Study: Consider a time when you were invited to take on an opportunity.  What helped you accept it?  What caused you to resist?

Pray:  Ask the Lord to guide your life.  Surrender your heart to Jesus Christ and make him the Lord of your life.

Serve: Is there someone in need of your guidance?  Perhaps as a coach, mentor, teacher, or friend?  How can you help them?

Mass Readings – 2nd Sunday of the Year

Here’s a quick overview of the readings this week:

• 1st – The prophet Isaiah describes a servant of the Lord
• Psalm – “Here am I, Lord; I come to do your will.”
• 2nd – Paul addresses the church of Corinth
• Gospel – John the Baptist testifies to Jesus

In all of these readings we see the pattern emerge about serving the Lord.  Isaiah describes it; the Psalmist proclaims it; Paul refers to it; John the Baptist shows it.

Throughout salvation history God has  called men and women to offer their lives in a variety of different ways.  Perhaps in a holy way of life or through heroic sacrifice; or maybe through service, works of charity, or prayerful stillness.

It’s crucial to note, however, that the Lord continues to call disciples today.  Our lives – redeemed by the blood of Jesus Christ – are precious, holy, and sacred.  We have been given the gift to choose how we will live, and thus become a gift to the world.

Every day we reaffirm the gift of our lives.  Perhaps you are searching for the Lord’s call in your life today…take time to discern how you can offer your life.  Perhaps you have chosen your vocation…then live it with passion!  And while we can’t change the past, we can learn from it, and apply the insights into making the present moment a blessed offering to God.