War Room’s Military Language
In War Room we use military language: War Room is an army with soldiers and generals. Being in War Room is like being in an army, we march together, we fight together and celebrate our victories together, it’s a beautiful feeling when thousands of people go down on their knees in prayer – it brings the assurance that one is not alone – in fact no matter how far apart we are; War Room gives you the feeling that you are all in one room; this comes out more powerfully when we enter the wilderness – in the wilderness we check on each other, wake each other up for prayers and we pray all at the same time irrespective of our different time zones.
Many people feel so frustrated when for one reason or another they can’t pray together with everyone or even when they join the prayers late after the army has left; they literally feel like they have been left alone in the wilderness – people want to march together with everyone at the same time. War Room is not like your ordinary prayer group, it is an army in the battlefield; there is no time to joyride or to sit and watch we march and fight together for victory. In War Room, battles are won on bended knees.
Other than the image of an army, War Room is also designed to resemble a journey like that of the Israelites from bondage to the Promised Land. We have our Exodus Night, this year we introduced the crossing of the Red Sea, then we have time spent in the wilderness and all these lead us to the Promised Land.
Membership.
With the idea of an army in the battlefield, admission is by request. Whoever joins War Room must be someone who has committed to take the journey. This is the very reason why in War Room we don’t share a link, the danger with sharing a link is that some people just join out of curiosity, thus taking up spaces that they will not use and denying those who desperately need space a chance. War Room is never about numbers but about commitment. The idea is to have people with the same intention and same purpose and so everyone who joins War Room makes a personal request for admission.
To help guide the army, we have a team of priests (the ones we refer to as the generals), who lead our War Room army in the battlefield. These priests commit to a daily celebration of Masses for the people and for their intentions. (Intentions are submitted to individual priests who then forward them to the group: the generals have their own group where all intentions are submitted so that all the priests can have an idea of the needs of the people we are journeying with.)
This year we had 12 generals, so basically, every member of the War Room army had 12 Masses celebrated for them and for their intentions every single day for the whole month of August. Other than the Masses they celebrate, these priests also lead the daily reflections, prayers and accompaniment of the people. Due to the unique nature and special needs of the people we journey with, some require special care and attention and so these priests also offer personal accompaniment, guidance and counseling at personal level for individual members.
War Room has gone beyond the catholic boundaries, we have non Catholics joining us, pastors, we have government officials including ambassadors and permanent secretaries. War Room brings together hundreds of religious nuns, a number of priests who are not part of the generals but who just want to take the journey with others and also deacons and seminarians.
Fr Francis Onyango IMC
To be continued
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