#MyMassTakeaway: Love Saves Lives

Today’s the 3rd Sunday in Ordinary Time.

Find the Mass Readings here: 3rd Sunday in Ordinary Time, January 21, 2018.

My takeaway:

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#MyMassTakeaway: Love Saves Lives . In love, God sent Jonah to warn the Ninevites of their impending doom. . In love, Paul tells the Corinthians that time is running out. He gives them guidance on how to live for the next life. . In love, Jesus proclaims repentance of our sins. He calls us to follow Him, for the sake of our eternal life. . In love, we speak out fearlessly against abortion. . "Violence breeds violence, but love saves lives." . #MySundaybest with @rosiehill425 – baby bump 31 weeks!

A post shared by Sara Estabrooks (@tojesussincerely) on Jan 21, 2018 at 6:06am PST

Thoughts from my blogging friends:

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On a cold wintery morning like today, when I am curled up on the sofa with a cup of coffee, it’s hard for me to me motivated to get up and get out of the house. Yet in today’s gospel, the followers of Jesus are eager to leave everything behind when he beckons to them. I am always amazed at their total “I’m All In” attitude. Fishermen by trade, they leap out of boats to go to Him – leaving behind their livelihoods, their possessions, their families – giving it all up to become disciples of Christ.✝️ I can only imagine what that “pull” must have felt like to propel them forward. Some days, when my alarm sounds, my tendency is to hit Snooze instead of getting up to sit with the Lord in scripture and meditation. At the end of a work day, sometimes it is easier to steer my car home instead of to the church for evening mass. Easier to think of my To Do list and drive to the store when my heart tells my weary soul to head to the chapel for a Rosary in Adoration😞 As St. Paul reminds us, we cannot focus on things of this world – it is passing away. Time is running out. We are called – and we must not hesitate. ✝️ It’s easy for me to wave to Jesus from the safety of my tiny boat off shore. Much harder to cast my nets aside, and jump in to swim to Him as fast as I can! We are blessed to have scripture that lifts us up and gives us courage! How often Jesus reaches down into my troubled waters and grasps me firmly by the hand to pull me to safety! When I am frightened and tossed about on the waves, he quiets the wind and calms the sea. And he invites me to forego swimming in the tumbling waters, get out of my safe boat, and walk to Him. ✝️ That day at the seashore, his followers had no way of knowing that all of these things would lie ahead and become the story of their new life in Christ. They simply answered the call. At least we have the benefit of knowing how the story ends! May I have the fortitude and conviction to leave myself and all of the world’s temptations behind. He never takes his eyes off of me from the seashore. But I have to be the one that moves when he calls. Lord, give me the courage to plunge in!✝️

A post shared by Julie Habiger (@sparksthroughstubble) on Jan 21, 2018 at 9:41am PST

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A vocation is a “calling, by God, to something.” Or, more specifically, based on our chaplain’s homily today, a vocation is, “Being called to give your life for the good of another.” . . . Sitting in Mass today, I realized I am a modern day Jonah. I’m not called to be a prophet (Jonah’s vocation), but I am called to be a wife (my primary vocation). At times, I am called to give my life – or, my desires – for the good of my spouse. And, many times, like Jonah running from God’s calling, I want to run in the opposite direction – I want what I want, when I want, no matter what. I struggle to “die to myself,” and accept the needs and desires of my husband. . . . More over, as I’ve explained in blogs before, every. single. thing. else must enhance my vocation of being a wife – being a blogger must enhance my being a wife. Being a church volunteer must enhance my being a wife. And, yes, being a mother should enhance my being a wife. Instead, too frequently, I am guilty of putting all of my other vocations – blogger, volunteer, mother – ahead of my primary vocation. Or, I stomp my feet, putting off grocery shopping, cleaning the house, doing the dishes. Which makes me Jonah. . . . I tell God “not right now,” or, “these are my terms and conditions,” instead of looking at Him and acknowledging He is in control. He has called me to be a wife – to be willing “to give my life for the good of another.” Instead of “My will be done,” I need to spend some time reflecting on, “Thy will be done.” God’s will. . . . I don’t want to be Jonah. I want to embrace God’s call, and be the best wife for my husband. . . . The CWBN blog hop topic this month was about vocations – I did not write on it because I didn’t get time to do so; however, today’s homily makes me think more than ever about my response to God’s vocation in my life. Vocations create saints – I want to be in that number… . . . What is your primary vocation? It’s never too late to begin – how will you embrace God’s call for you? . . . #mymasstakeaway w/ @tojesussincerely #vocation #beingawife #catholicwife #catholicblogger #inspiration #christianblogger #cwbn #priorities #vocationsarebeautiful #vocationsleadtosainthood

