October 19, 2025 Homily: Fr. Vigoa — Transcript

Full transcript

1. 0:03I read something fascinating about
2. 0:05Winston Churchill, the prime minister of
3. 0:08England during the Second W World War.
4. 0:12It said that Churchill took three years
5. 0:14to pass the eighth grade. Imagine that.
6. 0:18Three years. He simply couldn't pass
7. 0:21English of all things.
8. 0:25The irony of course is that decades
9. 0:28later he would become one of the
10. 0:30greatest masters of the English language
11. 0:33whose words would rally a frightened
12. 0:36world.
13. 0:38When Churchill was invited to give the
14. 0:41commencement address at Oxford
15. 0:43University,
16. 0:44people expected an eloquent soaring
17. 0:47oration.
18. 0:49Instead, he walked up to the podium,
19. 0:52looked out at the graduates, and
20. 0:54delivered what was probably one of the
21. 0:57most powerful commencement speech ever
22. 0:59given. I'll give you more in a moment.
23. 1:04But I want to begin with the first
24. 1:06reading
25. 1:09takes us back to another battlefield,
26. 1:12the one between the Israelites and the
27. 1:14forces of Amalecch.
28. 1:17At first glance, it seems like one of
29. 1:20those Old Testament war stories.
30. 1:24Two armies clashing under the desert
31. 1:26sun.
32. 1:28But if we listen carefully,
33. 1:31there's a deeper drama unfolding,
34. 1:34not just in history, but a mirror of the
35. 1:37spiritual life itself.
36. 1:40Amalecch, the tribal leader who rose up
37. 1:44against God's people becomes a symbol of
38. 1:48everything that resists God.
39. 1:52Everything that tries to pull you away
40. 1:55from God. Everything that tries to
41. 1:57distract you, that pulls you from being
42. 2:00faithful to a path of life.
43. 2:03Every generation of believers, every
44. 2:06person who seeks holiness will at some
45. 2:09point in their life have to face an
46. 2:11Amalecch.
47. 2:13The Israelites were always at war.
48. 2:17Open the pages of scripture
49. 2:20and you'll see it again and again and
50. 2:22again. They were always surrounded by
51. 2:25enemies,
52. 2:26enslaved by empires, carried off into
53. 2:30exile, tempted to forget who they were.
54. 2:34We could probably say the same thing
55. 2:36today.
56. 2:37The battle may look different, but it
57. 2:40hasn't disappeared.
58. 2:43Amalecch is alive and well in our own
59. 2:46time.
60. 2:48Sometimes he comes disguised at c as
61. 2:50cynicism.
62. 2:52Some kind sometimes he comes disguised
63. 2:54as apathy, resentment or even despair.
64. 3:00Sometimes Amalecch wears the face of a
65. 3:02culture that laughs at our faith or
66. 3:05calls good evil and evil good.
67. 3:10Sometimes Amalecch will whisper in your
68. 3:12ear telling you that prayer doesn't
69. 3:14really matter. What good does it do?
70. 3:17That holiness is impossible.
71. 3:20And sometimes, if we're honest, Amalecch
72. 3:22is the voice inside of you that says,
73. 3:25"Why bother?"
74. 3:28Amalecch can be the person who undercuts
75. 3:30your integrity at work.
76. 3:33Amalecch could be that friend who mocks
77. 3:35your faith or the system that tells you
78. 3:38to keep your beliefs private because
79. 3:41that makes people uncomfortable. Don't
80. 3:44talk to me about Jesus.
81. 3:47AMC can even be the version of ourselves
82. 3:49that would rather stay comfortable than
83. 3:52to seek God and to seek a true
84. 3:55conversion.
85. 3:57The greatest battlefield is not out
86. 3:59there somewhere. The greatest
87. 4:02battlefield, the greatest battle that
88. 4:04you will engage in is in your heart.
89. 4:09That's why this passage from Exodus is
90. 4:12so striking.
91. 4:14As to the Israelites fight, Moses stands
92. 4:18on the hill above them with his arms
93. 4:21raised in prayer.
94. 4:23As long as his hands are lifted to
95. 4:25heaven, Israeli Israel prevails.
96. 4:29But when he grows weary and his hands
97. 4:31begin to go down, Amalcch starts to win.
98. 4:36It's such a vivid image that you can
99. 4:38almost see it with your mind's eye.
100. 4:41The old prophet trembling under the
101. 4:44weight of his own fatigue, the sun
102. 4:46beating down, the battle raging down
103. 4:49below them.
104. 4:51Then two men, Aaron and her, step up
105. 4:55beside him. They don't let his arms
106. 4:58fall.
107. 4:59They hold them up, one on either side,
108. 5:03so that the people of God will not lose
109. 5:05heart.
