Spirituality

By Fr. Glenn Jones

I was at the National Cemetery in Santa Fe the other day, officiating at the last farewell to a beloved former parishioner—a young wife and mother who succumbed, after many years’ valiant struggle, to unrelenting cancer. A privilege and blessing to be able to do this one last service for her, it was even more so to have visited and ministered to her at UNM Hospital in her last days … to spend time with this gentle and faithful woman who strengthened others by her resolute determination, and to be able to assure her of the eternal rest offered by God. 

Wandering afterwards through the

By Fr. Glenn Jones

As you know all too well, the issue of race and racism has dominated the last couple of months, despite even the COVID-19 pandemic. This emphasis on eliminating racism and bigotry is a wonderful goal without doubt, but counterproductive if violence and property destruction worsens the disease rather than cures it, for one does not solve injustice by being unjust—the obvious “two wrongs don’t make a right” wisdom.

So, in combating bigotry, we mustn’t cultivate bigotry by inadvertently sowing weeds of resentment with the good wheat of equality and true growth. True peace requires

By Fr. Glenn Jones

Well, first of all … Happy Father’s Day to all you dads out there! A blessed task and duty is fatherhood, as you are entrusted by God for the safekeeping and cultivation of those little images of Him … and of you and mom. “In His Image” in reference to God is in the spiritual being and the internal goodness within all persons … no matter how much it may be hidden. In your image, dads, by what you and mom imprint upon them—in physical likeness, yes, but ever so much more in values and wisdom. 

When we consider wisdom, we understand that it requires truth and facts, else it is no wisdom at all. 

By Fr. Glenn Jones

As we read of the protests arising out of the outrage of the George Floyd death, we cannot help but to remember the 1960s and the demonstrations during the civil rights movement. There were riots then, too, of course, but what really got things moving (albeit slowly) were the peaceful mass protests, very often led by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and people moved by his unmatched powerful oratory.

Who among those who have watched videos of them can forget his “I have a dream” speech, or how he proclaimed his hope that persons would one day be judged not by the color of their skin, but by

By Fr. Glenn Jones

Ah, spring … flowers blooming, trees budding, birds nesting. Riots raging.

Kind of a perfect storm this year. Nerves were already on edge because of the coronavirus pandemic and people having to be cooped up for so long, the uncertainty of possible contagion, shortages of goods, so many persons losing their jobs because of the various quarantines and strictures put in place … not even to mention the families affected by the loss or illness of family members. Family separations, lack of funds, lack of essentials … and you have a kettle of frustration just below boiling point. Add

By Fr. Glenn Jones

Now we come to another Memorial Day weekend in remembrance of all those who have died in our service, not only to our nation, but to our states and all local communities … those who volunteered to go in harm’s way. Though they may cite different reasons for entering their various occupations, the soldier, the firefighter, the policeman, the emergency responder of every stripe knows in the back of his mind that he may be called to that ultimate sacrifice for his fellow Man. 

And so this weekend we honor all who have done just that, for as Jesus so beautifully says: “Greater love has no

By Fr. Glenn Jones

“Fleas, fleas, fleas…”… the first line of one of a favorite poem when taking Spanish eons ago, in a text … alas … long lost, and which even Google, it seems, cannot find. The “speaker” a cat, ceaselessly besieged by the little biting buggers … lamenting his fate and cursing his tormentors.  Been there, done that … having rented a room decades ago from someone who owned a flea magnet for a pet, whose little hitchhikers seemed to find my flesh quite delectable. Such a lovable dog, though—a good ol’ Lab. How can you get mad at a Lab? It’s the eyes….

That was such a great poem because it was such

By Fr. Glenn Jones

A very happy and blessed Mothers’ Day to all of you moms/grandmothers out there! A rather tough Mothers’ Day for you this year, I fear, as it’s likely that many of you are separated from children/grandchildren not only by miles, but in an abundance of caution over this COVID situation we’re stuck in. Like I’ve often seen on Facebook from older ladies over the last few weeks: “Call grandmothers away from their grandchildren … because we are NOT okay!!”  Ah … the joy of grandparents—to spoil the little ones and to bask in their love. (“Grandchildren are the crown of the aged…” Proverbs

By Fr. Glenn Jones

As luck would have it, my little window faces east, giving wonderful views of the Sandia Mountains as the sun is setting … basting them with an evening “watermelon” reddish tint from which they purportedly derive their Spanish name … the latest beauty beheld in a lifetime of visual wonders. Sunsets over Shiprock, dawn on the ocean, Maryland trees shimmering with a thousand fireflies on a spring evening, snowfall in the Los Alamos canyons … the night sky over a totally-darkened landscape—something we count ourselves fortunate to continue to be able to find in New Mexico. (“…the