The Case of Not Liking Being Catholic

Read on before you judge based off of the title alone. Or go ahead and judge me, although you’ll just help sanctify me in the process.

Two posts in one week? I must be going crazy. Or I’m just itching to write something before I go crazy. Both are true, more or less. It’s like I get these pounding ideas from keywords, phrases, or inspirations from anywhere, and I’m uncomfortably antsy until I spit it out. Or until I lose interest, it always depends. It’s been fun and interesting figuring out how I work as my personality settles in, because so far not many have been able to handle it. I blame it on being choleric. Well, the blame doesn’t solely lie there, but it is a momentum of prominence since some temperaments mesh better than others. My sister is phlegmatic and we get along fabulously, until someone wants to borrow a blouse or misplaces makeup. That’s sister life, yo. 

Anywho, all of the above has little or nothing to do with the continuation of this post. 

Source: Tumblr

A few days ago I was finalizing the outline for a talk I gave, and I started wondering why I’m still Catholic. I can be pretty terrible about it. Confession isn’t a sacrament for nothing, let me tell you. Having a veil and carrying around a rosary don’t count for much, not all the time. But that doesn’t mean I’m leaving the Church or even questioning the faith, not at all. Quite the contrary.

 So I continued to think about it, with Milky Chance accompanying my thoughts and the click-clack of my bright red nails pushing down letters, tying together biblical typology between Jesus and Jeremiah. Secret’s out, that’s how I (always) work, even writing this. As I continued to (surprisingly) think, I had one whiny thought.

Being Catholic is hard. 

The raw truth is that I don’t always like being Catholic. Romanticism aside, being Catholic is one of the most difficult feats I’ve ever attempted to accomplish. Sometimes my only reasons are just fides et ratio… faith and reason. Still, that doesn’t mean I’m quitting or throwing in the towel. I know damn well that the Catholic Church is the fullness of truth, and to go anywhere else would be to cheat myself not only of salvation, but also of complete truth. I couldn’t comfortably live with that, and the thought of living without truth is a scary one. Because if you don’t possess complete and full truth, what do you have instead? 

Nothing. 

I like to think that even in my choleric state, I pick my battles very wisely and carefully. I somehow know when to stand my ground, and when it simply isn’t worth it. This isn’t one battle I’m going to cave on. By the grace of God alone, I’ll reach the finish line, even if that means crawling on my gravel-filled hands and blood soaked knees. Graphic, but triumphs have never been for the pansy-hearted.

So I don’t always like being Catholic. That’s precisely because of my fallen nature, my own vanity, my own pride, my own blindness, and above all, my own sinfulness. However, because being Catholic is hard and because I don’t always like it, that’s exactly why I have to be Catholic. In continuation of that premise, I need to be Catholic because I don’t always like being Catholic. I keep saying I don’t always like being Catholic, and God could smite me for that, or you’re probably thinking, “Then just leave, you crazy girl.” 

But I won’t leave. I also hope God doesn’t smite me, because my beloved St. Teresa of Avila didn’t pray for years and she came back with superhuman holiness. Checkmate. 

No one is forcing me to be Catholic, I’m a grown girl and it’s my decision to remain where I’m constantly challenged and pushed. I am painfully aware of my faults, shortcomings and imperfections. I won’t pull a Popeye and say, “I am what I am.”, because that’s not what I am. And guess what? The only thing that uproots it all from the inside out, is Catholicism. Through Catholicism, faith, reason and maybe even nights like this, I am most myself. How could I ever leave that? Sure it’s not always pretty and petite, but I don’t believe life is meant for that. Without struggles, there is no celebration, and without pain, there is no comfort. Without Catholicism to challenge me and make my life difficult, I can’t imagine what I’d be. I actually can, but I’d rather not be that. 

So that’s it. I don’t always like being Catholic, but I am precisely because I need to be. It’s a paradox of sorts, but I can safely say that that is a part of me, and I’m fine with it. 

I think I forget that people actually read what I toss out in the open, so thank you for putting up with my choleric schemes and ridiculousness, because half the time I take to the keyboard, my mind is half here and half there, wherever there is. I’ll tell you when I find it. 

Exactly What You Need to Give up for Lent

Lent begins in exactly one week, on the 18th of February, but you knew that, right? Where did the ordinary time go? 

*ba dum tsss*

Anyway, last year I came up with a list of 40 Lenten sacrifices, which became the second most popular, shared, and read post in the history of The Salty Catholic. The first was the one about summer modesty, which ruffled some feathers but why would anyone even bother defending immodesty in the first place, especially being Christian? A perfect example of the backward culture of today.

