the online reviews said it ran big in the hips. Score! 

This Sunday afternoon our parish YA group went on a mini pilgrimage to the Dominican Monastery of the Most Holy Rosary in Summit. Extern Sister Mary Cecilia gave us a mini tour and told us how daily monastery life works. The nuns of Summit are mildly internet famous for their soap making business, although she was quick to tell us that's just a side gig to pay the bills. Their real work is at the heart of the Church, praying for everyone else. 

Their chapel doors are hand-me-downs from the Waldorf Astoria, how cool is that?

I had a general idea of cloisters, but it was fascinating to meet this cheery extrovert in habit and hear some specifics. She mentioned how constant intercessory prayer requires lots of faith, since you don't often see the results of your prayers. Thanks to their full prayer board of intentions, the nuns aren't hiding from the world's problems in the least. We heard how the nuns joke with each other a lot, sometimes get on each other's nerves, and spoil their golden retriever. Each monastery has its own customs, like how nuns get their religious names. They consider Dominican priests their brothers, and are excited when one comes to visit on retreat. 

Sister did reference their friendly rivalry with the Franciscans, and hinted at how Domincian cloister rules tend to be more practical than dramatic. "Oh no, we don't do the big hair chop like the Poor Clares. We just wear it however is comfortable under our veils."

At one time there were several Dominican monasteries in New Jersey, but now the Summit location is the only one. The original plan was for a square cloister walk plus a 15 altar shrine (!!), but the Great Depression made them scale back the building plans. It's still a beautiful place near a cute town, and their perpetual adoration chapel is open all day. I definitely plan to return and hear the sisters sing the Divine Office sometime.

7 Starting Lent Quick Takes

1. As a New Orleanian, the Southern Baron firmly believes that revelry beforehand is a key part of preparing for Lent. One day we'll make it back to the Crescent City for Mardi Gras, but for now we hosted a party for church friends with lots of jambalaya.
   
2. Fat Tuesday ended up being a date night near Times Square. We celebrated junk food by eating dinner at Shake Shack and then killing time at the M&Ms store. At this three story temple to American sugar consumption you can get candies in every color decorated with personalized stamps, or buy everything from t-shirts to baking equipment. But no Jedi candy dispensers - they only carry Empire characters. 



If there's not enough candy for you,
you can go to their rival Hershey across the street. 

3. Then we saw Ian McKellan and Patrick Stewart in Waiting for Godot, which turned out to be perfect for the night before Lent. The bare set was focused on an almost-dead tree, and we both loved catching all the crucifixion references. One of my favorite parts was at the beginning when the two leads debate the different Gospel narratives about the two thieves who died alongside Jesus. "One of the thieves was saved...It's a reasonable percentage."





View from the cheap seats. 

4. On Ash Wednesday we went to 7am Mass before work and got our #ashtags. This is mine after a full day of work. Every year this makes me realize how much I touch my face during the day.
   
   
   
   
5. I love how commuting into the city makes Ash Wednesday such a public holy day. The pastor of the Episcopal church in our town was giving out ashes at the train station. When I asked if I could take her picture, she said "Sure! Only if you take one with my phone too!" Then I told her about my vestment research, and she informed me her current purple chasuble was from Peru.
   
   
   
   
6. There were two other men in my office wearing ashes, and I only had three awkward "There's something on your face" conversations with strangers. My favorite was the young guy in my elevator on the way home. He gave me a concerned stare, and then shot a reproachful look to everyone else in the car.
   Kid: "Really? None of y'all gonna tell her? That she's got stuff on her face?"
   UPS Lady (rolls eyes): "C'mon, it's Ash Wednesday."
   Kid: "Oh, thank goodness. I was worried she ran into a chimney or something!"
   
7. One of my goals for Lent is to read more books and to review more Bible movies. On Tuesday our parish's young adult group is going to see Son of God. I will be sure to report back. In the meantime, here's my first post on Jesus movies if you're looking for some Lent viewing. 

Visit Jen at Conversion Diary for more Quick Takes!

