The Pastor’s Update:#10
“Many will go away, but some will stay.”
I heard a self-deprecating comedian once say that, according to his research, Father’s Day is the 20th most popular American Holiday. Christmas is at the top of that list, followed by Mother’s Day at number two. The joke was, what could be 18 more important holidays that separate Father’s Day from Mother’s Day?
In my pastoral vocation and counseling profession, I have encountered people with polarized relationships with their fathers. Some adore their fathers for the blessings they have received, while others feel empty due to the emotional or physical pain their dads inflict. These polarized attitudes showcase the significant impact of a father's role in a child's life and the stability of the family.
I often reflect on my roles as a father to my three children and a parish priest in the Armenian Church. I consider myself blessed to have been entrusted with such a wonderful gift. Children are indeed blessings from God. When I think about my relationship with my father, I remember how I idolized him at a certain point in my childhood. I wonder if my children see me in the same way. Whenever I sense that they do, I try to goof around with them and convey that I am a fallible human capable of making mistakes. I seek guidance in our Christian spirituality, drawing inspiration from the life of St. Joseph, who played a crucial role as the earthly father of baby Jesus. Although St. Joseph is a silent figure in the New Testament, his silence should not be mistaken for weakness, as he faithfully followed God’s instructions and was instrumental in protecting Jesus and Mary during pivotal moments such as the Nativity, the flight to Egypt, and when they found the 12-year-old Jesus in the Temple. I also look to the example of the father from the parable of the Prodigal Son in the Gospel according to Luke. The father in the parable embodies traits of mercy, forgiveness, and wisdom.
In my role as a priest, I feel the weight of the responsibility that comes with the title Der Hayr - the father of the community. It is both a great honor and a great responsibility. As your Der Hayr, I see myself as someone who invites you to recognize how God is working in our lives and to actively receive the gift of salvation that God offers us.
During my early years as a priest, my wife introduced me to the life of Don Bosco, an Italian priest from the 19th century who was later canonized as a saint in the Roman Catholic Church. Father John Bosco focused on working with disadvantaged and delinquent youth and developed a teaching method based on love rather than punishment. He introduced the love of God to children and youth who had faced suffering and social and economic disadvantages. I vividly remember the paradigm shift I experienced after learning from his life.
One line from a movie about his life that has stayed with me is when Don Bosco looked at the number of children involved in his ministry and said, “Many will go away, but some will stay.” From that day on, I looked at the children and youth of our church in a new light. While they may not face the same social or economic injustices, suffering, and lack of parental love, our children are growing up in a time and environment where technological advances, instant gratification, and excess in everything can create a sense of emptiness and meaninglessness. As your Der Hayr, I have dedicated all the children and youth of our community to our heavenly Father. I have made it my life's mission to invite tender souls to encounter the love of Jesus and make Him the captain of their ships, and I pray that “many will stay.”
As we reflect on fatherhood this weekend, I would like to invite you to meditate with the words of the following private prayer that the priest prays silently as the congregation sings the Lord’s Prayer during Badarak:
"God of truth and Father of mercy, we thank you. You have exalted our nature, condemned as we were, above that of the blessed patriarchs. They called you God, but in compassion, you have been pleased to be named Father to us. And now, O Lord, we beseech you to make the grace of this new and precious naming of yourself shine forth and flourish day by day in your holy Church."
God, in His infinite mercy, has introduced Himself to us as our Heavenly Father. This notion gives us solace, whether we ache due to the unloving nature of our earthly fathers or because they are no longer with us. Our Heavenly Father is always with us.
In my pastoral vocation and counseling profession, I have encountered people with polarized relationships with their fathers. Some adore their fathers for the blessings they have received, while others feel empty due to the emotional or physical pain their dads inflict. These polarized attitudes showcase the significant impact of a father's role in a child's life and the stability of the family.
I often reflect on my roles as a father to my three children and a parish priest in the Armenian Church. I consider myself blessed to have been entrusted with such a wonderful gift. Children are indeed blessings from God. When I think about my relationship with my father, I remember how I idolized him at a certain point in my childhood. I wonder if my children see me in the same way. Whenever I sense that they do, I try to goof around with them and convey that I am a fallible human capable of making mistakes. I seek guidance in our Christian spirituality, drawing inspiration from the life of St. Joseph, who played a crucial role as the earthly father of baby Jesus. Although St. Joseph is a silent figure in the New Testament, his silence should not be mistaken for weakness, as he faithfully followed God’s instructions and was instrumental in protecting Jesus and Mary during pivotal moments such as the Nativity, the flight to Egypt, and when they found the 12-year-old Jesus in the Temple. I also look to the example of the father from the parable of the Prodigal Son in the Gospel according to Luke. The father in the parable embodies traits of mercy, forgiveness, and wisdom.
