The Next Step

The Next Step


Latest Episodes

Between a Rock and a Soft Place
July 02, 2009

Next Step #56: When Jesus was asked for a “sign” he offered nothing new. He only pointed to something that was “greater than” the signs. Here’s a casual look at symbols. In the wake of Michael Jackson’s death, Fr. Vazken looks into the ways in

Dreaming Fathers for Peace
June 24, 2009

Next Step #55: Fathers Dreaming of Peace – A look at Fatherhood through St. Joseph’s lens. In this podcast, Fr. Vazken explores parenting by looking at an individual’s relationship with God – in our ability to dream of the impossible and allow oth

Hripsime & Gayane in Iran and Korea
June 17, 2009

Next Step #54: If words turn into wars then simple acts of understanding and respect can turn into peace. With saber-rattling in Korea and political unrest in Iran, fear takes away thoughts of peace. But if peace is the ultimate equilibrium point, how is

A Look Back at Year One
June 10, 2009

Next Step #53: Wrapping up the first year of the Next Step Podcast, Fr. Vazken gives a moving account of a young cancer victim and the “Last Temptation of Christ.” What are the real questions that need to be asked? A look back on the year – from Dar

No Spirit in Exile
June 03, 2009

Next Step #52: Focus on the spirit this Pentecost, while the Spirit allows us to focus on life and love. A powerful message of finding the tie that binds all of our dreams and hopes. It’s the power of the Holy Spirit and it's unleashed when body, soul a

Potential to Reality: Ascension to Pentecost
May 27, 2009

Next Step #51: Caught between the 40th and 50th days after Easter, a look at dreams turning into life. What is life without dreams? When hope is gone, can there even be a glimmer of life? This next step examines the tragedy of children being tried as adul

“Circular Breathing”
May 20, 2009

Next Step #50: Can the discipline of inhaling while exhaling have applications outside of music? The Armenian duduk and the Scottish bagpipe meet each other on common ground. But when Obama goes to Notre Dame, or the Pope goes to Jerusalem, can there be â

Sacramental Mothering: A New Understanding of the Oldest Parent
May 13, 2009

Next Step #49: Forget the clichés. Forget motherhood and apple pie? In this post-Mothers’ Day tribute, Fr. Vazken doesn’t fill the Hallmark prescription for the day, instead he reveals a new understanding of the sacraments. Is it a roadmap for parent

Three Funerals and an Identity
May 06, 2009

Next Step #48: The collective and past moments in our individual lives has contributed towards our identity. Earlier this year, Fr. Vazken’s trip to Armenia initiated a discussion at Etchmiadzin, the Holy Mother See, about identity. And this week with t

After a Famine/After a Genocide: A Shift in Perspective
April 30, 2009

Next Step #47: April is filled with remembrances of Genocide, from the Armenian to the Jewish to the Rwandan and now Darfur; the In His Shoes Ministries finishes a fast for world hunger. $28,000 later, a group of Genocide survivor-descendants prove that t