#Moments Before Mass

[momentsbeforemass]

What are you holding onto?

What we hold onto matters. Because you and I can only carry so much.

Even though we often act like there’s no limit to what we can carry.

The truth is that everything we pick up, everything we hold onto reduces our capacity to carry other things.

When I would carry my cat (who would randomly decide that he was incapable of movement and was now a limp noodle), I couldn’t also pick up my dog (who had no idea that he weighed 75 pounds) just because he saw the cat and decided that he wanted to be carried as well.

Sorry. I can only carry so much.

That’s not just true for goofy house pets. It’s true for life in general.

Whether we’re talking about pets or groceries, worries or cares, you and I can only carry so much.

And if our hands are full of worries and cares, problems and anxieties, you and I won’t have the capacity to carry other things.

Including things we might actually want (as opposed to worries and cares). Including the good stuff. Like God’s best for our lives.

What works against you and me is habit. We get in a habit of picking stuff up and carrying it around. Just because it wants us to pick it up and carry it around.

Like my limp noodle cat. Who wanted to be carried.

But who would also make a miraculous recovery and start doing unnecessary parkour off the top of the couch. If I didn’t pick him up.

What you and I need to remember is that we have a choice. Just because something wants you to pick it up and carry it around doesn’t mean you have to.

I’m not saying don’t deal with your worries and cares, your problems and anxieties.

But there’s a big difference between dealing with your worries and cares - and picking them up and carrying them around like a beloved pet.

So, how do you do that?

First, know that you have a choice. Then know that you have help.

You don’t have to deal with your worries and cares (or even carry them around) by yourself.

In fact, you shouldn’t. Because holding onto your worries and cares, your problems and anxieties is one of the subtlest forms of the dreary old sin of pride.

And there is nothing so effective at separating you and me from the ones who love us best (including God) like pride. It does that by making sure that our hands are full, that we have no room for the good that anyone would do for us (including God).

Instead, take the help offered by the One who loves you best.

No matter what it is. No matter what wants you to pick it up and carry it around.

God isn’t just waiting to help you. God wants to help you.

Not someday, when you’ve got it all figured out. But right now, when you don’t.

“Give all your worries and cares to God, for He cares about you.”

Today’s Readings

#Help #Now #What are you holding onto? #Holding onto #Trying to carry it all #Cats #Dogs #God #Jesus #Catholic #Christian #Church #Catholicism #Moments Before Mass

[supercool-here]

HELP I JUST REALIZED MOMENTSBEFOREMASS IS A PRIEST!!!!!!???????M

#I don't know why I thought it was a girl #and also #THAT'S WHY HIS POSTS ARE SO ON POINT #not that I don't think the laymen can do it too #moments before mass

[doortotomorrow]

rebecca shepard / kaidan alenko - finding a moment of peace

#Mass Effect #Rebecca Shepard #Kaidan Alenko #ro: sexy spectres #cannot get over how he looks at her in this moment #he loves her so damn much #one last well needed moment of peace before the final battle #during this whole scene #I was sniffing back tears because I knew I was saying goodbye to this playthrough of the trilogy

[kaidanalenkosprmanager]

THE BEST OF SHENKO 1/?

The end of the world has a way of reminding you of all the things you forgot to say do. Mass Effect: Legendary Edition (2021)

#mira makes gifs ✨ #kaidan alenko #sophie shepard #EDI #shenko #fshenko #mass effect #mass effect legendary edition #dailygaming #OTP: you're real enough for me #i learned i am physically incapable of creating less than like 20 gifs at a time #but shenko stonks are up right now!! #gif’ing my favorite bisexuals gives me joy 🥹 #even though ME2 is dry as shit for shenko content like it’s literally the sahara desert #like a whole ass 10 minutes max of cutscenes between shep and kaidan like come on #like 2 minutes in the prologue and like 8 minutes of cutscenes on horizon #and then an email and looking at the picture in your cabin before the suicide mission #i'm so sorry y'all ME2 shenko canon is absolute shit (besides kaidan being rightfully angry on horizon) which is why we ✨ignore it✨ 🥰 #but i rant about ME2 VS treatment too much so i will not write another essay about it in the tags #i will say the EDI line isn't the exact quote from the game but i think about it a lot tbf #same with the quote i borrowed from anderson too lmao (which is also a tiny bit paraphrased) #i just love EDI asking shep for relationship advice when you get to follow shep and kaidan's relationship/struggles across 3 games #and anderson's quote about all the things you forgot to do in relation kahlee to is just *chef's kiss* when you think about shenko #like whether it starts in ME1 or ME3 shenko has some really fantastic moments across the series #two characters with strong morals who realize that they're falling in love and literally start to become each other's strength?? #their soft place to land?? their support when they need it?? shenko will always have my heart #also the shenko quotes you get are the most fire thing in the world #you're real enough for me?? you make me feel human?? i want to be your strength- your soft place to land?? shenko you will always be famous #I FORGOT IM GONNA FIGHT LIKE HELL FOR THE CHANCE TO HOLD YOU AGAIN TOO LIKE?? #but i’ll stop ranting now bc i do that wayyy to much in my tags lol. have a good day wherever you are! <3

