Cycle of Confusion

Let's get this straight. I loathe pornography. For my final public speaking speech, I spoke about how porn damages the brain, relationships, and society. The ethos, pathos and logos were on point because truth always prevails. If you can’t make those modes of persuasion work, then you’re probably not conveying the truth. I also discredited vaccines in another class, but that’s a different story for another time.

I find porn to be vile, disgusting, and a key destroyer of relationships. Whether they are marriages, dating relationships, friendships or family relationships, porn just shreds them up from the inside out. I call it the silent killer. I really don't have crazy, unrealistic standards for my future spouse, but I'll be damned if I get with anyone who's into it. That just won't fly with this chick, never has and never will. Ever. I'm that girl, and I won't apologize for wanting better for myself and others. I have standards, hear me roar.

I'm not in the mood to get into it about chastity and purity right now, so that's that. However I will say that pornography strips men of their much needed masculinity, and also deprives women of their true feminity. In turn we have effeminate men who don't know how to conduct themselves as men, and women who no longer possess the mystery of authentic femininity. No wonder everyone is so confused, because no one knows how to act in the first place. Since no one knows how to act, no one knows how to respond to one another. What we have now is a cycle of confusion where no one knows if they're coming or going. You can thank porn for that, since it shrinks the frontal lobe of your brain. It's only the part of the brain that's in charge of problem solving and decision making. No big deal, right? Immaturity is also a factor, and porn does a great job of keeping its viewers perpetually immature. No thank you.

The solution is simple. Painfully simple. Reject it. Don’t be lame, because that’s what porn is. Want better for yourself. There's no crime in that. Want better for your current and future relationships and you'll thank yourself later. If one little girl could reject what wasn’t good for herself and others, then why can't you?

St. Maria Goretti, pray for us.

Praying for Peace

I have to beg all of my readers, fellow Catholics and Christians, to pray for the persecution of our fellow Christians in the Middle East. If you haven’t seen the pictures or read any of the news on their situation, which the mainstream media is being biased on, believe me when I say that the situation is absolutely heartbreaking. There is a genocide going on, and we cannot continue to avert our eyes, and remain in our comfort zones. Not while men, women and children are being slaughtered like animals, for believing in Jesus Christ. As Pope Francis recently said, this crisis offends God.

Please continue to pray, fast and offer sacrifices for peace, the courage of the persecuted and for the conversions of the persecutors. Also, especially pray for peace on August 17th.

Our Lady, Queen of Peace,
Pray for us

Our Lady, an Announcement & Salty Carmel

First off, happy solemnity of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel! May she bless, protect and save us all from everlasting death, through the means of the Brown Scapular. St. Simon Stock, pray for us. 

Now, you may or may not have noticed that something is different around here. I’ll give you a second to look around and find it.

Found it yet? 

That’s right. I’m no longer going by “The Cali Catholic Girl”. While the title was a cute creation, and I’m grateful it helped me make some sort of name for myself and my obscure little blog, it was time to move along. Not too drastically life changing or even shocking. The content won’t change at all, simply the blog title and url. 

So here we are. 

The Salty Catholic. 

Aside from inspiration of the Holy Spirit, I chose this name for a number of reasons, but I won’t bore you with the details. Let’s just make a short list instead.

• As Catholics, we are called to be the light of the world, and salt of the earth, as read in Matthew 5:13-16. Also, by renaming the blog as The Salty Catholic, it personally pays homage to a deal I made a long time ago; to be the light of the world and salt of the earth. You can find more on that in my memoirs, many decades from now. Stay tuned. 

So here’s our equation so far: Salt + Catholicism = a Salty Catholic

• In the Catholic Church, salt is viewed as a powerful sacramental when it is blessed or exorcised. I prefer exorcised, just to give it that extra oomph. Back to the drawing board: Salt + Catholicism = a Salty Catholic

• Lastly, in modern culture among our youth, the word “salty” has become an adjective to describe someone who is a bit bitter or testy. In all honesty, it perfectly reflects my personality, because I am Catholic, and I can be salty. For however long you’ve graced this little blog with your presence, you should already have an idea of that fact. I’m definitely not salty all the time, but I also won’t deny that that is how I can be. Again, Salt + Catholicism = a Salty Catholic. 

