Derek Pena

Derek Pena Educate, Entertain, Help and Inspire I hope to retire soon from my current job as a senior civil engineer but don't intend to stop working.

What could I do to keep me challenged as well as bring in additional income to at least maintain the lifestyle that my wife and I currently live. Last March, by chance, I came upon an exciting business opportunity and decided to take the plunge.

This photo was taken just before Christmas 1994. We emigrated to Canada in January of that year and we were living in Lo...
03/18/2023

This photo was taken just before Christmas 1994. We emigrated to Canada in January of that year and we were living in London, Ontario. The first three were born in Trinidad. Matthew was born in London. We moved to Mississauga in 1995 and Martin was born there in 1996.

“Late have I loved you, O Beauty ever ancient, ever new, late have I loved you!You were within me, but I was outside, an...
02/10/2023

“Late have I loved you, O Beauty ever ancient, ever new, late have I loved you!

You were within me, but I was outside, and it was there that I searched for you.

In my unloveliness I plunged into the lovely things, which you created.

You were with me, but I was not with you.

Created things kept me from you; yet if they had not been in you, they would not have been at all.

You called, you shouted, and you broke through my deafness.

You flashed, you shone, and you dispelled my blindness.

You breathed your fragrance on me; I drew in breath and now I pant for you.

I have tasted you, now I hunger and thirst for more.

You touched me, and I burned for your peace.”

(The Confessions of St. Augustine)

Today's Meditation“In this valley of tears, every man is born to weep, and all must suffer, by enduring the evils that t...
02/03/2023

Today's Meditation

“In this valley of tears, every man is born to weep, and all must suffer, by enduring the evils that take place every day. But how much greater would be the misery of life, if we also knew the future evils that await us! ‘Unfortunate, indeed, would be the situation of someone who knows the future’, says the pagan Roman philosopher Seneca; ‘he would have to suffer everything by anticipation’. Our Lord shows us this mercy. He conceals the trials that await us so that, whatever they may be, we may endure them only once. But he didn’t show Mary this compassion. God willed her to be the Queen of Sorrows, and in all things like his Son. So she always had to see before her eyes, and continually to suffer, all the torments that awaited her. And these were the sufferings of the passion and death of her beloved Jesus. For in the temple, St. Simeon, having received the divine Child in his arms, foretold to her that her Son would be a sign for all the persecutions and oppositions of men. … Jesus our King and his most holy mother didn’t refuse, for love of us, to suffer such cruel pains throughout their lives. So it’s reasonable that we, at least, should not complain if we have to suffer something.”
—St. Alphonsus Liguori

"When you sit down to eat, pray. When you eat bread, do so thanking Him for being so generous to you. If you drink wine,...
12/11/2022

"When you sit down to eat, pray. When you eat bread, do so thanking Him for being so generous to you. If you drink wine, be mindful of Him who has given it to you for your pleasure and as a relief in sickness. When you dress, thank Him for His kindness in providing you with clothes. When you look at the sky and the beauty of the stars, throw yourself at God’s feet and adore Him who in His wisdom has arranged things in this way. Similarly, when the sun goes down and when it rises, when you are asleep or awake, give thanks to God, who created and arranged all things for your benefit, to have you know, love and praise their Creator."
–St. Basil the Great

12/04/2022

England!!! Bellingham, Kane, Henderson, Foden, Saka.. Deadly!!!

Flew into Pukatawagan today for a pre-tender site visit on a new water treatment plant and booster station project, to a...
11/30/2022

Flew into Pukatawagan today for a pre-tender site visit on a new water treatment plant and booster station project, to allow potable water distribution to this expanding community for the next twenty years. I supported a local entrepreneur by purchasing a new hoodie with the "University of Puk" logo.

11/23/2022

"Many authoritarian regimes have made it a priority to root out God and religion from people's hearts. But they have never succeeded because God is anchored in the human heart as a necessity for our happiness. In places where Christians have been slain, religion forbidden and believers persecuted, God has always remained the same.