[jakeperalta]

trying to catch a busy train from london euston feels like an sas who dares wins challenge

#this is a post for my british followers xx #the station was super busy and the moment the platform became available (under 10 minutes before it leaves) #it was as though every single person there started running in one huge mass to get to my train (which doesn't have the option to book seats) #i am now on said packed train and they just announced 'there are no working toilets on here. hope this is not an inconvenience :)' HELLO?? #how are you making us pay so much for this????? #uk trains my worst enemy #talking

[crqstalite]

yk sometimes i briefly think abt the fact that with the twins being 22 theres a really high likelihood one or both graduated college/university right before they left for andromeda which makes me think that was the last big event they had with ellen.

do you think they cherish that photo in their new quarters? the last time their mother felt well enough to stand for a few minutes and embrace her children — whether or not alec was behind the camera or even there?

(sobs)

#mass effect andromeda #ellen ryder #ik for talis in particular she did a lot of her lab work with her mother #and so finally graduating with her degree #it meant a lot to her #and her mother was slowly becoming unable to work like she used to #more days when the lab was without her presence #her graduating right before departure #right before ellen fell unconscious #was this big bright moment for them before everything went to shit anyway

[femme-et-traditionnelle]

It's way too hot outside, I'm far too upset, and I really want to attend Mass right now.

#too many emotions at the moment #I really miss my husband #and we are dealing with so much right now #everything really had to wait for him to leave again before it fell on us honestly #dealing with all this long distant is hard #I miss him #and I want Mass #crying while listening to Miserere Mei right now #personal #tradwife #traditional gender roles #traditional femininity #tradfem #traditional #catholic #mass #catholicism #military wife

[chryzuree]

i know this is something i’ve written (& not posted because im shyyyy), but what if jacks lost both chrysi and azure and jst went insane because of it. what then, huh. and what does he do when, after hundreds of years of cruelty and evil, he finds himself face to face with both his soulmates and he realizes he can never be the companion they loved. what then.

#the thing is that chrysi and azure don’t care. azure watched chrysi tear a man’s jaw off that morning. #chrysi watched azure implode a man to a mass of broken bones and eviscerated flesh w/o touching him last week #objectively chryzure did more fucked up things than jacks jst casually. for money. for their job. #but the fact that jacks tortured himself for so long bc he thought he lost both chrysi and azure forever….. they’re kinda impressed #jscks is like the dog that destroyed everything the moment chrysi and azure left the house bc he thought they were never coming back #LIKE he’s jst ‘i’m a monster.. i killed thousands with my kiss.. made lover betray lover… i’m an immortal and cruel fate that can’t love’ #& chrysi and azure are like OH i thought you did like something BAD. or worse i mean. we were only gone for 400 years why’d you start cryin #chryzurejacks is everything to me… bc okay okay #i kinda want castor to be the reason that chrysi&azure died #which is why he owes jacks an unforgivable debt #& once chrysi and azure get reincarnated castor’s like THANK GOD I WAS SICK OF DOING FAVORS FOR JACKS W/O ANY PAYMENT #((bc ofc chryzure would work with castor before reaching out to jacks.. gotta keep jacks feeling insecure and jealous in all ways 😘)) #idk if i’m making sense but i loooove immortal jacks & his two soulmates that keep on fucking dying and coming back later #cant you two jst be NORMAL #s.chryzurejacks #memorie.txt

[munadyke]

.

#we had to put my dog down tonight and my chest hurts so bad ohhhhh my god #ok not really looking to get into it but i just need to type it out....and then post it on my tumblr #i dont know #its just so hard because you know she was fifteen and having bowel issues and her muscles were weak etc #but she was also still with it and playful and she was still trying to run around the yard tonight #and it doesnt even feel like she's really gone like it feels like i should wake up tomorrow and she'll be back in her bed #and she had a mass on her paw that had come back again after it had been removed before so i know it would have only been a matter of time #but a part of me just feels so torn like she could have still lived longer #i dont know sorry this is a lot for a monday evening i am just having a moment #and also i am incredibly weird about death

