Spirituality

By Fr. Glenn Jones:

Warmest of wishes and blessings especially this weekend to all of my former parishioners in Los Alamos in my beloved former parish of Immaculate Heart of Mary—the weekend of the parish’s annual patronal feast day—a celebration and veneration (NOT worship!) of Our Lord’s mother and her purity in a heart devoted to God’s will. As Yoda might say: “Missed, you are!”

One thing I miss from parish life is the great food that people would bring to events. For one thing, I luuuvvvv sugar. I am a pastry hound … a cookie. monster. So when faced with that, my nemesis, it’s a struggle to not indulge Read More

Pottery by Father Theophan. Photo by Fr. Theophan 

By Father Theophan
Saint Job of Pochaiv Orthodox Church
Los Alamos

Last week I sat down at the wheel to teach another person how to throw pots. As I explained the process and leaned into the spinning clay, it occurred to me how many ways I’ve seen this done. There are about as many ways of making pots as there are people who make them. 

I was taught, and thus I teach, a particular method. We were shown and had the process explained over and over during the first month of our learning. So much so, that it is nearly hardwired into my brain. It’s become muscle Read More

By Fr. Glenn Jones:

Oh, look … it’s June 6—very notable in history as we remember the Allied invasion of Normandy on that day in 1944 WWII. There are few still with us who were part of combat in that terrible war, and fewer still who stormed those very beaches, or glided/parachuted into the French countryside under hostile fire. So in post Memorial Day weekend, let us remember those brave men and women once again—those who have already passed on, and especially those who never left that foreign shore. Their courage continues to inspire as we bask in the relative ease which they helped to ensure.

Protected Read More

By Fr. Glenn Jones:

And so we come to Memorial Day weekend again and remember those who have died in our service, not only to our nation, but to our states and all local communities … those who go forth by night and day, in sun, rain or snow, often not certain whether they will return. That’s something we, the served, don’t consider enough, I think. When the soldier boards the helo, straps on a parachute or trusts himself to the rappelling line even in peacetime, he knows that lots of things can go tragically wrong. And then …  multiply the risk when he/she is in a combat zone. And yet the same is true for many Read More

By Fr. Glenn Jones:

Well, it’s graduation season again and so edifying to watch the newly-minted graduates—all grins—looking forward to new lives and adventures ahead. While few of us who are older and have a number of years—or decades—under our belts since our own time to “walk the stage” would care to repeat those early times in our lives, we certainly can remember the excitement when all vistas were opening before us.

What shall they choose? … doctor, lawyer, scientist? Or maybe one of the many necessary trades that keep our world up and running—nurse, welder, plumber, electrician, Read More

By Fr. Glenn Jones:

“Woohoo!!” was the cry from—everybody!—when the CDC relaxed their mask guidance in place during the COVID pandemic. But the negatives of this last year’s pandemic are so very tragic—losses of friends, family members and neighbors by far the worst. So, hopefully the need/requirements of other COVID restrictions will also pass by the wayside before too long and the pandemic finally be behind us and only a bad memory. This whole period has been a struggle for many, with uncertain employment situations, online schooling, separation from family and friends, etc. We are a social Read More

By Fr. Glenn Jones:

A very happy and blessed Mothers’ Day to all of you moms and grandmoms! We thank you for all the sacrifices you make, the love you provide, and for fulfilling that precious and incomparable gift of motherhood. Be it snotty noses or skinned knees, dirty bums and dumptrucks of diapers, or sleepless nights of nursing, a mom’s love takes care of all when the need arises.

There’s a saying floating around: “Men glory in their work, but women glory in their children.”  Of course, as with any adage, it is not necessarily universally applicable, but my own experience makes it seem to be pretty Read More

By Fr. Glenn Jones:

Look … it’s (yet) another celebrity running for public office. “I like his/her movies, so I’m going to vote for him/her!” Of course, we don’t know whether the person would be a good or bad public servant, but hopefully the voter could muster up some sort of objective analysis of qualifications other than an unrelated-to-public-service accomplishment like starring in movies or playing in a band.

And yet, a closer look is always wise. After all, one might not expect Brian May of the band Queen, or the punk rocker Dexter Holland, to be intellectual giants at first glance, yet they Read More