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.

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!

Wise Words of Sanctification

Praise be to baby Jesus, I'm done with high school. With that part of my life now being over, it's time to let the blogging juices start flowing once more. St. Teresa of Avila, pray for me. In the meantime, enjoy the cluster of my personal favorite saint quotes. We have much to learn from the saints, and we can't learn from them unless we know them. Without further ado, I present to you my most beloved quotes from our friends in Heaven. 

"Foolish is he who follows the pleasures of this world, because these are always fleeting and bring much pain. The only true pleasure is that which comes to us through faith." -Bl. Pier Giorgio Frassati

"Until we have a passionate love for our Lord in the Most Blessed Sacrament, we shall accomplish nothing." -St. Julian Peter Eymard

"Love that cannot suffer is not worthy of that name." -St. Clare of Assisi 

"The life of a Christian is nothing but a perpetual struggle against itself; there is no flowering of the soul to the beauty of its perfection except at the price of pain." -St. Padre Pio

"I adore You, Lord and Creator, hidden in the Most Blessed Sacrament, would that I be transformed into a hymn of adoration of You." -St. Faustina 

"God would never inspire me with desires which cannot be realized; so in spite of my littleness, I can hope to be a saint." -St. Therese of Lisieux 

"Our perfection does not consist in doing extraordinary things, but to do the ordinary well." -St. Gabriel Possenti of Our Lady of Sorrows

"Oh Jesus, how are you doing in my heart? In the narrow cell of my chest in love with You, tell me, oh Jesus, how are you doing there? Oh fire always burning, without ever dying down, if only you would let all of me go up in flames? Would You let this fire perfect me? Oh Jesus, oh Love! My life, my sustenance, my strength!" -St. Gemma Galgani 

"If you have devotion to Mary, Help of Christians, you will see what miracles are." -St. John Bosco 

"As mariners are guided into port by the shining of a star, so Christians are guided to Heaven by Mary." -St. Thomas Aquinas



Until next time, pax. 

Later, Today and Forever

New Year, new blog look. Pink is cute but the eye can only take so much of the obnoxiously adorable color, so voila, I present to you dear readers, the new look. There’s also a few new extra tidbits around, but I’ll leave you to explore for yourself. I hope you all had a holy and blessed Christmas, and also a happy New Year. I personally didn’t make any resolutions, because I believe in making firm resolutions to improve oneself throughout the whole year, even every day if needed. I think of it this way; hell is forever and full of people who said, “Later”. The saints didn’t become saints by saying, “Later”. They turned that later into today. That’s where confession comes in handy, because we cannot change ourselves without first cleaning up our souls. That’s like having one foot on the brake pedal but still expecting the car to go. It doesn’t exactly work out very well. Remember that a state of grace equals a happy place.

So now that the season of Advent has passed, we’ll move into ordinary time, and then dive into the Lenten season. Before I get too ahead of myself, one of the many things I love about the Church is the changing of liturgical seasons. It allows us to walk with Christ from His birth to His death, thus forging a stronger relationship with Him, year in and year out, today and forever. Think about it; in just one year, we can meditate upon the Annunciation, the birth of Christ, His hidden life, His public ministry, His Passion, Death and glorious Resurrection. That’s not even mentioning the other subjects of meditation in between, like St. Joseph’s perfect obedience, the adoration of the Magi, the sorrows of our Blessed Mother, the miracles by Jesus and so, so much more that hasn’t even scratched the surface. So much meditation, so little time. Yet it’s all the better reason to not allow our minds to be idle, as idleness is the Enemy’s playground. In his book, “An Introduction to the Devout Life”, St. Francis de Sales mentions that the more we meditate upon the life of Christ, the more we’ll come to know and imitate Him in His perfection. St. Francis compares to it to a child learning to speak, sweetly lisping the words he emulates from his mother. You gotta love St. Francis de Sales and his analogies. 

Meditation can be difficult because of distractions, but it’s not impossible. For help, look to Our Lady, the Mystical Rose, who never denies to help any of her children. That title has to be my personal favorite, and one day I was wondering what it meant, and some time later the answer popped up on right on my very Catholic Facebook newsfeed. The Lord provides. She is the Mystical Rose because as seen in Scripture, she often kept things in her heart to ponder, and through her perfection, she is the highest mystic. The Rose part comes in as the rose is the queen of all flowers, and Our Lady is Queen of Heaven and Earth. Another legitimate answer can be found here. 

