By Rev. Fr. George Adimike
The birth of a child heralds the advent of an event of epochal significance, for it announces and revalidates humanity’s continuity and perpetuity.
Human life is acknowledged to be replete with mysteries. One of such mysteries is the invitation to live an authentic existence while identifying with the life of the larger community. At moments of commemorating one’s birthday, there is a clarion call for a detailed evaluation of the immensity and profundity of God’s grace.
It is a time for reckoning and giving account of stewardship of life, which happens in two phases; at the introspective level and at the communicative level in order to determine how much the life of the individual has advanced or diminished the lives of others, since man is inexorably relational and interdependent. To assess one’s life is simply to underscore the function of grace, which makes self-emptying for the good of others possible.
Grace is at the foundation of any authentic and impactful existence. “What do you have that you did not receive?” (1 Cor. 4:7). Meaningful existence is about active receptivity and adequate stewardship of the gifts so received.
The difference lies in the mode of reception – the gap between grace and effort. Grace abounds but do not always correspond with the expected success. Success is, therefore, the interplay of grace and grit, the determinative effort bound to success. The focus on the telos empowers grace for maximum impact. When the marriage of grace and grit is perfectly consummated, it ordinarily elicits gratitude.
In any true successful person, evident are the 3Gs – grace, grit and gratitude. As the Most Reverend Valerian M. Okeke, the Archbishop of Onitsha, clocks 65years, one reflects that he possesses the requisite features of the truly great: grace, grit and, his life unfolds as stanzas of hymn of gratitude.
When grace encounters grit, gratitude tells the story. Gratitude ends in ellipses…. It goes on and leads to eternity. The life of the Archbishop has been manifest as a doxological participation in the life of God. His life unfolds as an oblative thanksgiving to God who is Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
It unfolds in its profundity and simplicity as stanzas of the hymn of gratitude. Recognizing that Reason becomes Love in a great condescension for the life of the world (cf. John 6:51) in a radical solidarity with us, he lives his ministry as a response of the invitation to Christians to participate in the oblative self-giving, so that the world will have life in abundance (cf. John 10:10).
The life of the Archbishop these 65 years and in his 15 years as the incumbent Archbishop of Onitsha reveals the overarching power of grace. He is in the grip of grace so much so that whatever he touches catches grace. Grace characterizes his life, love de-fines his mission and gratitude translates his life.
Verily, his life translates as an absolute benediction. The elements are perfectly aligned in him and his presence exudes a welcome. Simply, the Archbishop is a transcript of grace.
His dozen-plus-three-year episcopacy manifests an ingenious display of giftedness and the doggedness necessary for its execution – a mélange of grace and grit. He has a grace-touch and turns clay into gold thus bequeathing the Church and the society with array of achievements to anchor further development.
Truly, ingenuity flows in his blood. Pastoral entrepreneurship is configured in his DNA. Relative to these distinctions and transformations, one easily affirms that the Archbishop is a dynamic homepage in pastoral leadership, evangelization and human capital development. His wand is in the depth of his vision, stretch of his accomplishment and above all, in his love for God and humanity.
He deploys such a great faith in his administration with a belief that poverty is relative. It means, therefore, that everyone is engraced, gifted with something even when such a person has so many lacks and inadequacies. Hence, poverty is not a de-fini-tion, but a description. The Archbishop employs a methodic trust.
Practically, the Archbishop works day and night, spending himself and being spent for that singleness of purpose. His life is characterized by sharing values, transmitting faith and giving life. The result is springtime of evangelization in the Archdiocese of Onitsha and environs. Love of God urges all the efforts and serves as the logic and hermeneutic for understanding the progress so far working that the kingdom of this world becomes the kingdom of God and of His Christ so that the reign of God will be manifest in our history, which reconciles time and being.
Archbishop Okeke’s engraced pastoral leadership can be evaluated from his teachings and actions. His key teachings hereunder highlighted give deeper insight on the effect of his wholehearted cooperation with the grace.
