Lenten Vestry – Day 5 of 40

/0 Comments/in ,

Armodoxy for Today: The Lenten Vestry

Every Sunday, before the Divine Liturgy is celebrated, in the vestry of the church, the priest offers a group of prayers to prepare himself for the celebration of the Holy Eucharist. Each article of clothing – from the crown on his head, to the ornate robes and vestments that surround him, to the slippers on his feet, have special significance and meaning, which are articulated in these prayers. The word “celebrating” the Liturgy may not share the fact that these prayers were prayed during times of disaster and war, lighting the darkness by focusing on the Glory of Christ, which illuminates the darkness.  Without this preparation, without these prayers, the Liturgy is incomplete.

The Lenten period is your time in the vestry of life. A place where you take an inventory of all the beauty that surrounds you. The ornaments that give your life meaning, from head to toe. With the difficulties that surround your life, focus on the beauty, and if the darkness is great remember the generations that “lit one candle rather than curse the darkness.” This is an exercise that allows you to focus on the blessings and see them as victories over your pain.

Practice your charity today by sharing a goodness in your life as a lit candle with someone who has darkness surrounding them. And fast today from something that bothers you and causes you feelings of negativity.

You’re in the vestry preparing for the reset of life. Take some time to enjoy a helping of sweet potatoes with cranberries and pecans, today’s recipe, share in the show notes.

We pray, a prayer from the vesting of the priest, “Put, O Lord, upon my head the helmet of salvation to fight against the powers of the enemy, by the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.”

Lenten Recipes by Deacon Varoujan: Recipe 5: Glazed Sweet Potatoes with Cranberries and Pecans!

 

Try the Phone – Day 4 of 40

/0 Comments/in ,

Armodoxy for Today: Try the phone – Day 4

Your phone is acting up. You’re trying to run an app and it’s not responding. Press on it and nothing. No response. You remember that earlier it was running painstakingly slowly. You are frustrated and adding to your frustration is the fact that you can’t get off the screen! Swipe, push, you’re ready to tap it on the table, as you would do to old mechanical devices if they malfunctioned, but you’re not ready to risk cracking the screen. Should you call tech support? Well, you would except that your phone is locked up and you can’t make a call. You open your laptop to Google a fix. Just then your kid comes by and asks why you’re pounding on the keyboard. You look up and you don’t lose it but you’re also ready to dismiss his question with a shrug, but you go ahead and mention that your phone is locked and isn’t functioning. Your kid reaches over, pushes the two buttons and suddenly the screen goes blank. You panic. Is the phone broken? He looks at you and tells you to wait 30 seconds and restart the phone. You wait, you do and within a minute you’re up an running with speed and ease that reminds you of the day you got your new phone.

It’s called a reset. After a while your phone gets cluttered with junk from apps, ads and emails. Resetting cleans out the junk. Restarting is a new start.

I’m not giving you tech advice today, merely making the analogy to the Lenten period. With the beginning of Lent you’ve turned off your phone. The days of Lent what you’re in now, are the 30 second wait period and on Easter Sunday, you’re going to turn life on again.

Your act of charity today is geared toward yourself. Turn off your phone. Wait a while and turn it back on. You now have a reset phone.

Try a spinach salad with passion fruit dressing and maple-glazed almonds. The recipe is at the bottom of this page.

We pray, “Lord, I thank you for the gift of forgiveness. Knowing you forgive sins and your forgiveness is complete, I reset my life and thank you for the opportunity to start anew. Amen.”

Lenten Recipes by Deacon Varoujan: Recipe 4: Spinach Salad with Passionfruit Dressing and Maple-Glazed Almonds

Ashes – Day 3 of 40

/0 Comments/in ,

Armodoxy for Today: Ashes – Day 3

The Ash Wednesday custom is the beginning of Lenten Season in the West, two days after its start in the Armenian Church. The ash cross that is smeared on a person’s forehead is an outward sign and reminder that the Lenten season is a period of contemplation, a time to reflect on life. As the ashes are administered, the officiant clergy says, “Dust to dust, ashes to ashes,” as a reminder of our mortality. In the Armenian Church Tradition, at the burial service the priest blesses the earth with similar words pointing to the creation story in Genesis (3:19), “for you are dust and to dust you shall return.”