Since Lent is right around the corner, many of us are preparing to sacrifice our little, and not-so-little delights, fancies, and whims in order to die to ourselves physically, to elevate ourselves spiritually. That’s not to say that our bodies are bad, (Theology of the Body, anyone?), but we don’t always have to get whatever we desire, because then it’s easy to forget about the soul when so focused on the body. It’s both a difficult and wonderful thing to be able to say “no” to yourself, for the sake of a greater “yes”. In this Lenten case, the “yes” is cultivating a deeper spirituality and love for Our Crucified Lord. 

While giving up things like coffee and the snooze button are true and admirable sacrifices, if you cherish your sleep and are a heavy coffee drinker like I am,  
the most important thing to give up for Lent isn’t coffee, chocolate, the snooze button, or even social media.

Exactly what you need to give up for Lent is sin and vice. 

They go hand-in-hand; vice leads to sin, and sin feeds vice. However, on the flip side, virtue does the opposite, since it roots out sin and crushes vice. 

Though we (should be making) make the firm resolve to turn away from sin during each confession, the determination must not waver or fade away, especially not now with Lent. If anything, the resolve should be even greater, since our sins are what put Our Lord on the cross. 

To be more specific, let’s look at the seven deadly sins, and the seven virtues which counter them.

Lust vs. Chastity (purity)

Gluttony vs. Temperance 

Avarice vs. Charity 

Sloth vs. Diligence 

Wrath vs. Patience 

Envy vs. Kindness 

Pride vs. Humility 

Pride is the biggest one to beat, not only because it’s the most deadly and damning of all seven, as it is what caused Lucifer to fall, but because it is what spiritually blinds us from seeing our other sins and vices. Since pride is so incredibly blinding, it becomes difficult to see our faults by our own volition. In a state of prideful blindness our sins, vices and mistakes become invisible to us. They are definitely present; we simply refuse to see and remedy them. And if we refuse to see them, then they won’t go anywhere. There they will remain festering, and quietly, or not-so quietly, self-destruct our virtues, relationships, and souls. That’s not very enticing, is it? 

In Proverbs 3:34, it says, “God is stern in dealing with the arrogant, but to the humble He shows kindness.” To combat pride, we must be humble and exercise humility. St. Augustine said, “It was pride that changed angels into devils; it is humility that makes men as angels.” It is only with the eyes of humility that we can truly, honestly look at ourselves and begin root out our sins and vices, which is my challenge to you this Lent. Even so, if this still proves to be difficult, which is understandable, but still not an excuse, I encourage you to pray to Our Lady of Sorrows to reveal your vices to you. When Simeon prophesied that baby Jesus was set to be the fall and resurrection of many in Israel, he also said to the Blessed Mother, “and thy own heart a sword shall pierce, that out of many hearts, thoughts shall be revealed.” (Luke 2:34-35) Cling to Our Lady as a child clings to his mother, she will never disappoint. 

No one is perfect, and the concupiscence is real. However, that shouldn’t discourage us from striving for holiness, which begins with humility. As a tip, St. Faustina said, “He who wants to learn true humility should reflect upon the Passion of Jesus.” (Divine Mercy in my Soul, 267)

All in all, whatever you decide to sacrifice or work on for Lent, don’t forget to let love be your motivation. Since Valentine’s Day is coming up, it seems appropriate for this quote by Matt Fradd, since we’re on the topic of love: “We were made by love, to love, and for love. If we don’t get love right, we won’t get life right.” 

I sincerely hope you all prepare well, and have a spiritually fruitful Lenten season. Know that my prayers are with you, always. Pax.

How to Damage Your Soul in Six Easy Steps

Body and soul. That’s what makes us up, as human beings. There is also the heart, but I’m leaving that subject untouched, for now. 

We are both corporal and spiritual, made in the image and likeness of God. Lately I’ve been pondering the nature of the soul, especially in moments of metaphysical pain and joy. As the Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches in paragraph 366: “that every spiritual soul is created immediately by God - it is not “ produced” by the parents - and also that it is immortal: it does not perish when it separates from the body at death, and it will be reunited with the body at the final Resurrection.” 

Our souls are precious treasures, which we either elevate as they were intended, or tarnish to the point of destruction. The latter is the easiest to achieve, to be perfectly honest, since it happens every single day, all around us, all the time. The mystic St. Teresa of Avila said it herself, “I saw souls falling into Hell like snowflakes.” 

You’re probably thinking: 

Yes, it did, and I’m being serious. But how does one damage their soul to the point of losing it? It’s usually quite simple, and not always by flagrantly rejecting God. It can happen over time, without anyone even knowing or realizing it. So if you want to learn how to damage your soul in six simple steps, keep reading. 