St. Joseph Church, Maplewood NJ

Since the Southern Baron and I both enjoy being church tourists, we've had fun scoping out weekday masses at some of the parishes nearby. These pictures of St. Joseph parish in Maplewood are from earlier this winter, back when the sight of snow on the ground was actually a novel idea. Please forgive the iPhone blurriness - I didn't think to grab a "real" camera on our way out for diner breakfast food. (New Jersey diners are practically a religious tradition in themselves, but that's another story for another day ;)

St. Joseph was founded in 1914, so they're celebrating their 100th anniversary this year! The parish complex includes a 1930 brick school building, which is currently up for rent. The current church building dates to 1970, and its design is a good example of the way churches built just after Vatican II were a hybrid of tradition and modern style.

The exterior features simple modernist geometry but still looks "churchy" and pays homage to the patron saint. Brick and concrete are more affordable materials often used by suburban parishes trying to keep up with population growth. The chunky stained glass is rather abstract, but will get more literal inside.

The interior is also heavy on unadorned building materials. Heavy ceiling beams are often a prominent feature in churches of the 70s and 80s, lending gravitas with modernist simplicity. Still, the basic layout is not too different from a gothic cathedral; there are pews facing inward from the side "transepts," and a reredos behind the altar features the crucifixion. The tabernacle is still in the center of the sanctuary, suggesting that separate Eucharistic chapels hadn't caught on yet when this church was built. My overall impression of the space was uncluttered reverence.

The really unique thing about St. Joseph was its stained glass windows. They told stories from saints and scriptures with a contemporary flair. I really loved these scenes from the life of St. Joseph:

Betrothal of Mary and Joseph, then the angel visiting Joseph in a dream. 

One of the transepts featured St. Paul, St. Therese, and maybe Pope St. Pius X? Facing them were Moses, King David, and Abraham, uniting the Old Testament with the New.

Our favorite though, was this window about the papacy. We're pretty sure that's Pope Paul VI (the current pope in 1970) next to St. Peter. Note the papal tiara above his head, another tradition that still lingered. These windows show a parish aware of its place in the wider Church and in salvation history.

What I Wore Sunday, Entry 11

Check out Fine Linen and Purple for more Sunday church outfits! This week is hosted by the awesome Mandi of Messy Wife. 

Dress: Calvin Klein, sweater: Ann Taylor, wedges: Dolce Vita via TJ Maxx,
necklace: Forever 21, purse: Relic (thrifted)

This dress represents my effort to participate in this fall's black/white/colorblocking trend. When I bought it the Southern Baron's reaction was "Cruella de Vil?" And so I had to give him a little seminar on women's fashion. He educates me about menswear, though, so it's a two way street.

I do really like the dress' swingy skirt and flattering shape. I was very excited to discover an outlet store called Annie Sez near our apartment, and even more excited when I spied this dress on the clearance rack. It's the first big item I've bought in north Jersey, so I'll probably always associate it with our newlywed months here. Now that I think about it, I'm wearing representations of many different phases of my life: the purse was a thrifting find near my Brooklyn office, the shoes are from a TJ Maxx expedition in Manhattan, I got the sweater in Delaware on a grad school study break, and the necklace hearkens back to my VSC days in St. Louis. Material culture nerd that I am, all this historical context pleases me.

Christmas decorations are up in all the public spaces, but the weather this weekend is ironically warm. Southern Baron has been hunkered down grading, so after church I puttered around makin' groceries and embarking on a epic chicken pot pie project. In case you were wondering, making pie crust in a Cuisinart is gloriously easy. We're also tidying up the apartment because my brother-in-law is stopping tomorrow on his way home from a business trip!

What I Wore Sunday, Entry 10

Linking up with the lovely ladies at Fine Linen and Purple for another WIWS!

Do you other working ladies ever get dressy outfit fatigue? Don't get me wrong, I love me some dresses. After a week of thinking up daily professional outfits, though, I'm so excited finally to wear jeans. By the time Sunday morning rolls around, I usually end up staring at my closet thinking "Unnnh, I guess I should wear a skirt?" How you do make Sunday look special but not feel like a re-run of the work week? 

