Thursday of Week 1 in Ordinary Time
1 Sam 4:1-11
Mk 1:40-45
“God has come to the camp.”
What would you do, if you heard these words shouted wherever you were standing/sitting/walking? I, for one, would run immediately to the source of the shouting to see if indeed, the Lord of Hosts was among us. I shared yesterday about my recent retreat at the Jesuit Retreat House, in the hills of Cebu. Each night, during adoration, I could distinctly feel His presence as he came among us (there were around 30-odd retreatants, accompanied by 6 spiritual guides) in the chapel.
For me, each night was a different experience. On the first night, I journalled and approached Him with two questions – ‘What do you want of me?’ and ‘Where are you sending me?’ As He spoke to me, I scribbled down the words and later discerned His message for me. On another evening, as I reflected on a bible verse given to me by my spiritual director, I caught a whiff of what smelled like grilled fish…just for a second. As I was doing my examen before retiring for the night, I recall that during my session in the morning, my SD (a Jesuit brother) had encouraged me to reflect and contemplate on the verse using all 5 of my senses.
Needless to say, the five days I spent in silence (not necessarily in solitude) awakened my faith and renewed my purpose in ministry. Each day, God made His presence felt…at times subtly, at times quite powerfully. He was there to assure me that He is always ‘in my camp’ and that He had my back – no matter the trials, tribulations and seasons I was going through. And that is simply who He is.
When Christmas came along, I felt a genuine sense of peace and joy as we celebrated with our communities and my family. Gone was the usual stress and ‘hectivity’ of parties. I had the privilege of singing in a concert put up by my choir, as well as at a gathering of leaders from all faiths, hosted by our dear Archbishop. And tomorrow, another group of us will be singing at a special mass held each year, involving our legal fraternity. God has certainly blessed me abundantly and He has helped me through what usually is a trying season – especially at work.
Brothers and sisters, we often struggle at work and, sometimes, in ministry because more often than not, there are various ‘camps’ that are involved. This inevitably creates dynamics and tensions that tend to derail all the good intentions we started out with. However, if we are mindful (or even entertain the idea) that as Christians, God will always be in our camp, I dare say that things will somehow always work out fine. So perhaps the question to ask ourselves is – whose camp do we belong to?
(Today’s OXYGEN by Desmond Soon)
Prayer: Abba Father, always be with us as we struggle through life. Remind us, in your own special way, of your presence as we deal with others who may not know you. Guide us as we make decisions which impact those around us.
Thanksgiving: Dearest Father, we thank you for Your guidance, counsel and wisdom in our journeys. Thank you for always lighting our paths, even though we may be distracted by worldly temptations.
OXYGEN 
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