Today was a great Sunday; beautiful weather after a few days of rain, and nothing important to get done! This morning I went for a run in Fairmount Park, which is about a mile from our house. It was really nice to get a little time in nature in the midst of the city, and to be reminded of how blessed I am to be able to walk amongst God's creation, all of which praises God just by being what God made it to be. Mornings like this make me marvel at the wonder of a Being Who orders both the white-hot furnaces of the stars and the elegant exchange of molecules in our bloodstreams - Who is more immense than our mind can conceive, yet so very close to each one of our hearts.














Later in the afternoon, two of my housemates and I walked down to Reading Terminal Market to buy some fresh produce. The market has a great selection of local and organic food, plus ethnic snack bars and free wi-fi. Not to mention some pretty cheap fruit and veggies - we spent a grand total of $12 for a week's worth of produce (helped by the fact that we still look enough like students to get automatic student discounts!)

Tonight we attended a 6:30 pm Mass at Old St. Joseph's church in Old City, the oldest Catholic church in Philadelphia, founded in 1733 by our beloved Jesuits. It seems like it draws a pretty young crowd, and the music was nice - but overall, no real sparks, for me at least. I think we might be sticking with it though, just for the excuse to venture into a nicer part of the city once a week! Church shopping is hard, especially because the last church I was part of I absolutely loved. But I think that part of this year is going to be about living into the Jesuit idea of finding God in all things - in my community, in the people I encounter at work, in the choices I am faced with daily. I love the ritual and tradition of the Mass, and know that Christ is present to us in a special way in the Eucharist, but I hope that this year I can be open enough and vulnerable enough to meet God everywhere that God is in this world.

On the way home from church we made a pit stop at Pat's (http://www.patskingofsteaks.com/), apparently the original producer of Philly cheese steaks. They seemed pretty serious about their cheese steaks, so I decided it was safer to not attempt to place a vegetarian order... Finding a vegetarian cheese steak will just have to be on my list of things to do before leaving Philadelphia!