Spirituality

By Fr. Glenn Jones:

You know … if snarling at other people was a virtue, these days our cup would runneth over with saints. In the press, on the street, in emails, and certainly in social media, is constant harangue: “The sky is blue!” “You moron; it’s turquoise!” “Fool! It’s azure!!” Or: “Nazi! How dare you disagree with me by making a wholly reasonable and logical argument!!” Sigh. Agreement seems as rare as a snowball in…August. And we wonder why we can’t achieve world peace. Duh.

Ah … peace; how desirable, yet how very elusive. We long for peace in our homes, at our work, in our nation, on earth. In

By Fr. Glenn Jones:

Well, a very happy and blessed Easter/Easter season to all of you. Oh, how I miss having a parish at this time of year … the thrill of this holiest day of the Christian annual cycle as we celebrate the Resurrection of Jesus, ushering in a blooming hope for eternity with Him and the Father in the eternal life that we are made for.

It’s always such a joy to see families in their celebratory splendor … the ladies in their spring finest, the little ones frantically seeking out the Easter eggs and other goodies lain out for them in the greening grass and blossoming flowers of the church

By Fr. Glenn Jones:

And so … a great many Christians enter Holy Week this weekend (March 27-28), beginning with Passion (“Palm”) Sunday this Sunday (March 28), going into Holy Thursday, Good Friday and culminating in Easter Sunday. It’s “a great many” Christians because the Eastern Orthodox Churches celebrate Easter by the older Julian calendar, while denominations of most western Christian traditions calculate Easter using the modern Gregorian calendar, and as falling on the: 1) first Sunday 2) after the first full moon 3) after (or on) the spring equinox. We could also discuss the timing

By Fr. Glenn Jones:

Well, happy spring everyone!—the equinox having been on March 20. Sure is a lot better than last year when the pandemic was just starting to ravage through the world’s populations. A lot of pain since that time, and we mourn with all those who lost loved ones to the virus. Know that thoughts and prayers are with you all. 

The pandemic sure opened a lot of cracks (or chasms) of division—to close or not to close, masks or no masks, travel or not travel, hoax or no hoax, Fauci or no Fauci, etc.—some such arguments still ongoing, both in the U.S. and overseas. One would think that something

By Fr. Glenn Jones:

Well, now … Lent is halfway over. How we doing with those Lenten (or New Year’s, for that matter) resolutions, hmmm? Now, you know those things take effort and may have a periodic failure of weakness, so don’t give up. And if you have a “whoops”, be like a boxer and get right back up! Sadly, we tend to be like water, seeking the lowest energy level, and become spiritual couch potatoes if we aren’t careful and continually strive to better ourselves. Not just in prayer, but in those active works of service and charity needs that surround us every day.

This came to mind in the Sunday reading

By Fr. Glenn Jones:

The weekly excursion to the grocery store is always kind of interesting—especially on weekends. One sees the elderly going about methodically, quietly minding their business. The middle-aged without kids usually somewhat more hurried. That parent with older kids—or teens by themselves—even more rushed and more harried, the kids in various stages of boredom and courtesy (is it that hard to say “Excuse me” … you young whippersnappers!!) And, of course, the range of young parents with little kids—quiet kids, bored kids, grabby kids, screamers … frazzled parents showing

By Fr. Glenn Jones:

In every monotheist’s musing comes the question, “Why did God make us?” After all, if God is God, eternal and self-existent in Himself, He certainly doesn’t need us—we puny little humans who came along a paltry few tens of thousands of years ago and are, as we hear in scriptures, simply “dust and ashes” … or, using a favorite Star Trek term, “bags of mostly water”, with a few handfuls of chemicals thrown in. 

Secondly, think about what are many of our favorite books and stories. Do we not love images and stories in which people help one another or rescue the helpless, especially those