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If we pause and reflect on our lives, we’ll discover countless gifts and blessings for which we ought to be deeply grateful to God. It’s from the depths of our hearts that we should express our sincere thanks.The power of gratitude is well-known to parents. When children continually ask for more without expressing appreciation for what they already have, a parent’s heart may grow heavy with …
“Praise the Lord! Praise God in his sanctuary; praise him in his mighty firmament!” Psalm 150:1
“Alleluia” in the Hebrews means “Let us bless God.” The verb “to bless” in this Psalm is used in the sense of “to praise” and in an imperative manner. This means it is not an offer or an invitation, but a command addressed to each of us. This is best seen in the last verse of Psalm 150 when the psalmist calls out: “All souls, bless the Lord.” All with souls are called to bless and glorify God “with joy… with sweet words… with audible speech… with the voice of thanksgiving” (Psalm 150:4-6).
Poet Levon Mirijanian had a wide literary and public activity in Armenia from the 1960s to the 2000s.
Mirijanian was born on January 22, 1933, in Yerevan. He finished the Khachatur Abovian high school in 1950 and the School of Armenian Language and Literature of Yerevan State University in 1955. In 1962 he passed the courses and exams for the Ph.D. program of the Institute of Literature Manuk Abeghian of …
In 1972, a mad and distressed Hungarian geologist attacked and severely damaged one of the world’s most famous sculptures, Michelangelo’s Pieta, located in St. Peter’s Cathedral at the Vatican.
After arresting the culprit and assessing the amount of damage he caused, the officials immediately started the restoration of the statue. Although this masterpiece of art was broken, it was not thrown aside but was carefully repaired and is still to this day, one of the crown jewels of the St. Peter’s Cathedral, restored with its new beauty.
If you meet drivers who bought an expensive car and ask them about their car, they will talk for hours about its advantages and multifunctional capabilities. If you ask someone who bought a new computer about their computer, they will tell you about its power and capabilities. If you ask a gardener about his garden or greenhouses, he will tell you at length about the quantity and quality of his crops.
In the cathedral, a nine-year-old girl was mesmerized by the vibrant stained-glass windows. Curiously, she pointed to each one, turning to her aunt to ask, “Who’s that?” The questions followed one after another, identifying Saint John, Saint Peter, Saint Sahag, and Saint Mary until a moment of clarity dawned on her. With a triumphant expression, she exclaimed, “Now I know what a saint is! A saint is a person the light shines through!”
The Armenian Church commemorates and remembers St. John Chrysostom (Hovhan Vosgeperan), a notable Christian bishop and preacher in Syria and Constantinople. He is famous for his eloquence—Chrysostom means “golden mouth.” The Orthodox Church …
I don’t need to tell anyone that Christmas is on display in all major outlets and markets as if the celebration were only a week or so away. Whatever you need, it’s there waiting for you: trees, lights, ornaments, toys, stockings, . . . The only thing missing is for some enterprising young “preacher” to set up a booth to “sell” you the Spirit of Christmas, all neatly packaged in brightly colored wrapping.
At that moment, prayer seemed both inevitable and spontaneous. How could one not pray when faced with such splendor? The falls acted like a grand altar, constantly offering its waters to the sky and the mist like incense, rising and filling the air with its refreshing scent.
The spectacle reminded me of the words from the Book of Psalms, “The heavens are telling the glory of God, and the firmament proclaims his handiwork.” (Psalm 19:1)…
Mihran Toumajan, one of the five disciples of Gomidas Vartabed, continued the work of his master for about forty years in the United States.
He was born on October 21, 1890, in the town of Gurin (province of Sepastia). He moved to Sepastia with his family in 1895 and pursued there his studies. Then, after moving to Constantinople in 1909, he entered the Law School of the University of Constantinople and graduated in 1913.
