Opposite the tomb of Lord Jesus Christ, Holy Sepulchre, Jerusalem Years ago, while I was serving as a parish priest in NYC, one of my parishioners lost her husband. After the funeral she would faithfully visit her beloved husband’s grave at the cemetery. She would bring a small chair with her, and sit by the headstone for hours. I would accompany her on occasion, whenever she asked me to offer formal blessings at his burial site. But in my youth, I struggled to understand why

On Holy Friday, we stand before the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ and look upon the deepest mystery of our faith. Many people looked at the crucified Jesus on that day and saw only a suffering man. They saw His wounds. They saw the nails. They mocked Him and treated Him like just another condemned person. But the One hanging on the cross was the eternal Son of God. The hands pierced for us were the same hands that created the world. The head crowned with thorns was the head

Paris, April 24, 2014 — Greeting François Hollande, then President of France, at the commemoration of the Armenian Genocide in Paris, together with Patrick Devedjian and Alain Terzian. Back in 2014, I was in France, serving as locum tenens, organizing the election of the new primate. One day, I received a call from Canada. It was from a bishop who was serving there as locum tenens. He said to me, “You know English and French. You would be a good Primate in Canada. I’ll bring

Today, we celebrate Palm Sunday, the triumphal entry of our Lord Jesus Christ into Jerusalem. We’ve walked through the 40 days of Lent praying, fasting, and reflecting, and now we stand at the gateway to Holy Week. In the Armenian Church, we mark this day with a deeply symbolic service called “The Opening of the Doors.” At the end of Badarak, the priest knocks on the church door, and people sing together: “Open to us, O Lord, the door of Your mercy, and make us worthy to ente

Today is Lazarus Saturday, a moving day in our church calendar that reminds us of one of the greatest miracles in Scripture. A day when Jesus didn’t just speak about life, but He proved He had the power to bring it. He called Lazarus who had been dead four days out of a tomb, and that man walked out fully alive. But before that miracle ever happened, something else had to take place. Jesus looked at Martha, Lazarus’ sister, and said these words: “I am the resurrection and the

Have you ever noticed how a child comes to a parent without fear? A child doesn’t rehearse the request. They don’t wonder, “Will I be rejected?” They simply ask because they trust the heart of the one they’re asking. That kind of trust is built on a relationship. It’s built on knowing that the parent wants what is good. That is the picture Lord Jesus gives us when He says, “Which of you, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead?” (Matthew 7:9-10). Our Lord p

12 July 2014, at the wedding of Arthur and Karine at St. George Armenian Church in Hartford, Connecticut. In 2014, I came to America for the first time. I traveled from Paris, where I was serving as locum tenens of the Armenian Diocese of France, to attend the wedding of my friends Arthur and Karine Petrosyan. The moment I arrived in New York City, something moved deeply within me. It is hard to explain, but I did not feel like I was in a foreign place. I felt a deep peace, a

At the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem, touching the stone from which Christ ascended, my heart whispers: “Maranatha; Come, Lord Jesus”, awaiting the One who ascended and will come again. On behalf of all believers, who raise their eyes to the skies, who try to reach out to Heavens, the prophet exclaims, “O that you would tear open the heavens and come down.” (Isaiah 64:1). Lord, if you broke that thickness which seems to separate us from You, then we can, at last, find the true

Some of the most powerful things in life are also the simplest. God has given us one of the most powerful tools to bless others, to lift ourselves up, and to glorify Him, and it’s right under our noses. It’s our smile. The Scripture says, “A happy heart makes the face cheerful” (Proverbs 15:13). A smile begins in the heart. It is the outward sign of an inner joy, a quiet reminder that God is at work within us. Scientists tell us that smiling lowers blood pressure, relieves st

Recently, I was speaking with some friends who had climbed Mount Ararat. As they told the story, they described how the climb became more demanding the higher they went. The path grew steeper. The air grew thinner. The rocks grew more unstable.  Then they told me about their boots—special climbing boots fitted with cleats, small metal grips that dig into the rock. Those cleats didn’t flatten the path or remove the danger. But they gave the climbers the ability to stand where