[weirdbabs]

i had a dream that guillermo had been approached by a legendary vampire (like. the actual dracula or something like that) who told him that he could fix his problem and make him a full vampire. so guillermo ends up doing everything he says, which includes roping derek into it, and at the cumulation of it all the vampire had him kill derek which guillermo, whos so desperate to finally become a full vampire, does. and it does work, guillermo gets everything he wants from dereks death and thanks the vampire, only for the vampire to tell him that its just the start bc next theyre going to kill the house vamps (to somehow become more powerful thru their deaths?) which guillermo is opposed to

the vamp insults guillermo, telling him that hes too weak to seek real power and that he had no issues killing the vampire that turned him whats the difference with these four, and guillermo gets defensive but struggles to answer bc holy shit hes right i killed derek, who up till this point ive defended against even my vampire family, was it even worth it?? while hes dealing with that personal crisis, the vampire tells him that hes going to kills them with or without his help and then begone

guillermo sneaks into the vamps estate later intent on killing him before he could hurt his family, and sees that he has guests. he wants to be a vampire now, not a hunter, so he wants to keep the killings to a minimum and resolves to kill the vamp when hes alone. (we get to see a shot of the guests as guillermo sees it, the majority of the shot blocked but the vamps faces still clear as day and its the house vamps but guillermo couldnt recognize them bc nandor had his back to him, laszlo had a fake beard over his beard, nadja had her hair done like the bride of frakenstein and w as wearing the most modern clothes ive seen her in, (still matching with laszlo), and colin robinson was dressed like a fedora guy. guillermo for some reason said, outloud, to himself, that the vampires guests were really attractive??)

anyway guillermo tracks down the vamp when hes alone and confronts him, the house vamps enter in mid fight, guillermos secret is revealed by the vamp, everyones hurt (nandor bc guillermo was turned by someone else, laszlo/nadja bc he became a full vamp and didnt tell them). the vampire somehow revokes guillermos vampiric powers, making him human again, and guillermo manages to kill the vamp right before he could kill nandor, and everything is back to the status quo, except that now the vamps dont trust guillermo and he was left with the knowledge that he had tasted his childhood dream and now he may never be able to achieve it again. guillermo stares out a window looking at the freshly risen sun hitting the trees and sighs. he heads towards the front door, for some reason princess carrying a tarp covered nandor, who has his arms wrapped around his neck and is instructing him on what to do to make the ride comfortable and not mess up his hair. he steps outside, pausing when the sun hit his skin, takes a deep breath before descending down the stairs and the episode ends

most of the fandom was losing their minds over nandermo, quite a few people were talking about how fucked up dereks treatment was, a lot of people were complaining about the return to normal and how nothing can ever change in a sitcom, and meanwhile i was so upset that the only thing i had to say was:

“guillermo when he cant recognize laszlo: holy shit that man is attractive

#yeah. that episode was. not my favorite #im gonna try to take whatever i can from it. even if i have to remove all context #i can play with the shit and fart show scenes like dolls. if i want”

#meanwhile in the background of my dream my dad was setting up some exercise equipment in the garage bc his physical therapist said he was #losing muscle mass. i would take breaks from the show to help him out with that lmao #yeah it was like the moment they killed derek i was like >:( okay i dont like that. and it ruined the dream episode alshshakgsk #also for some reason they had. right before the end credits rolled. renew s5 and i was like???? werent you guys greenlit to season 6???? #wwdits

[firbolgfriend]

Darius

First version 2018 - current version 2022

The dnd-ification of all my troll ocs after I stopped liking hs is actually so funny to me

#my art #dnd #ocs #Darius #why did I draw his arms like that in the first one #I didn’t realize I pie kept him blue till just this moment that’s so fucked up #I could do a before and after w almost all my ocs but I’ll spare the masses #INJUST NOTICED I DID THE LITTLE HUFF SYMBOL ON BOTH OF THESE WTF #wtf……

[momentsbeforemass]

If only

(for someone who’s stuck in an “if only” state of mind)

If only                .

We fill in the blank in a thousand different ways.

If only I could go back there again. If only he hadn’t said that. If only I could talk to her. If only they hadn’t done that.

No matter how we fill in the blank, they’re all really just ways of wishing for something we used to have. Or something we wish we had. Or something we never had. Or who we thought someone was.

Regardless, we don’t have it right now.

Really, it’s a little way of grieving for what we’ve lost.

It’s understandable. It’s okay to grieve. Because all of us have lost something. Including things that we hoped for, but that never happened.

Those losses? They’re the kind of losses that put us in an “if only” state of mind.

Wondering what things would have been like, if only…

Wondering why it didn’t last, if only…

A state of mind in which we can easily get stuck looking off in the distance. Whether it’s to a past we’ve lost. Or to a future that may never come. Or a bit of both.

Looking off in the distance isn’t the problem. It’s getting stuck. Putting all of our hopes, our dreams, our plans, our willingness to be who God created us to be – off there, in the distance.

Whether it’s a backward looking “I wish I still could…” Or a forward looking “someday, I’m going to…”

It leaves our life – and God’s purpose for our life – for another day. One lost long ago and never to come again. Or one off in the future that may never get here. Which means that it comes at a price.

