CLIFTON Does fashion design have anything in common with a religious vocation? It did for Alida Taylor, a resident of Casa Guadalupe, the Diocese’s house of discernment for women here, because she said they share one important similarity — beauty.
Seeing the beauty in religious life and bringing that beauty into a world that is immersed in a throwaway culture was why the 28-year-old Taylor is following her calling to join the Sisters of Life in New York City, the order she will enter as a postulant on Sept. 10.
Taylor, originally from Louisiana, said, “I always wanted a more full life. I got into fashion design because I considered it a calling in upholding the dignity of people through what they wear. I especially wanted to do this for women and create fashion for a generation of women who were dignified (by what they wore).”
Two years after graduating college in 2010, Taylor moved to New York City, one of the major fashion capitals of the world. There she worked with a costume designer for Broadway shows. She said she enjoyed the many different activities living the city life provided.
“I remember after college I wanted adventure so I moved to the city and I thought about having a family and dreamed of having a career as well. Everything I wanted, it seemed I could have, but then I would lose interest. What it came down to is that I wanted more of Jesus in my life,” said Taylor.
The first time Taylor felt called to religious life was when she was 8. “During elementary school, there was a nun named Sister Roseanne and there was something about her that set her apart from other nuns. In high school, I remember attending an ordination for some Jesuit priests and when they were prostrated before the altar, it pulled at me,” said Taylor.
During her studies at the University of Louisiana, the fashion design major continued to pray about her vocation. She felt the tug at her heart often about becoming a religious sister — a feeling that continued to stay with her throughout her young adult years.
When Taylor moved to the city, she also joined a Catholic young adult group called Frasetti Fellowship of NYC, led by the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal. Through this group, she learned about the Sisters of Life and attended a “come and see” retreat. She also learned about Casa Guadalupe in the Diocese of Paterson from the friars and moved there last summer.
“At Casa, I had the space to grow more deeply in prayer with Jesus, to discern through different communities and to experience his love and mercy for me,” Taylor said. “And the Lord has made his call clear, inviting me to follow his love by upholding the sanctity and dignity of every human life through the Sisters of Life. And with great joy, they have accepted my application to enter.”
But, before she could be accepted to the Sisters of Life, who receive no salary or stipend, Taylor had to be debt free. So she started a GoFundMe campaign on June 29 to raise the funds needed to pay her student loans from college. As the news spread of the page, donations poured in and she surpassed her goal July 14. Her unique campaign drew the interest of television networks including WCBS-TV in New York. “The Lord when it’s His will, he always provides, and I just trust Him,” Taylor said about the GoFundMe campaign.
After a year of living at Casa Guadalupe, Taylor has become the “quickest” vocation from the house of discernment to be accepted, which has already seen many religious vocations from young ladies who have lived there. Taylor is the second young woman from Casa Guadalupe to join the Sisters of Life. Three other women joined the Carmelites and another joined the Dominican Sisters.
As Taylor prepares to enter the Sisters for Life, her proud parents, Alex and Cathy, who live in Louisiana, said they feel blessed to have a daughter enter religious life. Taylor’s older sister, Iris, will be getting married next spring, making it a celebratory year for Taylor family.
At Casa Guadalupe, the young women commit to live there for one year and are allowed to renew for another year if they need to continue the discernment process. They are involved in several apostolates, which include Vita Consecrata, a women’s discernment group; mission trips across the country and overseas; and Corazon Puro, a chastity ministry. The women can often be found attending daily Mass at St. Philip the Apostle Church here and they are associates of St. Michael Friary in Paterson and partners with the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal serving there. Franciscan Father of the Renewal Agustino Torres is spiritual director to the women and helped found the Clifton residence, which is located in a home that formerly served as the diocesan Office for Clergy Personnel and Vocations on Valley Road near the Diocesan Pastoral Center.
With many young women interested in discerning their vocation, Casa Guadalupe welcomes the faithful to help in its mission in the education and formation of these young women, who also receive counseling throughout the discernment period. There are also various apostolic needs such as funding for missions and evangelization materials and household needs for general repairs and renovations.
Holly Lawmaster, housemother at Casa Guadalupe, said, “We welcomed three more young women to live at Casa Guadalupe last month from California, Connecticut and Illinois. We wonder how these women find us but it shows how God is working. These young women are smart, beautiful and love the Lord. A lot of young girls can look up to these women. Religious orders are looking for women who are healthy in mind, body and spirit and holy.”
Information: www.casaguadalupe.net.