Come Oh Holy Spirit, please fill the hearts of thy faithful, enkindle in us the fire of Your Divine Love, send forth Your Spirit Oh Lord and it shall be created.
O God, who by the light of the Holy Spirit, did instruct the hearts of the faithful, grant that by the same Holy Spirit we may be truly wise and ever enjoy His consolations. Through Christ Our Lord. Amen.
** **
6 minutes from now, I am eagerly anticipating the roar of the plane that will take off Winnipeg airport for Toronto at 6:15 this morning.
My Ana, together with 16 other delegates with their chaperones will be heading for the MFC Canada Youth Congress in Toronto.
This is her first out of town trip without her older sister and us, her parents.
I am surprisingly relaxed about the whole thing.
Yesterday, we took the bus to St. Edward the Confessor Parish Church so she can have her Sacrament of Confession.
After seeing to it she had companions in the que, I left her right s away since I had to catch my next bus going to The Manitoba Museum.
Being on the road with her yesterday afternoon somehow made me remember the day of her birthday in 2023.
We also had a day together navigating the bus routes.
It was also the day before we took a road trip to the U.S.
First born Marina was the doting big sister earlier in the pre-departure area.
She declared as we went to Arrivals to meet Ruel, "I am now an only child."
Hahahaha!
She was for 8 years.
Mari just had her MFC Canada Singles Congress last weekend. Winnipeg was the host. There were close to a hundred delegates from all over Canada with one from the U.S.
Praise God for this wonderful grace.
** ***
Today, I once again attempted to install The Feast Media Inc app on my android phone thinking it would be a success.
No!
It still requires a Philippines mobile number.
So, I am now using the following link as a guide for my daily devotions of the Catholic Daily Scripture Readings.
I will miss Kerygma, who has faithfully sent this daily devotionals for almost 30 years straight to my yahoo email.
*** **
Here is today's scripture readings:
https://bible.usccb.org/daily-bible-reading
The video reflection is from a deacon in Portland.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z1HUX3ICkmo&t=197s
I will do my reflections based on this.
The first readings is about the patient and constant love of a parent to a wayward child.
The responsorial is Psalm 80:4b. My challenge:
Let us see your face, Lord, and we shall be saved.
My challenge:
In my own struggles to proclaim the Triune God, do the people around me see my God's face and light in me especially when slight or grave offenses are committed?
Do I allow the gaslighting that usually follows when one calls out wrongdoing to weigh on me heavily?
Why or why not?
Yesterday, I met this seasonal team mate for the first time.
She at the drop of the hat almost told me her life story.
In turn, as she walked me to my bus stop, I also was able to unburden what was heavy in my heart.
Her reaction: " To hell with them!"
She adds, you may have been spared more troubles from this situation.
I felt light after our encounter.
But, I cannot wish ill will or hell to people acting as obstacles or stumbling blocks in my path.
I will pray for them and forgive them as Jesus forgave those who persecuted and crucified Him saying:
" Father, forgive them for they do not know what they are doing."
** ***
Today is my paternal aunt's birthday. Auntie Cora short for Corazon. She recently passed on at the ripe old age of 97. I remember her fondly.
May she and the rest of our departed relatives and friends, rest in Our Lord Jesus Christ's perpetual and healing LIGHT.
** **
Woe to you who gaslight.
May the light of Christ Jesus heal you from this negative and evil attitude.
**
Gaslighting is a form of psychological manipulation in which an abuser causes their target to question their own perceptions, memories, and sanity, most often to avoid accountability and maintain control. The term comes from the 1944 film “Gaslight,” in which a husband manipulates his wife into believing she can’t trust her own senses. Clinically, it constitutes a form of psychological abuse that erodes a person’s capacity to reality-test, making it one of the most destabilizing forms of relational harm. In my work with driven women, the hardest part is usually learning to trust their own reality again after years of having it systematically undermined
