Fog can cover you up this morning

This is what it looked like at about 7 a.m. today.

My work hours have been changed.  I am working 6 a.m. through 2:30 p.m. every day Monday through Friday.  How am I doing? Well I always got up at 5:00 a.m. but usually went back to bed.  I used to work at 8:30 until 5 p.m.  It is dark and quiet when getting to work now. And because I live closer to work than anyone in the office, it is not as bad as I thought it would be.  As long as I have a cup of coffee after arriving at work.  It is great leaving before everyone else at the office!  I can get to the gym/pool and make any other appointments late in the day without taking my vacation time. I don't eat after 4 p.m. and my body feels so much better. Wonderful! Just wonderful!   

Early Morning Rain

It is about 5 a.m. You can tell fall is doing its usual turning over with a gentle rain and chill in the early air.  I enjoy rain.  Especially like today.  I admit to wanting to go back to bed and sleep.  Yet, being out in the early morning before the traffic, the crowds, and the noise of the day gives me time to just enjoy the quiet.  The rain nourishes the earth.  It nourishes me.

Pope Francis' Sunday Mass homily concluding the World Meeting of Families in Philadelphia

"Jesus says, “Do not hold back anything that is good, instead help it to grow!” To raise doubts about the working of the Spirit, to give the impression that it cannot take place in those who are not “part of our group”, who are not “like us”, is a dangerous temptation. Not only does it block conversion to the faith; it is a perversion of faith! Faith opens a “window” to the presence and working of the Spirit. It shows us that, like happiness, holiness is always tied to little gestures."

Pope Francis at Curran-Fromhold Correctional Facility near Philadelphia

"All of us have something we need to be cleansed of, or purified from. May the knowledge of that fact inspire us to live in solidarity, to support one another and seek the best for others.

Let us look to Jesus, who washes our feet. He is "the way, and the truth, and the life". He comes to save us from the lie that says no one can change. He helps us to journey along the paths of life and fulfillment. May the power of his love and his resurrection always be a path leading you to new life."

Pope Francis at Sts. Peter and Paul Cathedral in Philadelphia

""What about you?" It is significant that those words of the elderly Pope were also addressed to a lay woman. We know that the future of the Church in a rapidly changing society will call, and even now calls, for a much more active engagement on the part of the laity. The Church in the United States has always devoted immense effort to the work of catechesis and education. Our challenge today is to build on those solid foundations and to foster a sense of collaboration and shared responsibility in planning for the future of our parishes and institutions. This does not mean relinquishing the spiritual authority with which we have been entrusted; rather, it means discerning and employing wisely the manifold gifts which the Spirit pours out upon the Church. In a particular way, it means valuing the immense contribution which women, lay and religious, have made and continue to make, to the life of our communities."

Pope Francis and Archbishop Charles J. Chaput