110. 5:07It's probably one of the most beautiful
111. 5:09metaphors for all of the church.
112. 5:13Moses represents the church at prayer,
113. 5:17interceding,
114. 5:18persevering, battling in ways the world
115. 5:21cannot see behind closed doors.
116. 5:25He raised his arms near his raised arms
117. 5:29mirror that of every priest at the
118. 5:31altar.
119. 5:33Every contemplative nun in a monastery.
120. 5:36Every mother who prays over their
121. 5:38children. Every family that gathers
122. 5:41together to pray. Every elderly person
123. 5:44who can no longer leave the house but
124. 5:47still whispers a rosary every morning.
125. 5:51Somewhere right now, someone you don't
126. 5:54even know is praying for you.
127. 5:57Keeping your arms lifted up under an
128. 6:01unseen battle.
129. 6:04Look around.
130. 6:06The same drama plays out every day
131. 6:10in monasteries across the world.
132. 6:12Cloistered nuns lift up the church with
133. 6:14their quiet faithfulness.
134. 6:16Here in our own parish hall, every
135. 6:20Monday afternoon, parishioners gather to
136. 6:23pray for the intentions of all of our
137. 6:26parishioners.
138. 6:28In living rooms, families kneel together
139. 6:30at night. In hospitals and nursing
140. 6:33homes, people who can no longer serve
141. 6:35with their hands now serve the church by
142. 6:38lifting up prayers.
143. 6:40All across the globe from sunrise to
144. 6:44sunset at every single hour of the day,
145. 6:48a holy mass is being offered on every
146. 6:50part of this con of every part of this
147. 6:52planet. The arms of Christ raised once
148. 6:56more through the hands of his priest
149. 6:58holding back the darkness.
150. 7:02When Moses's arms grew tired, Aaron and
151. 7:05her stepped in.
152. 7:08That's the picture of a Christian
153. 7:09community.
154. 7:11A Christian community at its best. Why?
155. 7:14Because none of us can do it alone.
156. 7:17Every priest needs people to keep his
157. 7:20arms lifted. Every parish needs to be
158. 7:23faithful to hold the line of prayer even
159. 7:27when you don't feel like it. I can tell
160. 7:30you from my from the heart. I can tell
161. 7:33you from my own heart as your pastor,
162. 7:35there are days when my arms feel heavy.
163. 7:40When the weight of responsibility or the
164. 7:42noise of the world threatens to pull
165. 7:44down my arms,
166. 7:46but it's your faith, your prayers, your
167. 7:50perseverance that keeps my arms raised.
168. 7:54You may not see it, but every prayer
169. 7:57that you whisper strengthens this parish
170. 8:00in ways that matter eternally.
171. 8:03And that brings us back to Winston
172. 8:05Churchill.
173. 8:07When he stood there before those Oxford
174. 8:10graduates, he looked out over a sea of
175. 8:12expectant faces.
176. 8:15He paused and then he said three simple
177. 8:18words. Never give up.
178. 8:22He paused again, leaned forward right
179. 8:25into the microphone and repeated it
180. 8:27louder. Never, never, never give up.
181. 8:32The entire speech lasted less than a
182. 8:35minute, but electrified the room because
183. 8:38those words carried the weight of truth
184. 8:41through fire.
185. 8:43So, I want to borrow those words and add
186. 8:45one of my own. Never give up praying.
187. 8:51Never give up lifting your heart to God.
188. 8:54No matter how tired, no matter how
189. 8:57discouraged, no matter how long the
190. 8:59battle seems,
191. 9:01when you stop praying, Amalecch starts
192. 9:05to win. But when you pray, when you stay
193. 9:09faithful, even with trembling hands,
194. 9:12heaven fights for you.
195. 9:16The saints knew this. Every victory of
196. 9:19grace, every conversion, every act of
197. 9:22kindness and forgiveness, every miracle
198. 9:25of mercy begins not with human strength
199. 9:29but with hearts that are lifted up in
200. 9:31prayers
201. 9:33because in the end it's it is God who
202. 9:35wins the battle. Our job is simply to
203. 9:39keep our arms raised.
204. 9:42So my brothers and sisters, if you find
205. 9:44yourself today standing on the hilltop,
206. 9:47weary, uncertain, surrounded by amalcs
207. 9:51all around, amalcs of doubt or of fear,
208. 9:56remember this, you are not alone.
209. 10:00You are part of a people who never stop
210. 10:02praying.
211. 10:04There are Aaron and herds all around you
212. 10:07who are holding your arms up.
213. 10:10There's a church community that believes
214. 10:12in you and a God who fights for you. So
215. 10:16never give up. Never give up praying.
216. 10:20And one day when the battle is over and
217. 10:23the dust has settled, you will discover
218. 10:26that while your arms were lifted, God
219. 10:29was already winning. Amen.