In my role as a priest, I feel the weight of the responsibility that comes with the title Der Hayr - the father of the community. It is both a great honor and a great responsibility. As your Der Hayr, I see myself as someone who invites you to recognize how God is working in our lives and to actively receive the gift of salvation that God offers us.
During my early years as a priest, my wife introduced me to the life of Don Bosco, an Italian priest from the 19th century who was later canonized as a saint in the Roman Catholic Church. Father John Bosco focused on working with disadvantaged and delinquent youth and developed a teaching method based on love rather than punishment. He introduced the love of God to children and youth who had faced suffering and social and economic disadvantages. I vividly remember the paradigm shift I experienced after learning from his life.
One line from a movie about his life that has stayed with me is when Don Bosco looked at the number of children involved in his ministry and said, “Many will go away, but some will stay.” From that day on, I looked at the children and youth of our church in a new light. While they may not face the same social or economic injustices, suffering, and lack of parental love, our children are growing up in a time and environment where technological advances, instant gratification, and excess in everything can create a sense of emptiness and meaninglessness. As your Der Hayr, I have dedicated all the children and youth of our community to our heavenly Father. I have made it my life's mission to invite tender souls to encounter the love of Jesus and make Him the captain of their ships, and I pray that “many will stay.”
As we reflect on fatherhood this weekend, I would like to invite you to meditate with the words of the following private prayer that the priest prays silently as the congregation sings the Lord’s Prayer during Badarak:
"God of truth and Father of mercy, we thank you. You have exalted our nature, condemned as we were, above that of the blessed patriarchs. They called you God, but in compassion, you have been pleased to be named Father to us. And now, O Lord, we beseech you to make the grace of this new and precious naming of yourself shine forth and flourish day by day in your holy Church."
God, in His infinite mercy, has introduced Himself to us as our Heavenly Father. This notion gives us solace, whether we ache due to the unloving nature of our earthly fathers or because they are no longer with us. Our Heavenly Father is always with us.
The Word of God
This Sunday, we read Jesus referring to Jonah from the Old Testament as an answer to those who wanted Jesus to give them a sign so they could believe. Jesus told them: “ “An evil and adulterous generation asks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah (Matthew 12:39). But what is the sign of Jonah? The commentary in the Expositor's Bible suggests, "It is a sign that Jonah himself was, not the sign given him or presented by him. This interpretation accepts the view that the Ninevites learned what had happened to Jonah and how he got to their city. Jonah himself thus served as a "sign" to them, for he appeared to them as one who had been delivered from certain death. As Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the fish, so the Son of Man will be buried three days and three nights in the earth. That is to say, Jesus' preaching will be attested by a deliverance like Jonah's, only greater; therefore, there will be greater condemnation for those who reject the significance of Jesus' deliverance. Note that this explanation rightly assumes that Jesus knew long in advance about his death, burial, and resurrection, and saw his life moving toward that climax” (Expositor's Bible Commentary (Abridged Edition): New Testament Copyright 2004).
Prayerfully,
This Sunday, we read Jesus referring to Jonah from the Old Testament as an answer to those who wanted Jesus to give them a sign so they could believe. Jesus told them: “ “An evil and adulterous generation asks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah (Matthew 12:39). But what is the sign of Jonah? The commentary in the Expositor's Bible suggests, "It is a sign that Jonah himself was, not the sign given him or presented by him. This interpretation accepts the view that the Ninevites learned what had happened to Jonah and how he got to their city. Jonah himself thus served as a "sign" to them, for he appeared to them as one who had been delivered from certain death. As Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the fish, so the Son of Man will be buried three days and three nights in the earth. That is to say, Jesus' preaching will be attested by a deliverance like Jonah's, only greater; therefore, there will be greater condemnation for those who reject the significance of Jesus' deliverance. Note that this explanation rightly assumes that Jesus knew long in advance about his death, burial, and resurrection, and saw his life moving toward that climax” (Expositor's Bible Commentary (Abridged Edition): New Testament Copyright 2004).
Prayerfully,
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