So today, the Christian world of the West joins us in the season of Lent. And whether it was the ashes, or the practice of one act of charity, one expression of the fast and one prayer, as we prescribed, the tone has been set for Lent.

Today’s act of charity is the simplest you will do this entire season. It’s a monetary donation. Make a donation to charity – a check or an offering in a collection plate, moving your treasure, grounds your heart for Jesus says, “For where your treasure is, there shall your heart be also.” (Matthew 6:21)

Try Spicy Peanut Noodles for your meal today and realize that there is goodness in less.

Welcoming our brothers and sisters from the Western traditions, we offer this prayer on today, “Almighty and everlasting God, you hate nothing you have made and forgive the sins of all who are penitent: Create and make in us new and contrite hearts, that we, worthily lamenting our sins and acknowledging our wretchedness, may obtain of you, the God of all mercy, perfect remission and forgiveness; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.” (Book of Common Prayer)

Lenten Recipes by Deacon Varoujan: Recipe 3: Spicy Peanut Noodles

Foundations – Day 2 of 40

/0 Comments/in ,

Armdoxy for Today: Foundations – Day 2

One act of charity, one suggestion for fasting, and one prayer make up the Lenten Trilogy, for this 40 day period.

St. Gregory of Narek, one of the mystics of the Armenian Church, is known for his prayers which reach into the depths of the heart in talking with God. In 2015, Pope Francis declared him a Doctor of the Roman Catholic Church, for his profound theological confession of faith, making him only the 36th designee of that title.

St. Gregory of Narek, or Narekatsi writes, Faith is honored in a glorious trinity with charity and hope. For if you view these three as distinct aspects of one and the same mystery, you shall forever be magnified in God. And if you believe, you shall love and through love have hope in his unseen rewards.   (Lamentations Prayer 10, Translation: Thomas J. Samuelian)

Charity is love expressed. We begin with this definition, only to build on this foundation in the days to come.

Likewise, fasting can simply be expressed as abstinence, which, again, will be more meaningful in the days and weeks ahead. We lay these foundations today so that the Lenten journey we are on will have sound footing on which to grow.

Try mushroom fried rice, according to the recipe linked below.

We pray, the morning hymn of St. Nersess Shnorhali. Aravod Looso

Morning Light, Sun of Righteousness, shine into my soul. You that flows from the Father, flow from my soul, words that are pleasing to you. Amen.

Lenten Recipes by Deacon Varoujan: Recipe 2: Mushroom Fried Rice

Lenten Trinity – Day 1 of Lent

/0 Comments/in ,

Armodoxy for Today: Lenten Trinity

Welcome to Lent. Today begins a forty-day period of self-examination and introspection that prepares you for the awesome Resurrection of our Lord Jesus at Easter, and in so doing, to live life more fully as Christ intends us to. At Epostle.net we have several Lenten programs that are available in our archives. This year, we present to you the “Lenten Trinity” – Forty days of simple guidance of a prayer, an act of charity and an element of fasting, based on the Instruction given to us by Jesus Christ.

Let’s read Matthew chapter 6, excerpts from the Sermon on the Mount.

Take heed that you do not do your charitable deeds before men, to be seen by them. When you do a charitable deed, do not sound a trumpet before you… do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing,  that your charitable deed may be in secret…

And when you pray… go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place… Do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words… For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him… 

When you fast, do not be like the hypocrites, with a sad countenance. For they disfigure their faces that they may appear to men to be fasting. When you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, so that you do not appear to men to be fasting…

This passage is read in its entirety at the beginning of Lent in the Armenian Church. In its direction, it dispels the common misconception that Lent is a time of “giving up” foods and/or behaviors. The Church Fathers point us to this passage on the Sunday before Lent to direct us to heighten our Prayer life, engage more fully acts of charity and the discipline of fasting.

This Lent, I will present you with daily messages that accent each of these areas. Each day, I will share with you a Prayer, an act of charity you can engage in, and a fasting exercise, including a recipe for a vegan meal which will be linked to the show notes. Today’s first meal is “Cream” of Asparagus Soup, and before you hit the buzzer claiming “cream” implies animal product, take a look at the recipe and try it. Each of the Lenten recipes are provided by Deacon Varoujan, carefully manicured for your taste.

