From today’s reflection I realize now that the pain people caused me was basically the collateral damage of whatever hurt they had to deal with. In spite of the things I suffered, the hurt that I endured in the past led to me finding my strength. So as unlikely as it sounds, if you are one of those people that hurt me and you are reading this, know that I love you as my brother or sister in Christ and... Read more
From today’s reflection: Having selfless love for those who’ve hurt you means wanting them to be happy. And I mean legitimately wanting happiness for them and not saying it sarcastically or bitterly. This selfless love has to come from the heart. Do they deserve this selfless love? No! None of us deserve to have selfless, unconditional love in our lives. It’s not something we’re entitled to. Nor will it be something that happens overnight. It all starts with letting go... Read more
From today’s reflection: The story of Jonah is both a comedy and a tragedy. It’s comical because of the irony: a prophet actively trying to hide from God while all the pagan pirates and the city of Nineveh were more than willing to ask God for mercy when the situation calls for it. It’s tragic because Jonah didn’t understand God’s mercy towards the Ninevites and the pirates, and refused to forgive his enemies. Instead, he held onto his desire for... Read more
From today’s reflection: I always believed that everything happens for a reason. It’s never clear right away and sometimes, the worst things in our lives will never have an explanation that we can understand for as long as we live. Still, most of the things that we’ve experienced in our lives can either be used for the better or as an excuse. It all depends on our perspective. Read the rest here! Read more
From today’s reflection: Most of us know the story pretty well: God created Adam and Eve and told them not to eat the fruit from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. Then Eve gets tempted by the serpent, both she and Adam eat the fruit, they get in major trouble and God banishes them from Eden. (Seriously, Adam and Eve. You had one job!) The banishment from Eden seems like a downer ending for Adam and Eve, but... Read more
I have a legitimate question for anyone and everyone who is arguing about bathroom policies and similar issues relating to the transgender movement: How do you define gender? All the other questions in relation to this topic are founded on this. How exactly is gender defined? Is it by how we feel we are or how we should be? How we perceive ourselves to be? What do we compare ourselves to when it comes to who we think we are... Read more
Today is the start of my latest Bible study from the Heart of Mary Women’s Fellowship. If you’ve ever wondered anything about what forgiveness is and how it can be a part of your life, please join me on this two-week journey! From today’s introduction: The idea of forgiveness seems easy at first glance. It’s easy to forgive an accident or to forgive a child when they made a mistake. I know that for some of you, forgiveness seems like... Read more
Sometimes, people discover saints, like how many teenagers and young adults search for a good saint for their Confirmation name. And other times, the saints have a way of finding you. For me, I got introduced to Saint Gemma Galgani through my friend Amy over on Catholic Girl Bloggin. I learned a lot more about Saint Gemma on her feast day, which was about a month ago. It comforted me when I learned that Gemma never became a religious sister.... Read more
Warning: Spoilers and feels ensue. I was not ready to see this movie. All the fun and games from the first Avengers film have gone completely out the window. Like Buffy Season 6, I knew this movie was going to hurt. And it did. A lot. But it hurt in a good way. The same way that a good tragedy hurts. Because in the end, that’s what Captain America: Civil War is—a tragedy. I don’t want to go too much into the plot. What... Read more
This is the first of a series of essays anonymously defending the character of Spike from Buffy the Vampire Slayer written by my friend Scholastica and edited by me. To this day, the fandom is divided about whether Spike was better as a villain or as an anti-hero, whether Buffy and Spike really loved each other or not, and especially about what is called “the bathroom incident” or “the attempted rape scene” in the Season 6 episode Seeing Red. There are mentions... Read more
Monique Ocampo Writes
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