Jacket: Target (thrifted), skirt: Dress Barn, tank: Anne Taylor Loft,

pumps: Bandolino (hand-me-down from auntie), earrings: gift from another auntie

Because of the jacket, this week's outfit ended up more corporate-looking than I planned. You can't see it, but I also wearing a black cardigan underneath. I've started to feel like this skirt is too cutesy/summery for work, so it is in my workday rotation less. Maybe I'm just bored with it - I bought it for my godson's baptism, and he's now in the 3rd grade! 

The Southern Baron and I aim to get involved in our new parish or die trying. Today was our third time getting asked to bring up the gifts, so that's a good sign! I also put a ministry sign-up sheet in the collection basket. I hope to start being a lector again, and I'm curious about the Habitat for Humanity and St. Vincent de Paul ministries. 

After Mass we spent another afternoon enjoying the brisk weather and fall colors. I'd been envying people's gorgeous shots of Central Park on Instagram, but then I realized our neighborhood is just as pretty. 

See, isn't New Jersey gorgeous?

If you don't think so I'll punch ya in tha face.

What I Wore Sunday, Vol. 9

It's good to be back blogging! The past few months of wedding planning and moving and big work projects and Major Life Changes were busy to say the least. Now I finally feel settled in with my new husband and new last name. (Hint: it starts with a D.) On here I've called him "The Beau" and then "The Bethtrothed," but he needs a new nickname. For now he'll be "The Southern Baron," which he calls himself on the interwebs sometimes.

We're getting to know our little village in New Jersey and have joined a new parish. Sometimes it's lonely being far away from my friend base in the DC area and the Sunday brunch group at his former NJ church. But the gorgeous Gothic building down the street from us houses a busy congregation where the priests are very friendly and welcoming. A new young adult group is starting up there, so we are eagerly attending planning meetings and watching the other people our age come out of the woodwork. Already I've met one other person schlepping into the city for work like me, so that's encouraging. 

Today at the end of Mass the pastor called up all the new parishioners to formally greet them and give everybody a welcome gift. We always feel a little awkward about audience participation segments like this, so after a whispered conference we decided to stay in our pew. "Do you think Monsignor will be mad at us? Nahh, he won't see us back here." Yeah, well he did. He and our deacon friend gave us a good-natured hard time about it, and then gave us a plaque anyway. That's what we get for volunteering for things, haha.  

Sweater: JCPenney, skirt: Old Navy, shoes: Aldo, earrings: Brooklyn Museum gift shop,
family monogram: handmade by by my brother-in-law

This has been our first real week of fall weather, so I finally broke down and unpacked all my lightweight sweaters. My William Morris pattern earrings were a hasty addition as we ran out the door, but they got compliments from the sample girl at the grocery store. She was wearing a knit hat and a necklace that was practically a geode, perfect for hawking a quinoa smoothie beverage. (Would you ever drink that? I am a fan of kombucha and all sorts of earthy/crunchy drinks, but this seemed too sugary to do you much good. Also the banana flavor tasted like baby food.) 

The flats are a new purchase. I'd been eyeing them for a while since I am a sucker for wing tip styling. Finally they went on sale! If I can break them in they should come in handy for being on my feet all night at my museum's gala fundraiser this week. 

After church we strolled around the nearby Montrose Historic District, a neighborhood with lots of pretty early 20th century houses. The town's website has a guide to all the buildings, so we geeked out reading the details of each house on the Southern Baron's phone. Married nerd life is good. 

For some reason this part of NJ is obsessed with Tudor Revival architecture. 

For more Sunday outfits, visit Fine Linen and Purple!

Confessions of a Parish-hopper

In the past five years, I've lived in four different states. This has made me a little commitment-phobic about joining a parish. Should I volunteer for things when I'm just going to leave in a few months? What if there is something better across town? It's helpful to know all the local Mass and Confession times, after all. For better or worse, this has made me into a parish-hopper.

 When I lived in Delaware I ached for Catholic camaraderie. There weren't really any young adult groups to speak of. I went to Mass at the cute historic church up the road, and all the senior citizens gave me the side-eye.