One of the many reasons I embraced more Traditional Catholicism was because of the silence. Especially when it comes to Catholic youth ministries, silence is nearly impossible to be found. It’s almost taboo. In the end of my experimentation with the modern Catholic youth ministry, which is usually loud and consists of Protestant influenced notions and happy-feel-good-but-watered-down teachings and ideas, I was aching for silence. It’s like the youth are being force-fed all this clanging noise in an attempt to be modern and “speak” to them, because allowing the silence of Christ to do that is apparently just too much to ask for. Anyway, after that ship sailed, the new harbor was very quiet. However, docked in that stillness, my soul wasn’t emptied and it didn’t disappear. Rather, I was able to embrace Christ in a whole new way, through simple meditation, and He completely flooded my soul with Himself and His mother. Silence isn’t only golden, it’s sacred. Through sacred silence we learn to quiet ourselves, to focus more fully on the Divine Mysteries and meditations. Holy Mother Church is so rich in subjects of meditation, not a moment of our lives should be wasted on idle or silly thoughts. 

We are all called to holiness. No one is exempt. Take a look at the great saints like St. Teresa of Avila, St. John the Cross, St. Gemma Galgani, St. Padre Pio and so many more. They all had one thing in common; they silently contemplated divine mysteries. My challenge for you this year is to take time to be silent and meditate. Meditate on the courage of the martyrs, the conviction of the Apostles, or even on the glories of Heaven. Especially when we meditate on Heaven, we’re contemplating an eternal joy with God, which doesn’t last a fleeting moment or a few hours, but forever. Ven. Fulton Sheen could not have put it more beautifully, 

“We become like that which we love: If one loves the material, one becomes like the material; if one loves the spiritual, one is converted into it in his outlook, his ideals, and his aspirations. Given this relationship between love and prayer, it is easy to understand why some souls say: “I have no time to pray." A higher form of prayer than petition and a potent remedy against the externalization of life-is meditation. Meditation is a little like a daydream or a reverie, but with two important differences: In meditation we do not think about the world or ourselves, but about God; and instead of using the imagination to build idle castles in Spain, we use the will to make resolutions that will draw us nearer to one of the Father's mansions. Meditation is a more advanced spiritual act than “saying prayers”; it may be likened to the attitude of a child who breaks into the presence of a mother saying: “I’ll not say a word, if you will just let me stay here and watch you.” -Ven. Fulton Sheen

Fasting for Peace: because Pope Francis said so

As many of you know, our Holy Father, Pope Francis, has declared tomorrow (September 7th) as a day of fasting and prayer, for peace in Syria. I am an advocate of peace through strength, however, this is not a war that we Americans should be involved in, but this isn't a political post, so I will leave it at that. 

Fasting is becoming a lost treasure in the Church, and it is Divine Providence that Pope Francis is shifting attention to it*. To fast is to deny the body of what it desires, such as eating for example, and through this we are are doing many things. Not only are we disciplining our bodily senses, but also detaching our soul from the bodily senses, so that it may be free to embrace a higher spirituality.

Is fasting fun? No. Is it easy? No. Should we complain during fasts? Even bigger no. To grumble and gripe while fasting is a sure-sign that the individual is still very attached to their bodily senses. To have such an attitude is to also lose sight of the bigger picture, because we should be focusing on the interior life, instead of the discomforts of the exterior senses. 

 So instead of fasting like this...

"And when you fast, be not as the hypocrites, sad. For they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Amen I say to you, they have received their reward. But thou, when thou fastest anoint thy head and wash thy face; that thou appear not to men to fast, but to thy Father Who is in secret: and thy Father who seeth in secret, will repay thee." Matt. 6:16-18 (DR)

   

                         We should be fasting something like this....

So, let us embrace tomorrows fast with a spirit of willingness to suffer, for the sake of peace and glory to God the Father.

 "Besides the ordinary effect of fasting in raising the mind, subduing the flesh, confirming goodness, and obtaining a heavenly reward, it is also a great matter to be able to control greediness, and to keep the sensual appetites and the whole body subject to the law of the Spirit; and although we may be able to do but little, the enemy nevertheless stands more in awe of those whom he knows can fast." -St. Francis de Sales

Happy fasting!

Our Lady, Queen of Peace, 
St. Gabriel Possenti,
Mater Dolorosa, ora pro nobis.

-Yvonne Gemma 

*This isn't to say that Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI didn't put an emphasis on fasting, which he did strongly during Lent of 2009. 