For over 34 years communists had attempted to abolish religion and build an atheistic society in Poland. From 1945 the regime started circulating anti-religious propaganda, persecuting practising Christians. But in 1979 St John Paul II visited his country for the first time as Pope. Two months before the Pope's arrival, Polish communists took steps to restrain the enthusiasm of the people. They also issued instructions to the Polish media to censor and limit the Pope's comments and appearances. But when the Holy Father got up on the stage and started preaching, millions of people started singing at the tops of their voices: "We want God! We want God! We want God!" The Pope tried to continue but the shouting went on, "We want God!" and it didn't stop for fifteen minutes! What a moment in modern history! Don't you hear the hearts of today's men and women shouting the same: 'We want God! We want God! We want God!'?"

Travelled to Pukatawagan yesterday, a two hour flight north of Winnipeg. It is the home of the Mathias Colomb Cree Natio...
11/16/2022

Travelled to Pukatawagan yesterday, a two hour flight north of Winnipeg. It is the home of the Mathias Colomb Cree Nation. A thirty year old K-12 School is currently being upgraded and expanded to meet the projected community needs for the next twenty years. I have been working with these lovely people for the last thirteen years.

11/12/2022

"Faith. It's all a matter of faith. Jesus wants us to "pray and not lose heart", to never give up. God never stops listening to our prayer but He wants us to persist faith-fully until our prayers are answered. He said this in many different ways: "Truly, truly, I say to you, if you ask anything of the Father, he will give it to you in my name" (Jn 16:23); "Ask, and it will be given you" (Mt 7:7); "every one who asks receives" (Lk 11:10); "whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith" (Mt 21:22). Sometimes Jesus takes His time to answer us because persisting is a proof of our faith. If we pray little we get little. If we pray much, we get much."

Last Thursday night outside our front door. The first relatively heavy snowfall of winter, 2022-2023. Fluffy and pure wh...
11/12/2022

Last Thursday night outside our front door. The first relatively heavy snowfall of winter, 2022-2023. Fluffy and pure white, it's beautiful to look at.

Added more photos showing the result of the one foot of snowfall overnight into Friday morning. Had to ask the snow clearing contractor to get the snow off our driveway and walkways around the house.

11/10/2022

Today's Meditation

“Voluntary poverty restores to man the nobility of his condition, liberating him from vile servitude and reinstating him his noble freedom and mastery of all things. The soul is never more a mistress than when she despises them, and only then has she the more firm possession and makes the more excellent use of riches, when she gives them away or leaves them of her own free will; only then her appetite for them is best satiated, when she does not care to possess them. Then above all is the heart set free and made capable of the treasures of the Divinity, for which it is furnished by the Creator with almost infinite capacity.”
—Ven. Mary of Agreda

Today's Meditation is from Fr. Jacques Philippe. I would highly recommend reading his books. I particularly liked "The W...
11/05/2022

Today's Meditation is from Fr. Jacques Philippe. I would highly recommend reading his books. I particularly liked "The Way of Trust and Love" and "Interior Freedom". There are many others that can be explored on his website, https://www.frjacquesphilippe.com/

Meditation

“When uncertain about God’s will, it is very important that we tell ourselves: ‘Even if there are aspects of God’s will that escape me, there are always others that I know for sure and can invest in without any risk, knowing that this investment always pays dividends.’ These certainties include fulfilling the duties of our state in life and practicing the essential points of every Christian vocation. There is a defect here that needs to be recognized and avoided: finding ourselves in darkness about God’s will on an important question . . . we spend so much time searching and doubting or getting discouraged, that we neglect things that are God’s will for us every day, like being faithful to prayer, maintaining trust in God, loving the people around us here and now. Lacking answers about the future, we should prepare to receive them by living today to the full.”
—Fr. Jacques Philippe

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R3T3G9

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