A post shared by Anni Harry (@beautifulcamouflagedmess) on Jan 21, 2018 at 9:51am PST

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"Drop your nets and follow me." What if I fall? "Drop your nets and follow me." What if I fail? "Drop your nets and follow me." What if I let you down? Drop your nets and follow Him. He's not the type to let go ❤️ #mysundaybest #mymasstakeaway

A post shared by Ginny Kochis •Not So Formulaic (@ginnykochis) on Jan 21, 2018 at 10:07am PST

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Stop acting like you’ll always have tomorrow. My take away from today’s mass readings is that the gospels are strongly anti-procrastination. When Jesus called Simon, Andrew, James, and John at the seaside, he did not tell them to “come when you are ready.” He said “come after me”. In the present, right now, not in some mythical later. This was my first Sunday singing with the choir again. In a few weeks I will join them for a concert of Steiner’s Crucifixion. This week I have auditioned, taken class, read in my spare moments. I’m a mom of three, all five and under. It would be easy, and permissible, for me to just sit out these years of young kids. But I know that later is not a guarantee. I have these gifts now, and I can cultivate them now. I can practice saying yes in the present – forming a habit of saying yes to God instead of a habit of later. #mysundaybest with @rosiehill425 #mymasstakeaway with @tojesussincerely

A post shared by Kirby Hoberg (@underthyroof) on Jan 21, 2018 at 10:26am PST

https://www.instagram.com/p/BeOSaf0ABMH/?tagged=mymasstakeaway

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You know that slogan, "Life is short, buy the shoes?" It's cute and I've done it, but it's also a little ridiculous. It came to mind today when our priest was talking about how we can't count on tomorrow. This particular thought has been on my mind a littttttle bit too much as I've been struggling with heightened anxiety about the huge outbreak of the flu right now. But (but!), God has even used this anxiety for His good as it got me and my husband to confession yesterday. Because we can't count on tomorrow. We don't know what's going to happen or how much longer we'll be around — though I'm praying it's for a really really long time. And yet, knowing that this time is limited and that we don't know what's ahead is a reminder to live each day intentionally and with holiness as our priority — not our purchases (aka those shoes). #lifeisshort #gotoconfession #sunday #catholicwife #catholiclife #mymasstakeaway

A post shared by Annie Deddens (@catholicwifecatholiclife) on Jan 21, 2018 at 1:21pm PST

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"Then they abandoned their nets and followed Him." Recently during Confession, my pastor advised me on the will of God not being something huge and looming ahead that we can't figure out, but the will of God is asking (and listening) to the question, "God, what do you want of me right now?"… and then doing it. The will of God is a lifetime of little discernments. I bet the Apostles who answered Christ in today's Gospel hadn't debated and made lists and struggled in prayer over this specific moment. But as Christ walked by and called them, they realized that abandoning their nets was what He was asking of them in that moment, and they did it, even without knowing what the future held. They found the will of God during a moment of risk, and the echo of their yes can still be heard today. . . . #JMJ #sundayreadingsscripturedoodle #mymasstakeaway #mark1 #callofapostles #abandonyournets #sayyes #fiat #catholicwomen #bissisterhood #katieletters #scripturedoodle #biblelettering

A post shared by Katie Bogner (@katherine.bogner) on Jan 21, 2018 at 2:11pm PST

Your turn:

I want to know your Mass Takeaway too! Comment with your thoughts on the readings, your pastor’s homily, or anything that struck you during your time at Mass.

January 21, 2018January 21, 2018 by tojesussincerely Categories: #MyMassTakeaway, Prayer Life 3 Comments

3 thoughts on “#MyMassTakeaway: Love Saves Lives”

chicoinematt says:

Jan 26, 2018 at 9:31 pm

The Mass is one of the only times I feel true peace from my constant anxiety.

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- tojesussincerely says:
  
  Jan 28, 2018 at 4:58 pm
  
  I’m saying a prayer for you. God is a God of consolations. Lean in to His grace. The Mass is a great place to find comfort!
  
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Alicia Potvin says:

Jan 23, 2018 at 7:22 am

Many times I have heard over and over – follow me and found that things of the world have pushed it to drown out the voice of the Lord. The most powerful prayer to turn this around for me is the Litany of Humility. It was a difficult prayer at the beginning but it is now my measuring stick. I turn to it to see is what I am doing giving glory to God or to me. If the honest answer is me then I must let it go.

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