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

5 Reasons I don't receive Holy Communion in the Hand

Since I like quotes, and I like Church teachings even more, let's begin this post with a very important one. 

The Council of Trent, Canon I: "If anyone denieth, that, in the sacrament of the most holy Eucharist, are contained, truly, really and substantially, the Body and Blood together with the Soul and Divinity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, and consequently the whole Christ; but saith that He is only therein as a sign, or in figure, or virtue; let him be anathema."

In simpler terms, this means that whoever denies that Jesus Christ is truly present in the Holy Eucharist, Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity, is to put it quite frankly, a heretic. One of the first to deny the Real Presence in the Eucharist was Martin Luther, the founder of Protestantism. However, this post is not about the Reformation or Martin Luther, so we will leave that behind for another day. This post is about Holy Communion, and how it is received. However, before I begin I must say this: this post is not about liturgical snobbery or having a hoity-toity, "I'm holier than thou" attitude. This is a sensitive topic for some, but I will do my best to go at it as charitably and honestly as possible. Disclaimer over, let the list-making begin!

Through my own personal decision, I never touch the Eucharist. This means that I don't receive Holy Communion in the hand, nor will I ever be a Eucharistic minister, even if my diocese allows both. But why not? 

1) I am not worthy to touch the Sacred Host. 

I'm only a layperson, not a priest. Therefore, my hands are unconsecrated and unworthy of ever touching the Blessed Sacrament. Also, because the Holy Eucharist comes from God, which makes it incredibly holy, hence it being the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ, it is all the more another reason to not touch or receive it in the hand.

2) Philippians 2:9-11

"Therefore God has highly exalted Him and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." 

As the priest (or in other cases, Eucharistic ministers, which are unnecessary by the way) says to the Communicant, "Body of Christ" it isn't very reverent to simply continue standing and only answer, "Amen" while taking the Host with their own hands and consuming it. In contrast, by kneeling to receive the Sacred Host and not taking Him into your own hands, not only are you honoring the name of Jesus, but also acknowledging His Divinity before you. This brings us to the next reason.

3) To kneel before receiving Christ in the Eucharist is to first adore and worship Him.

What do we do when we pass a Tabernacle or a monstrance containing Christ? We kneel (or genuflect) to honor Him and give Him His due worship. Why is receiving Him in Communion any different? It should not be, even more so because this time He is fully exposed and right in front of our noses. He is the King of kings and kings are showed honor, reverence, respect and humility when approached. Does the Divine King of kings deserve anything less, especially when He's right in front you? (no!)

4) Receiving Communion on the tongue diminishes chances of desecration.

Let's be honest. As unfortunate as it is, desecration of the Holy Eucharist happens. Sometimes it is by accident, sometimes it is not. I find it very risky to take Holy Communion in the hand, because there's always the possibility of dropping Him on the floor or fragments of the Host remaining on the hands... which results in desecration. Or even worse: the Host being stolen, followed by more desecration. This is why I am a firm advocate of altar rails and only allowing priests to distribute Holy Communion. Through these means, desecrations would nearly cease to exist. By the Eucharist being in the responsible (and consecrated) hands of only the priest, with a paten underneath the Communicant, Holy Communion would be restored to its sacred entirety. However, even though most parishes no longer have altar rails, do not let that stop or hinder you from receiving Christ in the Eucharist with all of the honor and reverence He fully deserves. 

5) Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI greatly encouraged receiving Holy Communion on the tongue while kneeling.

During his pontificate, Pope Emeritus Benedict only distributed Holy Communion to the faithful, on the tongue as they were kneeling. Our former Holy Father realized the importance and need to return to this traditional way of receiving Christ, otherwise he would not have made it a necessity. 


So there you have it. In no particular order, those are some of my reasons for receiving Holy Communion the traditional way. Not everyone will agree with these reasons, but oh well. Before I leave you, I ask of one thing; look deep into your relationship with Christ in the Eucharist, and meditate on that.  

                                  While you're at it, listen to this. It's beautiful!