• Settle for being a good person 

We’ve all heard it; “As long as I’m a good person, I’ll be fine.”

However, that’s not fine. It’s far from “fine”. Let’s look to Ven. Fulton Sheen to shine some light on the topic: “Too many people get credit for being good, when they are only being passive. They are too often praised for being broadminded when they are so broadminded they can never make up their minds about anything.” 

Passive? That’s not a very appealing trait to have, yet many settle for it, and so we have a near-whole society that doesn’t know whether it’s coming or going. The good-person card is nothing more than an excuse not to try, or even simply just do. It’s a sell out and insult to human nature, because we are capable of much, much more than merely being “good”. 

It’s very similar to the “don’t judge me” card, which translates to, “I know I’m doing wrong, but don’t you dare tell me otherwise because I’m too comfortable in my wrongness.” Then which translates to immaturity, with a touch of pride.

Souls don’t get to Heaven by being “good”. It happens by being holy and living a holy life. Why settle for being “good”, when you totally and completely have the ability to be holy? 

• Be tepid towards spirituality, especially your own

Revelation 3:16 sums this up pretty well: “But because thou art lukewarm, and neither hot, not cold, I will begin to vomit thee out of my mouth.” 

Straight from the Douay-Rheims, aka the most accurately translated Bible. 

Of course we will go through spiritual dry spells, but I’m not talking about that. I’m referring to overall tepidity, the kind that just is, simply because that’s all we can mistakenly believe there is. This includes being “meh” towards prayer, exercising virtues, discerning our vocations, receiving Holy Communion, our relationship with the Blessed Mother, upholding what we believe as Catholics, and so on and so forth. 

When we are lukewarm, tepid, apathetic, indifferent or whatever else it can be called, we do not grow. How can you expect yourself to grow in virtue, love for God, love for Our Lady, truly appreciate the mass, deepen your prayer life or even increase in holiness, if that zeal isn’t there? Maybe this is the wake-up call you need, I know it’s what I myself constantly need. Nevertheless, hope is never lost, because we can always call upon the Holy Spirit to increase in us His gifts, especially that of zeal. After all, Jesus did promise that the Paraclete would abide with us forever. (John 14:16)

• Treat confession like a chore

Once the awe and humility towards this sacrament is gone, so are the good confessions. Thus they become vaguer, and sin becomes more common, with less penitence. It just becomes something we as Catholics do every now and then, just because we have to. This goes hand in hand with the previous point, tepidity. 

I say “awe” because God’s bottomless ocean of mercy isn’t something to be taken lightly, or abused. We should always run, not walk, to this sacrament with the utmost humility, because we are poor sinners in need of grace. Not only humility, but also reverence and deep gratitude, because we don’t deserve the mercy God gives us, yet in His infinite love and goodness, He desires us to come back to him, always. 

• Have no or very little devotion 

I challenge you to name a saint who did not have a devotion of any kind. In the meantime, let’s think of who did. St. John Bosco was devoted to Mary Help of Christians. St. Gemma Galgani had a devotion to St. Gabriel Possenti, who in turn was devoted to Our Lady of Sorrows. The Little Flower was devoted to the Holy Face of Jesus. Bl. Nellie was devoted to Baby Jesus. Bl. Pier Giorgio Frassati was not only devoted to Our Lady, but also to Our Eucharistic Lord. The Holy Father has a devotion to Our Lady Undoer of Knots. 

The list goes on and on. They all came from different backgrounds, vocations, and stories, but they all have one thing in common; they each achieved holiness. We stumble and fall, it happens. However, when we have a solid devotion it becomes a little easier to get back up, and fall less often.

• Ignore or near ignore the Blessed Mother 

The greatest devotion we can ever possibly have, is to the Blessed Mother. She never loses what is given to her, and when we give ourselves totally and completely to her, you can be rest assured that she will do absolutely everything in her power to save your soul and bring it to her Son… to Jesus through Mary.

Ignoring her is one of, if not the most unfortunate thing a Catholic, or Christian can do. Pope Francis has even said that any Christian who does not have Mary as mother, is an orphan. To ever so slightly bend St. Josemaria’s famous quote on mass, I say this; if praying the holy rosary is too long for you, it’s because your love for the Blessed Mother is too short. 

For a better look on exactly why we should love Our Lady, click here. 

• Don’t take Hell seriously 

When we don’t take the possibility of Hell seriously, we don’t take sin seriously, and so in the end, we don’t take the Devil himself seriously. He’s a liar. A pompous, arrogant snake, who more often than not, comes to us as a wolf in sheep’s clothing.