Life will always give us reasons to feel sorry for ourselves. We’ve all been through unfair situations, someone mistreated us, doors closed, people let us down, and circumstances turned against us. And it’s easy to think, “If only things had been different.” That voice can sound reasonable. It can even sound justified. But if we are not careful, that way of thinking slowly reshapes how we see ourselves. It moves from something we experienced to something we believe about ours

Because I travel often, especially during the winter months, I have seen this beautiful picture many times. There are days when the sky is dark, rainy, and covered with heavy clouds. From the ground, everything looks gray. It almost feels as though the sun has disappeared. But then the plane begins to rise. Little by little, it moves through the clouds, and suddenly everything changes. There it is—the sun, shining brightly, peacefully, powerfully, as though it had been there

Once in Armenia, I spoke with a craftsman who made duduks, carefully carving them from apricot wood. I asked him how a simple piece of wood could produce such deep and beautiful music. He smiled and said, “By itself, it is only wood. But when a master breathes into it, it becomes music.” The same is true in the spiritual life. What seems small in our hands can become something beautiful and powerful in the hands of the Master. This is exactly what we see in the Gospel. One da

On the western façade of St. Sarkis Armenian Church in Dallas, there is a beautiful Armenian cross. From a distance, it looks like one single image. But when you step closer, you see that it is made of 1.5 million digitally-printed icons, each one representing a life lost in the Armenian Genocide of 1915. Every image is different. No two are the same. Each one carries its own detail, its own beauty, and its own sacred place within the cross. We are all like those small pieces

At the Heiligenkreuz Abbey (1133), a Cistercian monastery in the Vienna Woods of Austria. Our human existence can be compared to a book. Every day you are writing a page. Every decision becomes a sentence. Every prayer becomes a paragraph. Every act of kindness becomes a line that will never be erased. Your life is not random ink on paper. It is a story unfolding under the loving hand of God. Many people think this life here and now is the whole book. They see these years on

Before the Armenian Lord’s Prayer in the Church of the Pater Noster on the Mount of Olives, Jerusalem. We are living in heavy times. Wars. Rumors of wars. Images of suffering that stay in our minds long after we put our phones down. Countries are shaking. Families are worried. Many hearts feel restless. People are not only concerned about their own lives, but also about the kind of world we will leave for our children. If you’re not careful, the storm around you will try to b

This weekend, I am with our community in Dallas. Yesterday, Der Ghevond and I arrived early at St. Sarkis Church for the ACYOA youth game night. Before the others came, we picked up the ping-pong paddles and began to play. We didn’t keep score. We simply rallied the ball back and forth, enjoying the rhythm of the game. As we played, I started thinking about the difference between playing to win and playing for joy. When you keep score, everything changes. Every point matters.

At the Armenian Mekhitarist Monastery in Vienna, the fathers keep a special collection of old Armenian coins. Among them are five small medieval coins. On each coin are two simple Armenian letters: “ՍԲ”, which stand for “Holy.” The coins were known as “holy money.” These were not ordinary coins used for buying and selling anything. They were given to the poor. And they could be used only for food. Centuries ago, the Armenian Church had already found a way to protect the digni

In Vienna, I went to see and pray at the tomb of Ludwig van Beethoven. Beethoven has always been one of my favorite composers. I remember the first time I heard the 2nd movement of his “Emperor Concerto” performed live in Strasbourg by the Strasbourg Philharmonic Orchestra. It brought tears to my eyes. It felt as if strength and gentleness, struggle and victory, were all speaking directly to my soul. What amazes me most is that some of his greatest works were written after he

In Vienna, Austria, there is a church known as the final resting place of the former royal Habsburg family, called the Imperial Crypt (Kaisergruft). In the past, when a royal funeral arrived, the official procession would knock on the closed church door to be let in. From inside, a priest would ask, “Who is asking to enter?” A guard would reply, “His Apostolic Majesty, the Emperor.” The priest would answer, “I do not know him.” They would knock a second time. Again, the pries