Then I moved back to my hometown in the Diocese of Arlington, where there are more YA events going on than you can shake a stick at. For every weekly listserve I received, there was some other parish hosting a book club holy/happy hour. It was great, but overwhelming. Sometimes I felt like this:

The activities at my parish usually didn't fit my schedule, so I found myself exploring other options. There was the Holy Thursday 7 church pilgrimage from my old parish, the young professionals lectures in DC, the packed Theology on Tap that made me feel old, and the random wine and cheese that a friend invited me to. After a while I felt like Goldilocks trying on all these fellowship groups.

Maybe this one...

It wasn't until I started working on Capitol Hill that I found a place that felt just right. I could see the steeple of St. Peter's from my Metro stop. After long days dealing with tourist questions, the lovely, peaceful church was a place to relax and think. The parish activities were perfect too! Holy hour with confession took place every weeknight, and the friendly priests hosted wine-and-cheese receptions in their historic house rectory. (19th century furniture remains the way to my heart.) The bulletin featured a perfect blend of devout spirituality and social justice service opportunities.

Traveling Mass kits are always so nifty.

 I hopped onto the Monday evening Bible study and Saturday morning food pantry deliveries. By far my favorite outing was a hike in Great Falls Park. On the feast of my patron St. Elizabeth of Hungary, we checked out waterfalls, clambered over rocks, and attended Mass said on a picnic table. Best of all, the young adults group welcomed me without any awkwardness. Even though I technically lived an hour away, no one pointed at me and yelled:

Sadly, all good things must come to an end. Just when I was settling in at St. Peter's and learning about all the Latin Mass options in Alexandria, I got a job in New York. See! I knew I was too transient to get on anyone's lector schedule!

So here I am at square one again, without a church home. The Betrothed has a wonderful parish in central Jersey, also named St. Peter's, but it's just too far from my job to be our permanent place. For now I'll hang out there while I shop around. Hey look! There are two parishes within walking distance of my office in Brooklyn, not to mention the historic ones in lower Manhattan....

What I Wore Sunday - Lessons and Carols

Sweater: Kohl's

Dress: H and M

Belt and boots: Target

Necklace: Mortar and pestle pendant, a gift from my internship at a colonial apothecary shop

I'm back in New Jersey again, this time for the annual Lessons and Carols concert at The Betrothed's parish. He sings bass in the choir, and I am always impressed by how great they sound. I was very proud listening to him intone the first notes of Alma Redemptoris Mater. While he was in rehearsal, I snapped this picture in the newly renovated Catholic Student Center next door, a former convent. My campus ministry center in undergrad was a basement room called "The Catacombs," so I hope these kids know realize how good they have it.

Lessons and Carols is a lovely Advent tradition that I only discovered in the past few years. It combines hymns with scripture readings (the lessons), focusing on prophetic readings about the Messiah. I love how it gives me time to reflect on how long-awaited Jesus' coming really was. 

I also appreciate that The Betrothed's choir director picks lots of great Advent hymns that pack some theological heft. Celebrating the Incarnation should not reduce Christians to Ricky Bobby, cooing over "sweet little 8 pound 5 ounce baby Jesus in your crib with your Baby Einstein videos" and his pretty mommy.  As our priests were so good at explaining yesterday, Christ's arrival for a suffering world means so much more than that. 

For more outfits, visit Fine Linen and Purple!

What I Wore Sunday: Vol. 6, Christ the King

This week I am visiting my fiance up in New Jersey, so I have someone to take my picture! We always go out to brunch at a diner with several of his church friends after Mass. At this point the staff know us and just say "How many this week?" Once he and I ate there on a weekday and a waiter asked "Why are you here today?" You gotta love any dining establishment run by a Greek family. You also know you are in New Jersey when a flyer in the lobby advertises a pro-wrestling "Jingle Brawl" ... hosted at a Knights of Columbus Hall. 

Sweater: Kohl's?

"Pearls": Kohl's 

Scarf: Gift from parents

Sweater tights: T.J. Maxx

Wedges: Aerosoles outlet

Skirt: Anne Klein, thifted. (I bought this for $6 new with tags on four years ago. 

Thanks to Weight Watchers I can finally fit in it. Victory!)

