Posted by The WORD in other words (2013) by Fr Felmar Fiel SVD – Mabuhay, Olutanga Island, Zamboanga
Saturday 11th Week in Ordinary Time
One of the mission realities I have to live with when I arrived in Parokya San Miguel in Mabuhay, Olutanga Island, Zamboanga Sibugay was that of priest having security escorts. At first, I felt uncomfortable being treated like a VIP (very important person) because aside from being not used to it, their presence made many people take notice of me.
When the government military declared war against lawlessness in October 2011 in Zamboanga, it was my first time to see fighter planes literally dropping bombs. Every time a bomb is dropped, the whole island trembled. The month-long war was like experiencing earthquakes every 30 minutes. My military escorts were with me in the convent day and night to guard me. We also canceled all our barrio masses. These realities are extremely stressful and brought me a lot of anxiety.
The Gospel today tells us not worry about our life. Anxieties can swallow us whole. They make us ineffective, inactive and fearful. If we let ourselves be anxious there is a big chance we lose sight of great things in life.
We should not fret on or our daily needs and wants. Instead, we must make God the King by handing over to his power whatever situations we find ourselves in. Added to it is the confidence that he will work for us and meet all our needs.
On my daily Masses, especially in critical security concern areas, I learned to live each day fully trusting in his promise to be always by my side and to take good care of me. This is how I managed to survive during those challenging times of my ministry.
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