Reflections by Father Luke Veronis
Fr. Luke A. Veronis
Do you realize that the very first thing we do in the Sacrament of Baptism, which is our entrance into the Christian way of life, is to renounce Satan and all his works and all his worship and all his angels and all his pride? In other words, we begin our Christian life by acknowledging the reality of the devil and his demons, and then declaring an all out war upon them by renouncing them. Even by spitting upon them! We totally and absolutely reject Satan’s demonic side of life! Listen »
Fr. Luke A. Veronis
“The criminal in your community may be less guilty for his crime than you, his Christian neighbor,” the great Russian writer Dostoievski wrote in his book The Brothers Karamazov. “For you could have been a light to the evil doer, yet you were not. For the man remained beside you in darkness. Had you been the kind of example you ought to have been and allowed your light to shine on that lost man’s path, perhaps he might not have stumbled into his crime. If you had loved your neighbor as yourself and lavished upon him some of the care you generously lavish upon yourself, shared some of the warmth God has privileged you to possess, that criminal might have changed in time.” Listen »
Fr. Luke A. Veronis
“Fr. Arseny helped so many people that we, looking at him, began helping others. How did I become a believer?” noted a former communist atheist, “After watching Fr. Arseny for a long time, how could I NOT become what he was! He was a light in unbearable darkness!” Listen »
Fr. Luke A. Veronis
Who wants to be considered a fool? Anyone? Foolishness is not a virtue that we admire, or strive to attain, and yet, today as we celebrate the Holy Apostles, the first followers of Jesus Christ, and a day after we honored the Apostles Peter and Paul, the foremost leaders of the Apostles, we hear in St. Paul’s Epistle about the “foolishness” of the first Christians. Listen »
Fr. Luke A. Veronis
The saints of the Church represent quite a wide range of fascinating people. Some were apostles, prophets and martyrs; bishops, priests and ascetics; men and women; rich and poor; old and young; some who were murderers and thieves early in their lives; others were prostitutes and quite immoral in their behavior; all who were sick and broken to some degree, whether physically, mentally, emotionally, or spiritually; many who were quite lost in their lives. Listen »
Fr. Luke A. Veronis
Someone once asked a famous doctor, “What is the most devastating disease among people today.” He immediately replied, “Loneliness. The longer I practice medicine, the surer I am that no condition is so painful and universal as loneliness.” Listen »
Fr. Luke Veronis
On this glorious feast of Pascha, let us not listen to the voices of society that try to ridicule and reject the resurrection as some myth. Instead, let us rejoice in hope! Christ is Risen and He offers new life to all the world! We no longer fear anything, even death itself! Listen »
Fr. Luke Veronis
It’s easy to join a crowd and go along with the masses. And we often see how easy it is to get hyped up with mass hysteria. Yet to make a commitment is something quite different. To commit to following a path, despite what the majority say or do, is quite a challenge. Listen »
by Fr. Luke A. Veronis
I rarely preach politics from the pulpit. I realize in our congregation we have Democrats and Republican; we have those who may be more conservative and others more liberal. Our country is so divided, and if we talk politics, our own church family will quickly become divided. That is, we will become divided if we forget that our ultimate leader is Jesus Christ, and His call is for us to live under the reign of His Kingdom. Listen »
Fr. Luke Veronis
“O Faithless generation. How long shall I be with you? How long shall I bear with you?” (Mk 9:19) Listen »
Fr. Luke Veronis
“Today is the beginning of our salvation, and the revelation of the mystery of ages, for the Son of God becomes the Son of the Virgin.” Listen »
Fr. Luke Veronis
Let us use these tools of the Lenten season – fasting, discipline, ascesis – to help us cultivate more the essence of our faith – CONCRETE LOVE THROUGH SIMPLE ACTIONS TO ALL PEOPLE! Listen »
Fr. Luke Veronis
“Better is the person who has sinned, if he knows he has sinned and repents, than the person who has not sinned and thinks himself righteous.” Listen »
Rev. Fr. Luke A. Veronis
This week seven young men from my church and I visited St Nektarios Greek Orthodox Monastery in Roscoe, NY. I’m sure most people have never visited a monastery and have no clue of what Orthodox Christian monks and nuns do. Why do these men and women renounce the world and go off to live in a secluded monastery? Listen »
Fr. Luke Veronis
Let us use these tools of the Lenten season – fasting, discipline, ascesis – to help us cultivate more the essence of our faith – CONCRETE LOVE THROUGH SIMPLE ACTIONS TO ALL PEOPLE! Listen »