I am big fan of this week's feast of Christ the King. Or as it is called now, "Lord Jesus, King of the UNIVERSE." Did everyone else hear He-Man, Masters of the Universe references at Mass today? Just me? I prefer to think of today as the feast of Jesus' awesomeness + the New Year's Eve of the liturgical year + making autumn more important. Why should December get all the attention?

The cornerstone of Christ the King Parish in St. Louis. I used to live next door. 

 For more church outfits, check out the link-up at Fine Linen and Purple!

We're getting married!

Now for the good news: what I held off announcing on Ash Wednesday is that The Beau and I are engaged! (Should I call him The Betrothed now?) He popped the question on Friday night, starting off what was definitely the best Birthday/President's Day/Mardi Gras weekend ever.

I had suspected something might be up, but Mark completely surprised me by asking the minute I arrived in New Jersey. My Bolt bus was late, we had to reschedule dinner, the Newark train station was confusing, and then I couldn't find him on the train platform when I arrived. Once the crowd cleared and we met up I was ready to lug my bags off. 

But then he said "Wait, I want to ask you something...do you like sacraments?" 

Then in a moment that was both in slow motion and over too fast, he knelt down and asked if I would like to enter into the sacrament of matrimony with him. I dropped all my bags and managed to squeak out "Are you serious?!?!" and then "Yes, of course!" I proceeded to laugh uncontrollably in disbelief for the next five minutes as we ran to catch our dinner reservation. The next day we called our families, and then hosted a dinner party where we told most of The Betrothed's friends. (This engagement party had been cleverly disguised as a birthday party for me. Sneaky!)

The train platform was really the perfect spot. Not only are trains romantic locations in old movies, but this one is next door to his church. It's the same place where I spied him in the campus ministry center, waiting for me to get back from thesis research in New York. And it's pretty symbolic of our 2.5 year long-distance relationship, punctuated by trips up and down the eastern seaboard. 

My ring is also perfect, which shows how well he knows me. The diamonds are from his grandmother's engagement ring, and he had the setting custom made based on a 1940s design he liked. I'd be a fool to reject a man who can invest such great material culture research. 

Being engaged feels both normal and surreal at the same time. In many ways our relationship is the same it has always been, and yet we can finally speak of hopes and dreams that were under wraps until now. It's so great to talk openly about things from wedding readings to our future children to what kind of drapes we would buy for our home. So the past few days have been full of "OMG we're getting married," "future husband," "future wife," and of course, many recitations of this classic Seinfeld scene. 

Advent Wreaths Take 3

Last weekend The Beau and I took a field trip to the Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart in Newark, NJ. It was worth the 45 minute drive. The fifth largest basilica in the United States, it was by far one of the most magnificent churches I've seen in this country. I haven't been this bowled over since I spent a year exploring the Cathedral Basilica of St. Louis.

Planned in 1859, the cathedral was the brainchild of Newark's first bishop, Rev. James Roosevelt Bayley. He was a nephew of St. Elizabeth Seton and a Roosevelt on his mother's side. Like his aunt, he converted from the Episcopal and was subsequently cut out of his parents' will. Bayley grew the fledgling Newark diocese into a flourishing Catholic community, introducing religious orders and encouraging education. He was also history buff who organized church archives and wrote some histories of early American Catholicism. My kind of guy.

Construction began in 1899, and the French Gothic style cathedral hosted its first mass in 1928. It wasn't until the 1950s that the final interior decorations of stained glass windows and carved oak screens appeared.

In 1995 Pope John Paul II visited the cathedral and elevated it to a minor basilica. While he was in town he presided over evening prayer, with President Clinton in attendance.

It's the attention to detail that makes this cathedral so incredible. Every time I turned around I found something new to marvel at. Why yes, that is Judith holding the head of Holofernes in the center of that pediment over a side door.

The myriads of stained glass windows depict more saints than you can count, giving the impression that you are surrounded by the "great cloud of witnesses." I was excited to find one of my patrons in an apse side chapel.

So if you ever find yourself flying into the Newark airport, see if you can make your way to this American Gothic gem. It's not in the greatest neighborhood, but that makes its splendor all the more astonishing. The product of generations of hard work, it stands as a testament to the Communion of Saints we all hope to join in eternity.