The Archbishop’s pastoral letters are well articulated as to produce a harmonious and melodious symphony. “That they may have life” sets the agenda of his ministry with the great disposition that “The Measure of love” is properly understood and appreciated “If only you have faith”. “You and the Common Good” is formed primarily where premium is attached to “The Family and human life” and at the same time the family is the school where the youth receive right education as “Our Greatest Legacy”. “The Splendour of Prayer” is experienced and lived in “Gratitude/Giving thanks” for the wonder of our beings created with end in view. Hence, “The dignity of human Labour” is one of the most appropriate ways of a “Living Hope”, which is at the heart of the “Christian Education and National Development”. It is the same active hope and living faith that can help Christians live out “Democracy and Christian Values” without conflict and confusion. “Blessed are the Merciful” and “Blessed are the Peacemakers” are the latest access into the deep well of spiritual and intellectual nourishment for proper Christian beatitude as the Archbishop shares with the flock. He entrusts the Church to the maternal care of Virgin Mary, thus he reminded the flock of a precious treasure, “Mary Our Mother”.
The Archbishop’s filial trust in the grace of God never makes him presumptuous. In fact, he exercises grace in his efforts. For him, grace and effort are contiguous or rather one could say, that he holds grace to be continuous of nature so that it can be said to perfect nature. Still, he understands that something discontinues; both are neither to be confused nor the distinction be deleted. He has not left any person in doubt that charity is the grundnorm for the flourish of the reign of God. And that gratitude leads to worship; it leads to doxologia which is at the core of man’s turn towards God. It is a mission to live in thanksgiving to God for his grace.
This remains the criterion for his pasturing of the over 1.8 million faithful in the Archdiocese distributed into 183 parishes and served by over 500 priests. He inherited 70 parishes and in 15 years he created 113 new parishes! In addition, he opened up many avenues for pastoral outreach, including providing schools to the riverine communities.
He awards scholarships to enable indigent persons realize their potentials, established the Holy Family Youth Village for the spiritual formational and social wellbeing of over one thousand students of the Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka and Chukwuemeka Ojukwu University Teaching Hospital, Awka. He carries out emergency relief interventions through the Archdiocesan Caritas Services and the JDPC Apostolate.
And pushing this laudable programme of human capital development further, it may be interesting to note that Monsignor Val is only a heartbeat away from establishing a full-blown university, the Shanahan University, Onitsha. He has trained so many priests in different disciplines both within Nigeria and in Europe and America.
Currently, he is training 18 priests and 7 seminarians in Rome, 2 in Ireland, 4 in Philippines, 5 in Poland not including those studying in the USA and at home. The world championship victory by Regina Pacis Secondary School is another chapter that evinces the giant strides of the Archbishop in the education sector. The miracle of academic excellence of St Joseph’s Special Science/Seminary School, Awka Etiti also deserves a mention. The story is the same for many primary and secondary schools within the Archdiocese.
In the socio-economic and humanitarian domain, Archbishop Okeke, ever with a sympathetic concern for humanity has totally rehabilitated and transformed the existing hospitals especially Holy Rosary Hospital, Onitsha, Borromeo Hospital, Onitsha, Fatima Hospital, Awka Etiti etc and built a few new ones to serve the health needs of peoples of all faiths.
He established different ventures for the economic empowerment of the faithful and for self reliance of the Archdiocese without excluding the evangelizing value: Sapientia Radio/TV, Oluchukwu Oil and Gas Ltd and total transformation of Oluchukwu Microfinance Bank. The list is not exhaustive.
The spiritual achievements of the Most Rev Valerian Okeke are sterling, stupendous and surpassing. In these dozen-plus-three years, he established over 112 new parishes to bring evangelization to the grassroots and within reasonable distance to his flock. To give a touch of modernity, excellence and convenience, he has embarked on a vigorous rehabilitation, reconstruction, renovation and completion of the following institutions: All Hallows Seminary, Onitsha, Bishop Shanahan Complex; the old church at the Basilica; St Catherine’s Chaplaincy, Nsugbe, St Marta House, Bethany House, the Basilica of the Most Holy Trinity Complex, et al.
And for the spiritual formation of his priests and lay people, he has established robust outreach programmes, corporate retreats for priests, reinvigorated the spiritual retreats and recollections. He convoked two diocesan Synods. Obviously, he outpaces his chroniclers in his material and spiritual endeavours. It is strikingly perplexing to many how, in him, grit and grace integrate and manifest as gratitude.
Born on Tuesday, 20th October 1953, as Archbishop Valerian Maduka Okeke celebrates his birthday today, I pray that God continues to direct his steps and grant him many more fruitful years. Happy birthday Your Grace!
Fr George Adimike wrote in from Rome
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