Welcome to the first day of Lent. I ask you to read the entire sixth chapter of Matthew that I excerpted. You’ll find the prayer that was taught to us by our Lord Jesus,

Our Father in heaven,
Hallowed be Your name.
Your kingdom come.
Your will be done
On earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts,
As we forgive our debtors.
And do not lead us into temptation,
But deliver us from the evil one.
For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.

 

Lenten Recipes by Deacon Varoujan: Recipe 1: “Cream” of Asparagus Soup

Patience

/0 Comments/in ,

Armodoxy for Today: Patience

This week we’ve been taking a look at time and timing. Directly connected with the measurement of time is one of the virtues, patience. Patience is understood as an essential quality for leading a fulfilling and balanced life and tops the list of virtues.

Expectations are the cause of our disappointments. Expectations are built on our perception of time. We expect certain things to happen – to get something, to be accepted into a school, to fall in love, to receive a promotion, to have a wrong corrected – and when those expectations are not realized we, at the very least, are disappointed. Expectations are built on our self-imposed time-tables and patience is thrown out the door when we impose those restrictions. If you think about it, it is the disappointment and the discouragement that leads to the large numbers of depression and mental anguish in our day, caused from a society that is based on immediate gratification. Walk into a store, or go up to a vending machine, put your money in or hand it over, and you are gratified. And note, that I didn’t say satisfied. As we develop patience, expectations are reduced, hence disappointment and frustrations are eliminated from our life.

Next week, the Lenten Season begins. It is a time to grow in Faith and to strengthen out of our weaknesses. It is a time where patience can be developed through the dietary and disciplinary practices imposed on us by the Church.

Lent begins on Monday. The Sunday before Lent, this coming Sunday, is referred to as “Poon Paregetan” or “Boon Barekendan” depending on which side of Ararat you come from. The word translates to Good Life or Good Living. It is a day of indulging before the Lenten practices kick in.

The duration of Lent is forty days. But the real purpose of Lent are the 325 days that follow the forty. The skills, the discipline and patience that are learned in Lent are what help us in our everyday life. Armodoxy is about training the self to be at peace with his or her world, developing the virtues that build relationships that are cornerstone for a world of peace and understanding.

Celebrate the Day of Good Living this Sunday and then join me on Monday as we begin the Lenten Season.

We pray, Lord Jesus Christ, you gave yourself for the salvation of the world. On the Holy Cross you endured the suffering and persecution of your Creation. Your patience on the Cross was defined by Your Love for us. Help me to understand my limitations and build the virtue of patience to overcome my challenges with the tool of Love. Amen.

God’s Time

/0 Comments/in ,

Armodoxy for Today: God’s Time

This week we’re exploring timing: how events, large and small, take place over the course of time. Time marches slow when you’re young. You can’t wait to get older, to walk to school by yourself, ride a bike, later a car. To date. To stay out. You can’t wait to get older. Time is slow. And the older you get, time seems to be rushing through at too fast of a pace. You want to pull the breaks, but there’s no way to slow it down.

Time is in fact, relative, not on because of any complex Einsteinian equation but by simple mathematics. For a child of two years, a year is a half a lifetime! For a person of 70 years, that same year is 1/70th of a lifetime. Of course it goes by fast!

Sometimes to cut our anxiety and temper our impatience we refer to “God’s time,” an idea that God has a predetermined time for events to happen, and that it may differ from our own sense of time. In non-religious terms, we say, “In due time.” God’s time is beyond our measurements. In the passage where Jesus is tempted by the Devil, it says, “In an instant he showed him all the kingdoms on Earth.” (Luke 4) That instant might be understood as outside of time.

