On December 18, 2021, the third meeting of the families entitled “The Joy of Love”, took place in the Armenian Catholic Church of the “Holy Martyrs” in Gyumri.

The meeting was attended by families from the Armenian Catholic communities of Armenia.

The meeting started with the speech of Fr. Grigor Mkrtchyan, the Parish Priest of the Holy Martyrs Church:

“You all know that the family is the greatest gift of God, given to man primarily to enjoy his spiritual happiness ․․․

The foundation of the family is love, and in order for that love to be secured, God also gave the idea that “what God unites, man can not divide”. I am very happy to start this meeting today.”

The Holy Liturgy was served by Mons. Fr. Garnik Hovsepian, the Vicar of the Ordinary of Armenian Catholics of Armenia, also the President of the Armenian Catholic Youth Group, with the concelebration of Fr. Hovsep Galstyan and Fr. Mikael Domburyan.

At the beginning of his sermon Fr. Garnik greeted the families, introducing the importance of the church family․

“The church is a family of families that is constantly enriched by families.

Thanks to the Sacrament of Marriage, each family becomes a gift to the church. The experience of love in the family is a lasting source of strength, through which the married couple acquires care for each other and mutual forgiveness.”

Fr. Garnik also introduced the celebrant saint of the day, St. Hagop of Mtsbin, who dedicated his earthly life to Jesus Christ, spreading the word of God, remaining faithful to the messages of the Lord.

Fr․ Hovsep presented the topic “The joy of love in a human family”, inspired by apostolic letter “The Joy of Love” by Pope Francis.

The speaker first summarized the content of the letter, then drew special attention to the expression of love in the family and the need for growth of love.

During his speech Fr. Hovsep highlighted the following:

“To love each other with self-sacrificing love that knows no boundaries. This means to make yourself a gift, a sacrifice for the other person. This applies primarily to the relationship between the spouses and the parent-child relationship. Sacrificing for each other, responsibility for each other’s happiness, development, full-fledged, free, healthy life, in full capacity, on all sides.”

The meeting was summed up by Fr. Grigor, emphasizing the undeniable importance of fidelity in relationships:

“It’s good that fidelity is kept for the sake of Jesus Christ, both in friendship and in the family”

Then the participants together with the priests sang the song dedicated to Our Lady, after which Fr. Garnik blessed presents’ with an image of the Holy Family.

And at the end of the meeting, according to the topic of the day, the representatives of the families talked about the role of the family, shared stories of personal experience.

Written and translated by Anush Harutyunyan