So, it makes sense. To celebrate today’s special solemnity and word play, I’ll be attempting to make salted caramel. Or should I say salted Carmel?

It only makes sense. Pax.

What time is it? It’s Novena Time!

It’s that time of year again. Summer has just begun, and that means Bl. Pier Giorgio Frassati’s feast day is right around the corner! July 4th, to be exact. In celebration, please consider joining in the novena in his honor, which starts on June 25th. More details can be found here. It’s going to be awesome, and I’m looking forward to it. 

Here’s the thing about Bl. Pier Giorgio; he’s incredibly generous in Heaven, just as he was on Earth. In my own personal experience, when you faithfully and humbly approach him with sincerity, he’ll have you covered. Just one of the many, many reasons he’s my favorite man up in the Heavens. 

Besides, who can say no to this face? 

I hope you join this novena, and receive many blessings from our dear mountain climbing friend up above. 
Until next time, verso l’alto!

The Secret to Love

Happy Valentine's Day! A holiday that is so hated yet loved, but in reality the feast day of a great martyr. Despite being single, I personally enjoy Valentine's Day because I'm all for love. Authentic love, that is. Although I am not even remotely close to getting married, I'm already feeling bad for my future spouse because Valentine's Day and my birthday are nearly back to back. Sorry buddy, wherever you are. You'll get extra prayers today. Anyway, in the meanwhile, I have been busy living my community life, watching season 4 of Downton Abbey (I'll miss Matthew forever) and discerning life in general. I also gave a chastity/purity talk to middle schoolers, which was a pretty cool and fruitful experience. Now where were we? 
Oh yes, Valentine's Day.

Love is something that we all long for, whether we admit it or not. Today I'm not going to go on and on about how great chastity and purity are, even though they are pretty awesome and forge the strongest and best relationships. Instead, let's just talk about love. I've said it before, and I'll say it a million times over a million more: love is sacrifice. Where there is no sacrifice, there is no love. When selfishness enters, everything begins to turn to dust. Really. Let's take St. Valentine himself for example, since today is his feast day. He loved God so much, that he sacrificed his life by being brutally beaten with clubs and beheaded, rather than renounce his faith. If that's not love, I don't know what is. So when you see the day plastered in pink and red tones, cheesy bears, pretty flowers and cheap chocolates, forget about the commercialism and remember the day originally bloomed from one man's wholehearted love for God. Major Catholic win for the world.

From the heroic example of St. Valentine and many others, we will never understand or experience true love, until we learn to sacrifice. Yes, it can be painful and it hurts, but love is worth it. This we have learned from Our Lord, Who so willingly sacrificed Himself for love of us. Hence why I state the crucifix is the image of authentic love. So if you want true, selfless and everlasting love, go to Christ crucified. There's no greater love than His. As St. Clare of Assisi said, "Totally love Him, Who gave Himself totally for your love."

Until next time, single or not, I hope all of your hearts remain between the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary, because there's where true love endlessly resounds. 

St. Valentine, ora pro nobis!

The Saintly Celebration

Happy All-Saints Day! All you holy men and women, ora pro nobis! 
In a recent post, I said I wasn’t going to celebrate the mainstream version of Halloween. Instead I celebrated Holyween, in preparation for All-Saints Day. I don’t think I’ve ever had that much fun, and neither have my brothers or sisters. Putting together our costumes was so much better than buying costumes that we probably won’t remember in a few years. So without further ado, I present to you a glimpse of what my very Catholic Halloween looked like. 

Here I am with my youngest brother, as Our Lady of Mt. Carmel and Baby Jesus. Getting him to wear his costume was a huge accomplishment!

         From beginning to end is St. Francis Xavier, St. Rita of Cascia, and a wingless St. Michael the Archangel. 

St. Kateri Tekakwitha 

                                   The now-winged St. Michael!

Special thanks to my mom for sewing, creating and helping with our costumes! We love you mother dearest. 

