#MyMassTakeaway

My Mass Takeaway is inspired by Rosie Hill from A blog for my mom, and her #MySundayBest linkup.

Sunday is the Lord’s day… but how do we set it apart from every other day of the week?  Sometimes, just by going to Mass for an hour in the morning, then business as usual.

But I decided I want more.

I don’t want to walk away from Mass and forget the readings, the homily, the grace I’ve been given through God’s Word and His very Body.  I want to carry Him with me in my heart, truly devoting the day to loving Him.

Join me every Sunday on Instagram or Facebook to read #MyMassTakeaway: a summary of the thoughts and reflections I bring home from Mass.

I’d love to hear your thoughts, too.  Use hashtag #MyMassTakeaway to join the conversation! And tag me so I don’t miss you!

This Sunday’s Takeaway:

We have so many feasts to celebrate what God DOES. But today we celebrate Who He IS. I'm floored at the distinction. I think of the things I do that are recognized or applauded. – Thanks for making dinner – Thanks for helping at our fundraiser – You write great reflections – You're a great math teacher – Thanks for watching my kids It feels good to be recognized for what I've done. But to be recognized for who I am? – You're an amazing wife – Thanks for being a loving mom – Thanks for being a wonderful friend – You're a faithful Christian. To hear these words from the people I love means the world to me. What a special day this is for God, then. We spend all year celebrating His actions. Today we celebrate His being. Take some time to praise God for Who He is. "God, You are Love. God, You are Good. God, You are Father, Son and Holy Spirit. You are a great God!" And tag a friend who needs to know their worth today. Tell them they're amazing for just being them. That You love them for who they are, and not just for what they do. Today, let's all celebrate BEING together! #MyMassTakeaway #MySundayBest #Trinity #FatherSonHolySpirit #iamwhoam #youareloved @rosiehill425

A post shared by To Jesus Sincerely (@tojesussincerely) on Jun 11, 2017 at 7:15am PDT

Some of my Faves:

My Mass Takeaway: It's Pentecost! The birthday of the Church. The Feast of the Holy Spirit. When He came down upon the apostles and gave them His wonderful gifts. They went out into the world and did amazing things with those gifts! The Holy Spirit is still alive in us today. He still gives us His gifts. Each of us has natural gifts: our talents. We're good at art, sports, music, writing. But the Holy Spirit also gives of us supernatural gifts. Things that make us come alive. Things that help us accomplish amazing and wonderful things in our lives. The Holy Spirit gives each of us different gifts, in different manners. Sometimes I look at someone else and wish I had their gifts. I see the good things they're doing in the world, and wish I could do that too. Jealousy gets the upper hand. And in my heart I chase things I'm not called to do. I see the joy someone else gets from writing a book, hosting a party, having 10 kids, and I want that joy for myself. But I need to look at the fire in my own life. The things that bring me joy, that make me come alive. Things like my art. And playdates. And my own tiny blog. These are the things that God's calling me to. These are the whispers of the Holy Spirit. He placed His gifts in my heart, for me alone. And they're unique to me. And they're special and important and they WILL make a difference in the world. But I can't sit in hiding and fear in an upper room somewhere. And I can't look around the room to see what everyone else is doing. I need to step out boldly in the light, like the apostles did. By the grace of God, they did things they never could have done through their own strength. And we can too. We can see God's gifts in ourselves and we can share them with the world. If only we let go of jealousy, quit looking around, and lift our eyes to Heaven to see the Holy Spirit's gifts inflaming our life like tongues of fire. It's our birthday, friends. Light the candles. Make a wish. But don't blow out the flame. Display it proudly. Set the world on fire. #MyMassTakeaway @MySundayBest #Pentecost #HolySpirit #Birthday #CatholicChurch #CatholicsofInstagram @rosiehill425

A post shared by To Jesus Sincerely (@tojesussincerely) on Jun 4, 2017 at 4:32pm PDT

My Mass Takeaway: Our pastor has been building up a train analogy for the past few weeks, and it's time to share it with you. My parish priest is from New York, and he explained ​how the subway runs on three rails. The first two keep the train on track, and the third gives it electricity: light, heat, and power. Sometimes, he says, when the train speeds around the corner, it disconnects from that third rail momentarily. The lights go out, the heat turns off, and​ the train loses power to move forward – it runs on momentum. Our pastor says the Holy Spirit is like our third rail. The source of power in our lives. When we're connected to His grace, He fills our minds with His light, our hearts with the warmth of His joy, and our wills with His strength to do right. When we sin, we disconnect ourselves from His grace like the subway on the corners. We lose His light, warmth and strength, and we start coasting along, on waning momentum As Pentecost approaches, let's focus on reconnecting with the grace of the Holy Spirit. Let's make sure we're in touch with that third rail in our lives. Let's pray for Him to shine His light in our minds, place His joy in our hearts, and give us the grace to act according to His holy will. #MyMassTakeaway #MySundayBest #grace #HolySpirit #newyork @rosiehill425

