It is pretty easy to break a single thread, but putting thousands of threads together forms a strong cord which withstands attempts to cut it in two. Prayer is like that. When we pray together, especially during the celebration of the liturgy, our prayer possesses strength. God is pleased with that kind of prayer. When we pray together, God the Father readily sees within us the person on his Son, the Head of the body which is his Church. Today’s first reading symbolizes liturgical prayer. Moses needed strength to continue praying during a battle with the Amalekites. As long as Moses kept his hands raised in prayer, the Israelites had the better of the struggle, but when he let his hands rest, the Amalekites seized the ascendancy. Then Moses’ brother Aaron and his friend Hur helped him to keep his hands raised in prayer and the Israelites won the battle. On this regard, priest and people must pray together. The priest does not pray for himself alone. He is a leader, the presider, who prays for the sake of the people. And as Catholics, as people of the Church, we have responsibilities toward one another. Aaron and Hur did not abandon Moses when he grew tired. They did not think that Moses ought to pray alone or that they had to be attentive to their own individual prayers. God is pleased with prayer which is strong because we are all praying not as isolated individuals, but together as Catholics, as people of the Church, united by the Spirit as the one body of Christ.