Episode Transcript  

One

Moses and the Amalekites

At an early stage of their desert journey, when Moses was leading the Israelites through the desert to Mount Sinai, they were attacked by the Amalekites in the wilderness. It was a long, brutal battle. But the Israelites won, and this is how they won: Joshua led the Israelite warriors on the actual battlefield. But Moses went up to the top of the mountain overlooking the battle, with the staff of God in his hand, he raised his hands up as he looked out across the scene. And when his hands were raised, the Israelites kept the advantage over their enemies. The problem was, Moses’ arms got tired, and when his arms began to sag, Israel began to lose the battle. So their solution was to have two men, Aaron and Hur, stay on each side of Moses and support his arms. That way, they could help him keep his arms in the air. And then, because his arms no longer drooped, the people of Israel utterly vanquished the enemy.

Do you see the system of mutual reliance God established? The Israelite people depended on their spiritual leader, and their spiritual leader, Moses, depended on the people. And the same goes for Christ’s Church. We rely on our spiritual leaders. And they rely on us.

Two

Spiritual Reliance

We don’t have to fight Amalekites. We have to fight Satan, sin, and vice. And the Lord has appointed spiritual leaders who make it possible for us to win that fight. Christ gave us apostles, and they ordained bishops, who have ordained priests. And when they hold up their holy hands, with the Eucharist or the Chalice, it gives us the chance to win the battle. When they hold up their holy hands and absolve us from our sin, then our wounds are healed, and we can fight again. But we also need them to inspire us by their preaching, by their wise counsel, and by the example of their lives.

We rely on the clergy, the way the Israelite army relied on Moses. We laypeople are out there in the trenches, fighting it out in the battlefield of our homes, workplaces, and the world in general. And our priests, standing up on the hill on the Altar, are the difference to us between victory and defeat. But they’re weak men, just like us. They get tired and discouraged. They feel the weight of their own sins. And sometimes they fall. Sometimes they fall in little ways, and sometimes they fall in big ways. But when they fall, it’s really bad for us. 

So if we actually care about winning this battle in the desert of life, we’d better figure out how we are going to support our spiritual leaders. Because if we don’t support them, then they won’t be able to support us. And then our battle will be lost.

Three

Spiritual Support

The first, most critical support we give our leaders is supernatural support. We support them with our prayers. We pray for our pope, for our bishops, for our priests. We pray for future vocations to the priesthood, especially ones from our own families. We offer up rosaries, masses, and penances for the leaders of our Church.

Prayer is the most fundamental of all works in the Christian life. The Pope, Bishops, and Priests link us to Christ through the sacraments and the saving truth. Without them, we have no Church. And with a weak hierarchy, we have a weak Church. But the hierarchy will be weak without our prayers. So support those holy hands, without which we will lose the battle. Support them with your prayers.

Four

Material Support

Notice that Aaron and Hur helped Moses in a practical way. Moses had a basic, physical need, and when that need was met, God was able to do great things for his people. So, it’s up to us to support the physical needs of the Pope, Bishops, and Priests. It’s up to us to give financially and give generously, so that the clergy can fulfill its responsibilities. After all, priests can’t fulfill their responsibilities without parishes. So give money to the parishes. Priests won’t be able to fulfill their responsibilities without seminaries. So give money to the seminaries.

These days, a lot of people are resistant to the idea of giving to the hierarchy. We say, “How do I know they’ll use my donation wisely?” Well, the truth is, we don’t know that. But what we do know is that if we don’t materially support the hierarchy, they won’t be able to spiritually support us. And WE NEED THEIR SPIRITUAL SUPPORT.

So give to the Church. And give generously, that more holy hands may be raised over God’s people in battle.

Five

Moral Support

Finally, we need to give our spiritual leaders moral support. Priests are like everybody else. They get lonely, they get discouraged, they get tired. So be gracious to them! Encourage them. Thank them frequently. Talk well about them to others. Don’t go around complaining about priests. So many faithful people speak highly of the priesthood, but then disparage every individual priest they know. That doesn’t build priests up! It brings them down.

And, maybe most importantly, have priests over to your house for dinner regularly. They’ve given up a family so they can support families, so be hospitable, and your family will be a great moral support to them. Because this is what God has willed: that the clergy supports the laity, and that the laity supports the clergy. 

So ask yourself: what can you do to better support priests, the way Aaron and Hur supported Moses? What can you do to better support those holy hands on which God’s people rely? 

If you enjoyed this meditation, subscribe below.