For the past two years I’ve dressed up as Momma Mary, but my figurative and literal Papa Joseph is nowhere to be found. God really does have the best sense of humor. :)
I’m already thinking of what to be next year… but for now I’ll try to wrap my mind around the fact that this year is almost over. So, so much has happened in the past year, and I can’t believe this chapter is almost over! Praise the Lord. Anyway, have a blessed All-Saints Day… remember that it’s a holy day of obligation, so now you can’t say that you forgot or didn’t know. You’re very welcome. Pax. 

A Mother's Tears: Feast of Our Lady of Sorrows

 Happy feast of Our Lady of Sorrows! I am delighted to finally say that earlier today I finished my Marian consecration using St. Louis de Montfort's formula, so I am now consecrated to Our Lady of Sorrows. *cue the hoorays and confetti in my mind* This was my first Marian consecration, and being consecrated to the Mater Dolorosa couldn't be anymore aligned with Divine Providence. Deo gratias! 

 For the remainder of this day, I strongly urge you to remember Our Lady's pains, sympathize with her and thank her. When she gave her fiat, not only did she say yes to joy, but also to sorrow. How selfless and loving is she to have said yes to suffering the most agonizing martyrdom of all.  
While most of us will naturally be inclined to shy away from suffering pains, our loving mother embraced them, just as her Divine Son embraced His own sorrowful Passion. One meditation that can be made on the Mater Dolorosa, is on her most pure tears, shed for her Divine Son. Bl. Catherine Anne Emmerich, who was granted visions of Our Lord's Passion, recounts in the Dolorous Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ, about Our Blessed Mother that during the Scourging at the Pillar: "She groaned feebly, and her eyes were red with weeping."

 Yes, her dolors were great; so great that if she had not been preserved by God, her soul would have departed her immaculate body. Yet, even though her sorrows are incomprehensible for us to fully understand, "Her one consolation at the sufferings of her Son was the knowledge that through His death we would be redeemed.*" Next to the Passion of her Divine Son, this is also an image of true love. And so, do not be afraid to approach Our Lady, because she loves you more than you can imagine. Her sorrows are evidence of this. Her Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart loves like no other; the Heart of a selfless, patient, understanding and beautiful mother, both inside and out. Go to her; she's waiting for you with open arms, so that she may gently guide you to her beloved Son.

"Can the human heart refrain from
partaking in her pain, in that Mother's pain untold?"
-from the Stabat Mater

Mater Dolorosa, ora pro nobis, now and always.
-Yvonne Gemma

*quoted from Devotion to the Sorrowful Mother (highly recommended for fostering a devotion to her)

Heaven's Jubilee: the Assumption

Happy feast of the Assumption! It is indeed a Holy Day of Obligation, so yes, you have to go to mass. It is also a very important Marian feast day. Applying papal infallibility, on November 1st, 1950, in the Encyclical Munificentissimus Deus, Pope Pius XII stated that the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary is a dogma of the Church. Within Holy Mother Church, there are doctrines and dogmas. While they sound alike, they actually differ. A doctrine would be an official Church teaching, such as transubstantiation or the Communion of Saints. On the other holy-hand, a dogma is an article of faith that has been revealed by God, which Holy Mother Church presents as obligatory to believe. There are four Marian dogmas; the Assumption is one the them, along with her Divine Motherhood, Perpetual Virginity and Immaculate Conception. Our Blessed Mother was blessed bearing the truths of these four dogmas, because as the dogma of the Immaculate Conception reveals, she was completely preserved from all stain of Original Sin. Therefore, Our Blessed Mother was perfectly pure and holy in every way. It is fitting that one so clean and undefiled would carry the Son of God, the Word made Flesh; Jesus Christ, in her sacred womb and also be graced to be taken, body and soul, to Heaven, where nothing unclean enters. (See Rev. 21:27)

"the Immaculate Mother of God, the ever Virgin Mary,
having completed the course of her earthly life,
was assumed, body and soul, into heavenly glory."
-Munificentissimus Deus