The greatest thing he can do is convince us that he either doesn’t exist, or that he can’t effect us. Of course he can’t, but we have to resist it. When we just assume that he can’t, that’s when we’re in trouble, because it’s a vicious cycle, as mentioned earlier; by not taking him seriously, we don’t take sin seriously, and by not taking sin seriously, we don’t take Hell seriously. 

However, understand that we don’t take him seriously in the sense of believing his empty promises or fearing him, but in being aware of the fact that he hates us more than we can comprehend, and he will do anything and everything to keep us from our ultimate union with God. 

____

So there you have it, six ways to damage your soul. Now the question is (gotta love the Socratic method), what will you do next? 

Pax. (or scroll below for personal notes you may or may not be inclined to read)

Our Lady Undoer of Knots,
pray for us

_____

I know I go months and months without writing anything, and I wish I could and had the ability to come up with new material more regularly, but that’s just the way it goes. When it comes, it comes. When it doesn’t, you don’t get emails about new posts. We’ll see how this year progresses. In the meantime, a big thank you to my loyal readers, my prayers are with you, I promise. Please also pray for me, because life has been interesting, and by interesting, I mean somewhat difficult, per the usual prayer request. Pray for me, and I’ll pray for you. Deal? Deal. 

Lastly, for a super cool and amazing novena for any situation, look no further than this one right here. I may have promulgated it in the past, but more Momma Mary is never a bad thing. 

Until next time, stay salty Catholics, and pax.

40 Lenten Sacrifices

A week from today, Catholics around the globe will be sporting ashes on their foreheads, which commences the beginning of Lent. 40 days of sacrifice, prayer and spiritual growth.

The big question is: what are you giving up or doing for Lent?
For some help, I’ve recruited my sisters to help come up with a list of 40 Lenten Sacrifices, that go beyond giving up chocolate… although that is a legitimate sacrifice for chocoholics. 

   

   

So without further ado, here you go.


25 Corporal Sacrifices 

1. Don’t scratch at itchy spots
2. Give up some vanity (shaving, makeup, eyebrow tweezing, etc)
3. Sleep with no pillow
4. Sleep on the floor
5. Don’t snack
6. Don’t buy what isn’t necessary 
7. No video games
8. Do 20 jumping jacks every morning, after you wake up
9. Avoid secular/mainstream music
10. Don’t eat out
11. Check social media only once a day, or not at all
12. Wear your least favorite color
13. Don’t speak unless unnecessary
14. Be externally (and internally) charitable to someone who makes you a saint (aka is extremely annoying)
15. Practice mortifying your senses (i.e not eating that extra slice of pizza, not watching the next episode of your favorite series, eat your least favorite food etc.)
16. When arriving at someones house, actually go to the door instead of texting or calling so say that you’re outside
17. Fast from a common food, like cheese, potatoes or bread, for example
18. Use stairs instead of the elevator or escalator 
19. Say goodbye to regular TV, and hello to EWTN 
20. Give up internet time for prayer time
21. Wear the same (or two) pair of shoes for all 40 days
22. Do your homework the day you receive it, no slacking
23. Don’t hit that snooze button
24. Don’t use extra salt or pepper on your food, including french fries
25. Do one act of charity daily, and also consider joining THE PACT to keep it going, even when Lent is over.

15 Spiritual Sacrifices

1. Start a spiritual journal and write one entry daily, or write daily if you already keep one
2. Pray three rosaries daily
3. Learn holy humility by praying instead of complaining, eye rolling, etc.
4. Continuously read (and finish) spiritual books until Lent is finished. For starters, Preparation for Death by St. Alphonsus Ligouri, or anything by St. Francis de Sales.
5. Meditate daily on the Passion 
6. Kiss a Crucifix daily, 5 times, in honor of Our Lord’s Five Wounds
7. Read The Dolorous Passion of Our Lord, by Bl. Anne Catherine Emmerich 
8. Go to adoration as often as you can, even daily
9. Go to daily mass
10. Go to confession weekly
11. Pray the Stations of the Cross every day
12. Instead of listening to secular music, listen to Gregorian chant
13. Meditate daily on the sorrows of Our Lady, which led up to the Passion. For help, click here
14. Learn about a new saint every day.
15. Say a Hail Mary for every person you encounter

Don’t be a Lenten brat

As a last note, if you’re already dreading Lent or complaining about it, you’re doing it wrong. This liturgical season is a time for deep prayer and truly looking at the Passion of Christ, the ultimate act of love for you and I, in its entirety. With that being said, let us continue to prepare for Lent with an open heart and prayerful disposition, by preparing to join our sacrifices with Christ. Pax.