In Armenian churches throughout the world the symbol of “է” (pronounced ‘eh’) is found atop altar tables, on khatchkars (stone carvings of crosses) and on ornamental vestments. The “է” is the seventh letter of the Armenian alphabet, seven being the number of universe, or completeness, that is, the combination of four (for the corners of the earth) and three (the number of the heavens as in the Trinity). In the Armenian language that symbol/letter is the verb to be in the present tense. It is. It is, is the name of God. No He was, not He will be, but He is. He is the eternal present. In the Old Testament, in the Book of Exodus (3:14), God said to Moses, “I am who I am. This is what you are to say to the People of God: ‘I am has sent me to you.’” And before Biblical times, throughout Armenia, near the base of Mt. Ararat, at the cradle of civilization, markings and symbols point in temporal terms to the eternal truth of living in the moment. That’s Armodoxy. That’s “O.G. Christianity.” In Jesus’ experience, “in an instant showing all the kingdoms of Earth.” As we grow in faith we align more and more with the Eternal and with eternity, with the “է”.  Aligning with “է”, finding God, is the purpose of good religion and certainly the call made to us by Christ. There, we find that God’s timing is perfect.

We pray, from the words of St. Peter, (2Peter 3:9) Lord, You are not slow in keeping Your promise, as some understand slowness. Instead, You are patient with us, not wanting anyone to perish, but for everyone to come to repentance. Keep me strong in my faith and in my love for You and all my brothers and sisters. Amen.

Untime

/0 Comments/in ,

Armodoxy for Today: Untime

“To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven: a time to be born, and a time to die,” says the author of Biblical Book known as Ecclesiastes (chapter 3). Nature has its rules, you are born, and one day you will die. Sometimes, however, time does not play by nature’s rules and children are the casualty. Appropriately, we refer to the death of children as “untimely” – it is against the natural order of life. In my ministry, sadly I have had to officiate at too many funerals for children, while their broken families looked on in disbelief and torment. Even one such funeral would be “too many,” but illness, accidents, drugs and war have all taken away lives that were just about to begin, so “too many” is exactly what you understand it to be.

Back in 2006 I was called to officiate the funeral of a 15-year-old named Vahagn. Classmates, friends, relatives, and just people who knew him or his family, packed our church in Hollywood. I remember the enormity of the crowd, filling the pews, the balcony, the aisles and even standing outside the windows on Vine Street, to be a part of this service. While most people knew or knew of Vahagn in his life, I had a unique vantage point: I got to know Vahagn through the expressions and tears of his loved ones and friends. Each story that was shared that day expressed the love someone had for this young man. It’s one thing to love, and quite another to be loved. Vahagn was both, he was loved because he loved. In that love, now I have come to know him.

Soon after his passing, the family established a charitable foundation in his name with a specific goal to ensure that Vahagn’s passion for music, the arts, laughter and human joy will continue to flourish in the community he loved so dearly. Every year, the Foundation organizes an event such as runs, 5K walks or a tree planting ceremony, around the Beverly Hills City Center, where they live. At one of the events, I remember Vahagn’s father memorializing his son’s words, “There are no big or small stories, they all need to be told.” We planted a tree that year, and the area was designated as Vahagn Setian Grove. His father continued to explain that the tree will grow and provide shade to people for years to come, many who will never know Vahagn.

And so, a story was told that morning. Time stopped. Vahagn will forever be 15. For the new generations that enjoy the shade of the tree and the beauty of the grove, time will continue. They will know only the love of Vahagn. Biblically, the phrase, “Love never ends,” is defined.

Through the years, I have attended the annual gatherings. They are early enough on Sunday mornings so that I’ve been able to get in a 5K walk and still make it to church services. At one of the early memorials, they passed out a green rubber bracelet with a simple message from Vahagn, “Live, Love and Laugh.” I have worn that bracelet ever since. It is my daily reminder to live, love and laugh from this young but big life that had a great impact on so many.

We pray, Heavenly Father, you gave us the gift of life and we are grateful. Help us to honor and cherish your gift of time. Instill in our hearts the love for simple and elegant gestures of love. May we find the message of hope, faith and love in those acts. Bless the little children. Amen.

Monument: Time back to front

/0 Comments/in ,

Armodoxy for Today: Time back to front

This week we’re exploring timing: how events, large and small, take place over the course of time, what is meant by “God’s time” and why patience is a virtue. Yesterday, I shared with you the story of the Armenian Martyrs’ Monument in Montebello which received historic landmark status by the state of California.