This day should be a celebration of love for the Blessed Mother and awe at the mighty works of God Almighty. How good and loving is Our Lord to have protected Our Blessed Mother from the bodily corruption that naturally follows after death. One cannot fully fathom the joy of Mother and Son being reunited for all eternity, as their Hearts beat as one. Another subject to meditate on is the jubilee which followed Immaculate Mary's entrance into Heaven; my thought of it is all nine choirs of angels singing and flying everywhere, while the Son embraces His Mother. As she is now in Heaven with God the Father, Her Son, and her spouse the Holy Spirit, she became our powerful yet gentle Queen, Mother, Advocate and Intercessor. 24 hours is not long enough to give all of the praise and thanksgiving the Feast of the Assumption totally deserves. However, while the feast itself cannot be prolonged (August 15th doesn't last forever), it can still be kept alive in our hearts by daily honoring Our Blessed Mother and giving thanks and praise to Our mighty God. 

On a side note, I am at the beginning of my Marian consecration to Our Lady of Sorrows, which will end on the September 15th, her solemnity. I would greatly appreciate prayers for perseverance and a fruitful consecration!

I sincerely hope that you have a joyous feast day with an increase of love for Our Blessed Mother! Salve Regina!

                    


Mater Dolorosa, ora pro nobis,
-Yvonne Gemma

Hiatus Over, Rants are Back

I'm back! I didn't go anywhere, but in the past two weeks I couldn't find time to sit with my coffee and type away. My apologies. However, my little hiatus has been very eventful. The most important is that my baby sister, Gianna Maria, was born healthy. Thank you baby Jesus and St. Gerard! She's such a little blessing, and she has my eyes. Double-win. Since we have not had a baby girl in my immediate family in 10 years, I'm soaking up the newborn baby smell, shades of pink, bows and cuddles. Life is grand. It's also good training for the future, Deo gratias.  
I have about a million things running through my mind for this post, so I'm just going to jot a few relevant ones down.

Firstly, happy feast of St. Ignatius of Loyola! Let's celebrate with an inspiring quote by him! 

"If God causes you to suffer much, it is a sign He has great designs for you, and He certainly intends to make you a saint. And if you wish to become a great saint, entreat Him yourself to give you much opportunity for suffering; for there is no wood better to kindle the fire of holy love than the wood of the cross, which Christ used for His own great sacrifice of boundless charity."

St. Ignatius, ora pro nobis!

Secondly, I recently completed a novena to Our Lady Undoer of Knots. The results were not what I expected, but my prayers were certainly answered. As St. Teresa of Avila said, "More tears are shed over answered prayers than unanswered ones." It was definitely tough love, but this beautiful novena taught me to really put trust in God's Divine Providence and to abandon myself to His will. I'm still a work in progress, but that's what perseverance is for! I highly recommend it to anyone that has "knots" in their life. It can be found here. 

Thirdly, the liberal media needs to stop taking what Pope Francis says, out of context, and Catholics need to stop believing what is being twisted. Because his quotes tend to be simple (yet still acute), the liberal media has taken advantage of their simplicity time and time again. For example, if the Huffington Post reports something that Pope Francis said, yet they try to decipher or add their spin on it, frankly, it's not worth believing. In fact, I won't believe anything any liberal news outlet says about the Pope's sayings or quotes, because they are not understanding them in the context which they are meant to be understood. Catholicism is already very misunderstood as it is, so why would/should we (Catholics) believe what the liberal media, the source of the corrupt agendas against our religion, has to say, especially when it comes to matters of faith? 

Lastly, I've had O Sacrum Convivium stuck in my head for the past three days. It's a recurring #CatholicProblem for me to get traditional hymns stuck in my head for days, but it really is great because I enjoy singing the soprano part. Thank you choir. This text was authored by St. Thomas Aquinas, in honor of the Blessed Sacrament. I find Latin hymns to be much more meaningful especially during the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, because they are beautifully composed, the translations are equally beautiful and Latin is a powerful language. To sing is to pray twice, and to sing in a language the Enemy fears is the perfect storm. 

The translation is, "O Sacred banquet! in which Christ is received, the memory of His passion is renewed, the mind is filled with grace, and a pledge of future glory to us is given. Alleluia." 

That's all I've got for today, and now I'm off to enjoy some flapjacks and baby Gianna cuddles. 