Mater Dolorosa, ora pro nobis,
-Yvonne Gemma

My Veiling Story

While this blog is definitely not my diary or private spiritual journal, it recently dawned on me to tell a story about myself. My little story isn't extravagant or extraordinary. It's simply the story of how I began veiling. Recently at mass, I noticed a little girl wearing a cap veil. It reminded me of how I started my journey to discovering the veil. Like all journeys, there is a beginning. As a little girl, about 8 or 9 years old, I somehow became fascinated with chapel veils. This can only be accredited to Divine Providence, because I had never seen anyone wear them in person, and nobody in my family had one either. At a Catholic conference, I saw a vendor selling them. As soon as I saw the banner picturing a veiled girl, I instantly wanted one. However in my young shyness/awkwardness, I said nothing but kept glancing back at the booth every time we passed by. Finally, I asked my mom if I could have one. I don't remember her reaction, but we went to look at them. I really, really wanted a triangle shaped lace veil, like the girl in the picture. But since I had never veiled before and knew nothing about them, my wise mother decided it would be prudent to buy a small cap instead. So, I began to wear it to mass. Although I was still very young and didn't understand the mass, for the first time, my small veil made me feel that mass was holy and important. Amidst it slipping off and the weird looks, I continued to wear it. Looking back, I was probably the only one to wear a veil. 

However, somewhere along the lines, I stopped wearing it. Soon after, it became lost. Veiling diminished from my radar. It faded away, but not completely. Years passed before I considered veiling again. Prior to this, I was in a very dark place. While I was totally blinded, God was slowly but surely preparing me for my reversion. During this fiasco, veiling didn't cross my mind even once. I didn't understand the veil itself, or the meaning behind it. Didn't only old ladies wear it? I regularly went to adoration and mass without one. 

After being a lone ranger for some time, God brought me to my wonderful community. All of my girl friends veiled, and I remembered my little cap. I suddenly remembered how much I had liked veiling, so I got a new one. Thus, I began veiling again, and haven't stopped since then. Now that I was older and aching for true Catholicism, I finally learned and realized the significance and beauty behind the simple chapel veil. Throughout this, I was also in the middle of my reversion. It happened gradually, but God made sure that I wouldn't be lost forever. One night in quiet, reverent adoration, I came back to Him in a fruitful and beautiful way, more than ever before. After that, I was swimming in an ocean of grace. While I liked my little white veil, soon after I upgraded to a bigger one. Several months later, I upgraded once more, this time to the one I always wanted; a Spanish style mantilla. Jokingly, my parents have said that this is the last veil they'll ever give me, once I'm married and need a black one, I'll be on my own! 

One important tidbit I should mention is that the veil itself didn't single handedly cause my reversion, although it did help greatly. My reversion was brought about through painful experiences where the brilliant rays of God's mercy and love ultimately broke though. Just as when I was a little girl, the veil helped me remember that mass is sacred, holy and of great importance. It taught me to focus all of my attention on Him and most importantly how to have humility before Him, in all of His glory. The deep meaning behind it also reminded me of my self-worth, as a daughter of God. As an example, think of a Tabernacle with a veil over it. The Tabernacle holds life within it; Jesus Christ in the Holy Eucharist. What is holy is veiled. Women also bear life, but through the womb. The womb is also a tabernacle of life; so therefore it is also holy. With women as co-creators of life, they too should be veiled. However, as I have said before, veiling is also an act of loving humility towards our Lord, to give all of the glory to Him, rather than ourselves. When a woman veils, not only is she deflecting attention from herself, but she is also wordlessly saying that she is a bride of Christ, preparing to be united with Him. 

I am deeply fond of veiling, and I'll never stop. Going into a church or adoration chapel without one feels one feels uncomfortable now, at least for me. In contrast when I do wear my veil, a sense of peace is nearby. While the idea of beginning to veil may be scary at first, I can say that from experience that it's totally and completely worth it. At the beginning you may be uncomfortable, people might just give you weird looks, and not everyone will understand. This brings to mind what Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI said, "The world promises you comfort, but you were not made for comfort. You were made for greatness."

If you are feeling a little tug to begin veiling, listen to that whisper, and be not afraid. Veiling might be scarce in your parish, but it is indeed making a slow but steady comeback. It takes courage to veil, but that's just what the Church needs; courageous souls! I hope you enjoyed my little story, and may the Holy Spirit be with you now and always.

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

Et Contristátus Immaculati Cordis Mariae aka the Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart of Mary

If you haven't noticed already, I like Latin. A lot. But that's not what this post is about today, so let's move along. It would be a shame to end the month of the Sacred Heart of Jesus without contemplating its counterpart; the Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart of Mary. The specific devotion to the Alliance of the Two Hearts is particularly special to me. This is the devotion that brought about my reversion. It has and continues to pour out many graces in my life and the lives of the dear people around me; my beloved family, friends and community. 