My grandparents, all four of them were survivors of the Armenian Genocide (1915-1922). They came to America with literally the shirt on their backs. The next generation, that is, my parents, were the ones that built life up from scratch. They were the ones that recognized the importance of remembering the past to prevent it from happening again. The Montebello monument was built with that intention by the efforts of an entire community of people who supported the idea of remembering. A small group of 18 men spearheaded that effort, and I’m proud to say that my dad was one of the Monument committee members. In April 1968, His Holiness Vazken I, the Catholicos of All Armenians, dedicated the monument in a ceremony that was witnessed by thousands.

So, there I was at the foot of the 75-foot monument, with a few hundred people in attendance, to turn over the monument to the State of California in its dedication as a historic landmark, in line with places such as the Golden Gate Bridge, Hearst Castle and the Los Angeles Coliseum. I was standing as the center link of five generations in the time continuum that unites us. My grandparents and my parents are memories today that are sparked by this monument. I’m standing there looking out at an audience that included by children and grandchildren. Five generations represented with memory, presence and a future. I was honored and privileged to offer the opening prayer for the dedication of the monument as a Historic Landmark.

Heavenly Father, we thank you for this beautiful day and this chance to leave a legacy by designating our Martyrs’ Monument as a historic landmark. Bless all those who made this a possibility.

Montebello means beautiful mountain, and with this monument and all that it symbolizes – the 1.5 million  martyred SAINTS of the Armenian Genocide, this has become a holy and sacred mountain for us, a place where we can remember the past and also stand in thanksgiving to this country, the United States of America, for opening its doors to us as a place of safety and a place where we felt belonging.

Bless, O Lord, the work of our hands. May this monument continue to stand as a beacon of remembrance and inspiration, inspiring us and the generations to come, to remain vigilant against injustice and wherever the unspeakable crime of Genocide is thought of in this world. May we be moved to action and work for peace. We ask this in the name of the Prince of Peace, our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.”

Join me tomorrow as we continue on this thread.

Monument joins Golden Gate & Coliseum

/0 Comments/in ,

Armodoxy for Today: The Time is Right

On Friday, February 21, 2025 the Armenian Genocide Memorial Monument in Montebello, was designated as a historic landmark by the State of California, joining other historic landmarks across the state such as the Golden Gate Bridge, Hearst Castle and the Los Angeles Coliseum.

Plans for the Armenian Genocide Monument began as a dream 60 years ago. It was around the same time that plans were taking form in Yerevan, Armenia’s Capital, for the Tsitsernakaberd Genocide Memorial Monument, which today is part of a complex that is visited by hundreds of thousands of people every year.

The Armenian Genocide claimed 1.5 million Armenian lives from 1915 to 1922. It was the children of the Genocide survivors – both in Armenia and in California – that dreamt of and brought to fruition these memorial monuments.

My father was one of the dreamers. He was one of 18 men who made up the Armenian Monument Council (Montebello) and brought that dream to reality in 1968. I was 12 years at the opening of the Monument, but I remember several activities, from the groundbreaking on, where we – the kids of the Council members – were the “gofers,” doing the leg work, selling trinkets and pins at the events to collect a few dollars.

Timing is everything, they say. The timing was right for these structures to take form. In Armenia, which was part of the Soviet Union, the time was right. It was in the post-Stalinist era that this came to be. In America it was during the Civil Rights movement that ethnicity was being celebrated. The African American community was rebelling against segregation. Martin Luther King Jr. had made the “I have a Dream” speech in 1963, and protestors were chanting, “Black is beautiful” as a mantra of ethnic pride. It caught on and Mexicans were heard chanting, “Brown is beautiful” and Armenians joined in the chorus with “Olive is beautiful.”

The time was right and it all came together. This week on Armodoxy for Today, we’ll explore timing and how events, large and small, take place over the course of time, what is meant by “God’s time” and why patience is a virtue.

I share with you this gentle prayer, “Dear Lord, grant me the strength to be patient in moments of difficulty. Help me to trust in Your timing, knowing that everything happens according to Your divine plan. Guide my heart to remain calm and steadfast, even when the path seems uncertain. Fill me with Your peace and understanding, so that I may endure with grace and faith. Amen.“