Message of Fr. Vazken Movsesian, parish priest of St. Andrew Armenian Church, Cupertino, from the Nakhagoch Newsletter. Electronic version archived on: SAIN-- St. Andrew Information Network -------------------------------------- c. 1988 Fr. Vazken Movsesian Address comments to: dervaz@sain.org -------------------------------------- Pastor's Message Thoughts for the Feast of St. MaryÉ There are certain inconsistencies in life. Why do talk show hosts make more money than the President of the United States? There are certain questions that puzzle us. Why do we enter through the front doors of a church yet as we pass through the doors we are in the back of the church? There are certain questions that defy reason. Why do drivers have to slow down and twist there necks to see an accident on the highway? Perhaps the questions I find most disturbing are those that revolve around the sanctity life. The so called "Right to Life Movement" will protest in front of an abortion clinic. Meanwhile a mother delivers and abandons a tender newborn baby in an airplane lavatory (news item 7/88). Children are abused daily. Teenagers who have lost hope contemplate suicide. The homeless eat from garbage cans. Does it make sense? Is the sanity of life restricted to the unborn child? A dog food company, is currently running an ad with the slogan, "People food for dogs." It is their right to do so, but is not this statement saying something about our values and attitudes toward life? This August 14, we will once again celebrate the feast of the Assumption of the Holy Mother of God. In this feast, we are made aware of the sanctity of life. St. Mary is the life bearer of the world. Through St. Mary, God was revealed, LIFE was given to man, Jesus Christ was born!!! And we live because of this event! On this feast, the church blesses grapes. The grapes are the symbol of our harvest and our labors that sustain life. We ask God for His blessings upon all that we do. As in years past, I will ask you, the congregation to bring your harvest to church. Sure very few of us, if any, grow grapes for a living; however, we are involved in other works that likewise produce a living and way of life for us. In the past few years you have brought along with grapes, silicon wafers, floppy disks, microprocessors (as products of this Valley), hammers, business cards, and even a fishing lure. And why not? These things are symbols of our work and in need of God's blessings. More importantly, these symbols bring to mind the value and sanctity of life. "God so love the world that He gave His Only Begotten Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life." God gives us His all, so that we may live, not only to survive but to live abundantly! In this world there are types of inconsistencies. There are many imponderables that we may never come to understand. And as inconsistent and as imponderable as life may get, we do feel life, because we live. For some, it is joyous, for others it is hopeless. Nonetheless, it is life and it is sacred because it is given by God. As we prepare ourselves for the feast of Assumption, a feast full with symbols of life, we are called upon to reflect about life. What does it mean? In what direction are we headed? What makes life holy and sacred? Likewise, we are called to focus on the issues and concerns that plaque mankind. Why is life not sacred to some? What conditions have existed in people's lives that make them so indifferent to life? And most importantly, what can we do to bring the sanctity back into life that is void of it? God response to our lack of sanctity was to sacrifice and give His Son. We are called as Christians to the same gesture of giving. As we pray the prayers of Grapeblessing, join me in praying for all the labors that we do to produce a living. Join me in praying for the sanctity of life. -------------------------------------- c. 1988 Fr. Vazken Movsesian Address comments to: dervaz@sain.org --------------------------------------