Since I've saved the best for last, let's move forward to further discover the hidden treasures of this beautiful Heart. The Two Hearts are so unified that they beat as one; nothing can ever separate them. What rings on the Sacred Heart of Jesus also rings on His mother's Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart. Being the mother of Jesus, His Heart is also hers, as He was formed in her womb, which makes the bond of the Two Hearts even stronger, because it is bonded by divine love and maternal/filial love. 

Not only their joys are shared, but also their pains. The pains which the Sacred Heart endures also affect the Immaculate Heart, as they are one. This is where the Sorrowful aspect comes in. The sword piercing her Immaculate Heart represents the prophecy of Simeon, which is also the first sorrow in the Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin Mary. (My Mater Dolorosa devotion is showing, isn't it?)

"And Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother: Behold this child is set for the fall, and for the resurrection of many in Israel, and for a sign which will be contradicted; And thy own soul a sword shall pierce, that out of many hearts, thoughts may be revealed." Luke 2:34, DR

Simeon's prophecy foreshadowed Mother Mary and her Son's future suffering, for the sake of our salvation. For a sword to pierce her inner-most being; her pure and placid soul, her sufferings were to be great indeed. An example of this is during the Passion of Our Lord. While her pains were not physical like His, rather, they afflicted her gentle and ever-compassionate Heart. Since Our Blessed Mother is the epitome of absolute perfection, she is entirely untarnished throughout her whole being. Due to this wonderful work of God, Mother Mary feels and perceives everything much more acutely and powerfully than we ever could, including emotional anguish. She not only experienced deep sorrow in witnessing her only beloved Son suffer, but also to see her God suffering as well. To grasp how truly united the mother and Son are, think of the scourging at the pillar. On her tender Heart, Our Lady felt every single lash and strike that Jesus endured upon His bare flesh. When a mother sees her child suffering, she suffers even more. Regarding this, St. Alphonsus Ligouri says, "Two hung upon one cross." The sword penetrating her Heart not only reveals the suffering foreseen at the prophecy of Simeon, but all of her Seven Sorrows. The devotion to the Immaculate Heart is often combined with the devotion to Our Lady of Sorrows. I highly recommend taking up both, as they are recipes for sainthood and true love for Our Lord and Blessed Mother. 

While her Heart is Sorrowful, it is also bears the title of Immaculate. Besides Christ, there has been no other person to walk this earth, who loves as she loves. A perfect love that is pure, compassionate, endless and motherly. Her Immaculate Heart reveals her soul and interior life; like her Son it is also burning with love for us and the sword shows us her sorrows as the thorns reveal His. Her beautiful Heart is crowned in white roses, to expose her complete and total immaculate purity, in all she is and does. When faced with impurities, cling to the Immaculata for protection, she never fails to assist those in who humbly approach her. Not only is her Heart inflamed for love of us, most importantly, it is blazing with motherly love for her Son and a flawless, virginal love for God. With her Heart glowing and burning with perfect love for the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, think of how she may also ignite our hearts with love. 

"My Immaculate Heart will be your refuge
and the way that will lead you to God."

As we have seen thus far, Our Lady's Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart is very powerful. During the Fatima apparitions in 1917, after promising to take Jacinta and Francisco to Heaven soon, Our Lady said to Lucia, "Jesus wants to use you to make me known and loved. He wishes to establish the devotion to my Immaculate Heart throughout the world. I promise salvation to whoever embraces it; these souls will be dear to God, like flowers put by me to adorn His throne." Our Lady is inviting us to be her flowers, why not accept the invitation?

While this is the last post related to the Sacred Heart for the month of June, I encourage you to keep a fervent devotion to the Two Hearts throughout the whole year, and better yet, for the rest of your life. This devotion creates saints and brings souls to Heaven. The devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus alone is fantastic, but as the saying goes, two is better than one. Especially when Our Blessed Mother is involved. At times devotions can be difficult to keep, but never cease to persevere. In times of trials and tribulations, please remember what Our Lady of Fatima also said, "In the end my Immaculate Heart will triumph." 

I hope you all gained many blessings from the month of the Sacred Heart, and as always, you are in my prayers. I will be back soon with more reflections and ramblings on different Catholic-related topics, but for now I'll wait for the Holy Spirit to strike me with inspiration and then stay up very late typing away and making sure that I'm not saying anything heretical, relativistic, fallacious or nonsensical. Oh, the beauty of being confirmed (which was fairly recent, back in April, by the way). Veni Sancte Spiritus... until next time, pax. 

Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us,
Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart of Mary, pray for us,
Mater Dolorosa, ora pro nobis.

-Yvonne Gemma