Sorry for the Delay…

Sorry for the long gap in posting—between graduation, spending some time with my family, driving from south Florida back home to New York, and attending a friend’s Ordination and first Mass, it’s been a busy month! But, I hope to resume my regular posting now that the academic year is over.

I did finish my Master’s thesis, titled: “What Does It Mean to Be ‘Dedicated to the Service of the Church?’: Understanding the Call to Service in the Restored Order of Virgins.” We have until the end of the summer to turn in a final copy, and so I am unfortunately still finding myself proofreading, fixing footnotes, tweaking my bibliography, ect.

So for those of you who have written requesting a copy of my thesis—this is what is taking me so long, and I have not forgotten about you! (And if anyone else wants to read my thesis once I have it completely in order, send me an e-mail at: sponsa.christi.author [at] gmail [dot] com). Now that I’m finished traveling, I really and truly do hope to have it done in the next few weeks!

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On a side note, my trip up north this year took a little longer this year, because I actually began it on Pentecost weekend by heading south of Miami! I was able to attend the baptism of a family friend’s first child on Key West, which is the southernmost city in the continental United States (even though it’s an island—I guess it’s considered part of the continental U.S. because it’s in the state of Florida, and Florida is obviously part of the North American mainland).

The baptism was celebrated at the beautiful, historic Church of St. Mary, Star of the Sea, which is the oldest parish in south Florida. Although it is now a part of the Archdiocese of Miami, because Key West is geographically closer to Cuba that it is to the American mainland, it was originally under the auspices of the Diocese of Havana. (You can read more about St. Mary Star of the Sea’s fascinating history here, on the parish website.)

(Here’s a photo we took of the interior of St. Mary, Star of the Sea)

(And here’s one of me holding the Church’s newest member!)

Despite—or perhaps because of?—Key West’s reputation as being a somewhat of a “colorful” or a “party” city, St. Mary Star of the Sea struck me as being home to an especially vibrant Catholic community, with a school, a convent, and a twenty-four hour Adoration Chapel. (I suppose the only thing better than a Perpetual Adoration chapel is a Perpetual Adoration chapel located on a tropical island!)

On my way up north, I was happy to have the chance to visit other family friends in the Orlando area, a seminarian-friend from the Diocese of Raleigh, NC, and to spend a day at the Visitation monastery in Washington, DC. I was also able to visit the Apostolic Sisters of St. John in New Jersey when I stayed with them on the last leg of the long trip. But even after having had an overall very enjoyable journey (minus the part where I got completely, horribly lost in the “interestingly-arranged” streets of Washington yet AGAIN this year), I honestly say that I couldn’t be happier living anyplace other than right here in New York!