Where we get stuck looking off in the distance, it comes at the price of now. It comes at the price of discarding the only moment that God has given to us. The only moment that we ever own. This present one.

Which is why now, more than ever, we need to heed that voice of the Spirit. That impulse to live out God’s call for our lives where we are. Not waiting for the big moment when everything is just right. But in the small context of today.

In truth, that’s the only way God’s call for our lives ever can be lived.

Don’t pine for the past. Don’t wait for the future.

Use what God has given you for this day. To do what God is calling you to do. Now.

As St. Catherine of Siena put it, “To the servant of God every place is the right place, and every time is the right time.”

Today’s Readings

#If only #Regret #Losing the present #What if #Grieving a loss #Present #Now #St. Catherine of Siena #God #Jesus #Catholic #Christian #Church #Catholicism #Moments Before Mass

[deathbypufferfish]

These actors are all the same guy to me sorry

#puffer talks #this is my julien solomita moment #i like the one in the middle the best #the guy from midnight mass #the vampire diaries guy is goofy as hell lmao #dude is yelling #i think ive made this exact post before????

[applebunch]

i just really love the trope where this very “joyful and bright and flashy” place is considered a place of great conflict. like wonderland in greater boston. it’s this big, beautiful theme park which is mainly associated in gb as, like, a place to escape to in the event of a tragedy.

what with nica taking leon there to help him “cope with his breakup,” or charlotte going there to take her mind of off her lack of direction, or the evicted residents of red line heading there for refuge after they’re torn out of their homes, and less notably, phil needing to use wonderland as a bargaining chip to get himself out of jail...

the place is typically associated with disaster and grief as well, since it’s leon’s death place, after all, and the history of tragedies it’s had (the burning robots...) just failure after failure after failure. it was renovated after leon’s death, and even AFTER that, the whole place becomes completely abandoned, once oliver, the current owner, “dies” after his wife divorces him.

wonderland’s place in the story is defined by escapism, grief, and disaster, and most of the time, when you go to wonderland, you don’t get what you’re looking for (nica took leon there to cheer him up, but he actually got so distressed that he died, charlotte went there and rode all of the rides and it didn’t do anything for her, and who knows what it might become for the new residents...)

with all of this in mind, it begs the question: what exactly does it mean, that ethan wants wonderland back so badly...?

#greater boston #greater boston spoilers #i yell into the abyss #love the way that wonderland puts a sour taste in your mouth over the course of the story #like. firstly. leon died there. oh no! #but. uh. it's not like he died because the roller coaster crashed or anything. he died because he was scared he only *might* die on it #and then you get charlotte trying to escape there. but still. not much of anything #then we see mallory get fired from there and it's like. huh. #then we find out that emily and ethan own it The Kind Of Person Ethan Is and it's like ''Oh?'' #and then hear about the fires. and the degrading of emily and ethan's marriage and then oliver loses his family #and then wonderland is just dead. in an instant it's drained of all it's horrible energy moments before it was supposed to make a comeback #so many bad things in the story are associated with it that it makes one wonder if it ever really brought joy to anyone #and the evicted red liners flock there because it's a large mass of unowned property and yet there is still a sense of danger in it #like. ethan is dying to have it back. and if he does he'll eagerly raise it from the dead and watch as it bites at their ankles. #it's... really something. #wonderland is not a normal theme park. #in episode 1 it sure may LOOK like it is. but it isn't. and it's not even abnormal in a supernatural way. #the story doesn't go through special aches or pains to emphasize all of the misery it's seeped in #the characters don't have anything interesting to say about it (except ethan. obvs) #but you can still see it... #hopefully all of these tags stay on this post. one too many times i added too many and a bunch got deleted

[yepthatsacowalright]

It has been very fun to watch Midnight Mass randomly start trending on Twitter today for no reason other than a bunch of people were talking about how much they like it.

#and trending enough that mike flanagan tweeted that he was surprised grateful and confused that it was happening #also quite a few people jumping on the trending bandwagon to repost art/essays/etc that i hadn't seen before #you're still too much for me too fast most of the time twitter #but sometimes #SOMETIMES #you have your moments #midnight mass #<3

[sleepygaymerdisease]

some good news: i realized i could easily clear out all of my likes much quicker by using keyboard shortcuts on my laptop

the bad news: i tend to like many posts for a reason so i actually do stop to read posts and whatnot. sad!

#i just want to clear out likes since ive been on here since i was like 15... 😐 #anis gaymer moments #but likes are sorted (logically) reverse-chronologically. so that means i just end up looking at the past 2 #weeks or so before stopping. and it repeats. but at least this time i can make bigger dents on my laptop #EDIT: NVM XKIT REWRITTEN HAS A MASS UNLIKE FEATURE YESSSSSSS