Reverend Larry Silva, Bishop | Diocese of Honolulu

Yesterday, during the Twenty-Ninth Sunday of Ordinary Time, Bishop Larry Silva delivered a homily reflecting on the nature of prayer and perseverance. Drawing from personal observations and stories, he emphasized the importance of investing oneself fully in prayer and maintaining hope even when immediate answers are not evident.

The bishop recounted an incident he witnessed in Rome: "Yesterday I was watching a young woman trying to cross a busy boulevard in Rome. She held her hand up to stop traffic, but all the drivers ignored her. At first I thought she may have been hailing a taxi, but, no. Meanwhile, while she was focused on stopping traffic, other people were just stepping into the crosswalk and stopping traffic simply by crossing in front of it. Like prayer, you have to put yourself on the line. You have to have some skin in the game. It is a relationship with God that is most important, and confidence in his love and his desire to give us what is best – in his own time and in his own way."

He also shared an account about a friend who distanced himself from church after losing his brother: "I recall some years ago a friend of mine, who was a very devout Catholic, stopped going to Mass for a while. I thought this was very uncharacteristic for him, so I asked him what was going on. He told me that he brother had recently died in a tragic accident, and he was very upset that God took him, so he decided he would not go to Mass. I asked him if he had ever told God how upset he was about his brother’s death, honestly expressing his feelings, no holds barred. He said he never thought about talking to God in that way, but I urged him to do so. He had an honest rant with God, holding nothing back about his feelings of anger at God that he would allow the death of his brother. He said it was the most healing prayer he had ever had, and he started going back to Mass again."

Referencing scripture readings for the day as well as biblical stories such as the Wedding Feast at Cana involving Mary and Jesus’ interaction ("I think of the story of the Wedding Feast of Cana..."), Bishop Silva highlighted persistent prayer: "Our Scriptures today are about this kind of persistent, insistent prayer... After all, God is not someone to whom we can snap our fingers and order around so that our will may be done. He is someone who loves us more than we can imagine..."

He further spoke about ongoing prayers for peace worldwide despite longstanding conflict; respect for life amid societal challenges; unity within divided communities; and continuing hope even when progress seems slow or invisible.

"Raising our hand alone can be easily ignored," Bishop Silva concluded,"but when we put our whole selves into prayer, God does hear us... In fact,the name 'Israel' means,'one who wrestles with God.' We do not let him go until he blesses us,and this is what delights God,because it brings us closer to him."