Mater Dolorosa, ora pro nobis,
-Yvonne Gemma

Joyful Holiness: Bl. Pier Giorgio Frassati

 Today (July 4th) is not only the celebration of America, but also the feast day of Bl. Pier Giorgio Frassati. He is one of my patrons and favorite holy men, right next to St. Gabriel Possenti and St. Thomas Aquinas. Let's look at the basic 

facts about him.

Bl. Pier Giorgio Frassati
Born: April 6th, 1901, Turin, Italy

Died: July 4th, 1925, also in Turn, at the age of 24

Occupation: Third Order Dominican, servant of the poor and social activist.

Cause of holy death: Without warning, he died within five days of developing polio. It is believed he contracted the disease from the poor he was serving. To his parents surprise, thousands arrived at his funeral to pay their respects to, as Bl. John Paul II called him, "a man of the Beatitudes". 

Not only was Bl. Pier Giorgio truly "a man of the Beatitudes", he was also a great example of joyful, devout Catholic living and piety, especially for the youth and young adults in the world of today. This holy young man was selfless, brave, handsome, chaste, athletic and always ready for a good joke. Although he was born into a wealthy Italian family with prominent influence, that did not hinder his extraordinary virtues or path to holiness. Bl. Pier Giorgio understood that where faith is, holiness and happiness are also nearby. He demonstrated this when he said, "You ask me whether I am in good spirits. How could I not be so? As long as faith gives me strength I will always be joyful!" 

Although he was indeed joyful, his life was also touched with sorrow. Each sorrow that the saints endured were all unique and specially designed for them, as a test of their faith. His own trial was just that. It came in the form of heartache. Bl. Pier Giorgio fell deeply in love with a girl named Laura Hidalgo, but this love was not destined for the altar. Because of social prejudice towards Laura from his mother and his own painful realization that it was not God's will, he did not pursue a relationship with her. Despite the sorrow he endured, Bl. Pier Giorgio sincerely fulfilled what true love calls for. Since love is not about happy-fuzzy feelings or emotions, but rather doing what is best for the beloved, which requires sacrifice, Bl. Pier Giorgio carried this out faithfully and with masculine grace. By sacrificing his love for Laura to honor his mother and the will of God, he still experienced and demonstrated authentic, selfless love. 
I especially admire him for this, as it takes a lot of courage to say "No" to our own desires, and "Yes" to God, even when it is painful or difficult. 

It is often believed that to be a saint, one must be gloomy and always in a religious habit. Bl. Pier Giorgio showed the world that to be a saint, you don't have to be somber, boring or in a religious habit. He was fun-loving, exuberant, active and the image of what it really means to be a devout Catholic layperson. Holiness is never boring! As St. Teresa of Avila said, "May God deliver me from gloomy saints!" While the Lord calls many special souls to know, love and serve him through consecrated religious life, He does not call every single one of us to this means of sanctification. This is perfectly okay, as the Lord has other ways of bringing us closer to Him, because truly, we're all called to sainthood, no matter what our state in life is. Bl. Pier Giorgio is an example of that. By God's grace, his life was sanctified by living out his daily life in true joy and genuine charity for all. If all Catholics, young and old alike, imitated his character, we would surely see a change in the Catholic culture.

The phrase, "verso l'alto" is often associated with Bl. Pier Giorgio. The translation is, "Toward the top". There is a photograph of him that captures his last mountain climb as he looks up towards the summit. On the back of this image, he wrote these words. After his unexpected death, the simple expression later proved to be a portrayal of his life and spirituality. Bl. Pier Giorgio certainly did move "verso l'alto". His joy here on earth has been magnified a thousand times over in Heaven, the pinnacle of jubilation, and he is now awaiting future canonization. 

Happy Feast Day!

"In God's marvelous plan, Divine Providence often uses the tiniest twigs to do good works... what would life be without acts of charity?"
                                                               -Bl. Pier Giorgio Frassati


Bl. Pier Giorgio Frassati, pray for us,
Mater Dolorosa, ora pro nobis, 
verso l'alto,

-Yvonne Gemma