A post shared by To Jesus Sincerely (@tojesussincerely) on May 28, 2017 at 8:18am PDT

My Mass Takeaway: Today, our pastor prayed: “May our love for Mary flow from Jesus’ love for His Mother.” This quick prayer touched my heart. During this month of May, I’ve been reflecting on Mary’s love for God. But how about His love for her? My mom is an amazing woman. She poured her whole self into raising me and my 7 siblings to know and love God. She’s so generous, she’d give you the shirt off her back. Literally. If she buys herself a new top, and I say, “Oh hey Mom, I love your new top.” She often comes back with, “You can have it! Let me go change real quick.” She’s selfless. She opens her heart and her home to anyone in need. I admire her, and look up to her. I love her. I can’t imagine my life without her. But mine is a finite love. I love her as much as I can. But I also share my love with my husband, my children, my siblings and friends. My love is sometimes clouded by my impatience and my selfishness. Mary is Jesus’ mother. She loved God so much, she gave Him her very body to give birth to His Son, Jesus. She trusted Him in all things. She followed God’s will perfectly. She devoted her life to serving Jesus. She raised Him, she gave Him a little nudge into His public ministry. She stood by Him during His suffering. Can you imagine the admiration Jesus had for her, the woman who mothered Him? Can you imagine just how much he cherished her presence in His life? Jesus is God. His love is an infinite love. With every fiber of His being, He loves His mother. And even though His love each person He created totally and fully, His love for us takes nothing away from His love for her. Jesus’ love is so strong I can hardly imagine it. “May our love for Mary flow from Jesus’ love for His mother.” Wow. That’s an incredible prayer. All I can say is: Amen. #MyMassTakeaway #MySundayBest #MothersDay #InfiniteLove #Jesus #rainyday #thebootsmaketheoutfit #rainboots @RosieHill425

A post shared by To Jesus Sincerely (@tojesussincerely) on May 14, 2017 at 7:10am PDT

My Mass Takeaway: When I think of Martha and Mary, the first thing that comes to mind is, “Martha, Martha, you are worried about many things.” Martha who was too busy making dinner to sit and hang out with Jesus like Mary did. Martha who chose the worse part. Martha the screw-up. But in today’s story, I hardly recognize her. Lazarus is dead. Mary is sitting at home wallowing in sadness. And Martha is the star of the story. She runs out to meet Jesus saying, “Lord if you had been here, my brother wouldn’t have died. But even now I know that whatever you ask of God, God will give you…. I know he will rise in the resurrection on the last day… I have come to believe that you are the Christ.” Dang, lady. Is this the same person we saw before? Martha who comes out to meet Jesus while Mary sat at home. Martha the faithful. Martha the brave. How come I never think of this story? How come the version of Martha I’m most familiar with is the one where she lets everyone down? The one where she’s reprimanded by Jesus? Why do I think of myself this way? I look at myself, and I see my mistakes clearly. I search my memory and my most embarrassing moments come to mind most easily. Why do I think of my kids this way? I ignore them while they’re playing nicely, and only pay attention when they’re doing something wrong and I need to correct them. Why do I think of my friends this way? I’m hurt by their careless words for days. But their kind words only stay with me for a moment. It’s time to look again. It’s time to see the moments where Martha shines brightly. Where I practiced virtue. Where my kids shared generously. Where my friends were there for me. Everybody has good days and bad days. It’s so not fair to overlook the good and cling to the bad. So I’m looking for the good today. The good in Martha, the good in myself, and the good in others. Will you look for the good, too? Let’s forgive past mistakes and forget them. #tojesussincerely #myMasstakeaway #mysundaybest #Martha #lookagain #forgiveandforget @rosiehill425

A post shared by To Jesus Sincerely (@tojesussincerely) on Apr 2, 2017 at 3:48pm PDT

My Mass takeaway: Man, these Gospels lately have some tough call-to actions. Today's is: "Be not anxious." In our modern lives, we have so many things we worry about: money, politics, having enough time to do everything we need to do. And how about those who are less fortunate than us? Those who have to worry about where their next meal will come from. Or those in war zones who wonder whether they will live through the hour. So many troubles. Yet still Jesus says not to be anxious. Or rather, only be anxious about what really matters: getting to Heaven. He said the pagans worry about things of the world. Those who don't have faith in God are anxious about these things. But we know better. We know in the end, money and politics and our to-do list don't really matter. So we need to stop letting them steal our peace. Stop letting them keep us up at night. Start taking our lives one day at a time. And don't be anxious. Because God's got this. #tojesussincerely #myMasstakeaway #mysundaybest #benotanxious #Godsgotthis @rosiehill425

A post shared by To Jesus Sincerely (@tojesussincerely) on Feb 26, 2017 at 12:19pm PST

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