In living the priesthood as a sacrifice of thanksgiving, one realises its fulcrum in grace. The intercourse of humanity and divinity, which reaches an orgasmic point in the total self-offering of the priesthood, finds its content in sacrifice. Indeed, sacrifice enriches life and undergirds its spiritual depth. Without being the maturation of the seeds of glory that produce fruits of greatness, the Christian priesthood would appear as a self-serving institution that pontificates on the altar of self-worship and preserves a collective cultic and institutional memory.
But to correspond to its meaning, the priesthood ought to be lived as a living sacrifice for the abundant life of others to the glory of God. With the power of his exemplary life, the priest’s total self-giving rooted in charity confers profound dignity and authority to him. In 43 years of his priesthood, Archbishop Valerian Maduka Okeke has been exercising the priesthood most nobly, embodying the finest expression of its import as a living sacrifice of thanksgiving, being made freely in love and joy.
The priestly ministry of Father Valerian Okeke (currently Archbishop Valerian Okeke) has illuminated the paths of countless families and individuals, always radiating Christ’s love and light. His 43 years of the priesthood underscores the paramount importance of grace, its active reception and cooperation in gratitude, and the effect when lived in joy and love of God with all its attendant sacrifices matures as beatitude.
Hence, the quotidian experiences of Christians demonstrate that genuine gratitude expresses itself in beatitude―thanksgiving reaches its fullest expression in thanksliving. In other words, beatitude is the expression, perfection and destination of gratitude. Blessedness, beatitude, is a liturgy in which grace is the chief celebrant―the principal character. Beatitude spells a life of an absolute recognition of the sovereignty of God and total surrender to Providence in an awareness of the contingent and dependent nature of human existence. In this recognition of man’s nothingness, gratitude cultivates an attitude of grace, which undergirds the life of beatitude.
So, Archbishop Okeke’s priestly ministry is an eloquent testimony that the mystery of the priesthood is adequately expressed as a living sacrifice in gratitude for grace. His ministry ritualises the dynamic process of the Christian maturation cycle of grace, gratitude and beatitude as a self-oblation of thanks.
While the goal of the Christian life is deification through the imitation of Christ (Christification), beatitude is its marrow and maturation. The Christian life’s trajectory begins with grace (God’s initiative). It takes the course of gratitude by which God supports and sustains the Christian life until its destination, the beatific vision. In a fascinating and inspiring fashion, the archbishop’s ministry is a powerfully resounding echo of the recognition of the power of grace and human cooperation (gratitude), which flourishes as an enterprise in blessedness.
Archbishop Okeke is a happy relief in an indolent, mercantile and gullible culture, in which the entitlement disposition robs Christian life of its substantial character. Through his priestly ministry, God continues to give His people shepherds after His heart, who will rule with understanding and knowledge (cf. Jer. 3:15).
These 43 years in the priesthood have been progressively characterised by a grace-filled love affair with God and a hope-filled liturgy of selfless sacrifice for the Church of Christ in Onitsha. Each chapter of this ministry reveals an absolute dedication and singleness of purpose to return God’s graciousness by total self-giving for the salvation of souls and human flourishing.
Notably, the archbishop is a teacher of grace and a theologian of gratitude who goes beyond mere words to exemplify these in his life and ministry. He has transitioned from giving thanks to imbibing gratitude in his life. For him, gratitude is not just a three-point lip service but a transforming life service. He expresses this gratitude by spending himself and sparing nothing to work for the growth and greatness of the Kingdom of God entrusted to him. Daily, he pours out his life like a libation to see to it the welfare of the flock, the progress of work in the pastoral field, and the well-being of the pastoral agents.
In facilitating the creation of the Aguleri diocese, not thinking about reducing the territory of his leadership influence, he demonstrated his selfless disposition to pastoral leadership and the priority he attaches to rural evangelisation and expanding and deepening the coast of God’s glory. He struggles to make his priesthood a ritual of grace, a liturgy of gratitude and a ministry of beatitude.
One can boldly say that Archbishop Valerian Maduka Okeke has a life-long testimony of a grateful, godly and gracious life, embodying the power of grace, exuding the fire of gratitude, and witnessing to beatitude textured with a profound sacrificial disposition. He has been an inspiring example of pastoral creativity and devotion, a chief witness to our glorious heritage and the great source through which our resilience in facing challenges is fed.
One of the archbishop’s strengths is his combination of legendary discipline in financial management, pastoral charity and Christian generosity.
The ramifications of these 43 years of falling for divine seduction (cf. Jer. 20:7) spell grace. We are celebrating the triumph of God’s grace in the ministry of Fr Valerian Maduka Okeke these 43 years. Besides the great strides and accomplishments of his 22 years of episcopacy, which astonishes even great achievers, we are celebrating the zeal and singleness of purpose of Fr Val in the Basilica (1981–1983); we are celebrating the concrete manifestation of pastoral solicitude, spiritual fervour and moral leadership in Umuoji (1983–1986); we are celebrating all-round academic excellence and personal discipline of the student Fr Val in Rome (1986 –1990); we are celebrating a witness-teacher, an erudite professor and a dedicated formator in Bigard Memorial Seminary Enugu (1990 –1996) and a visionary and transformative leader-Rector who took Bigard to great heights to the marvel and admiration of many within and outside the Seminary, including the Church authorities in Rome.
For scope, this piece may not chronicle his landmark manifestations of grace, but suffice it to mention that the construction of both human and physical infrastructures reached an impressive and enviable level of depths and heights. Yet, we are celebrating the explosion of grace-impacts in all fields of pastoral responsibility of Archbishop Okeke.
The temptation will be to focus on the pastoral fruits, forgetting their spiritual roots and reach. These grace-impacts express the beatitude that his life and ministry progressively embody and well up as the visible expression of gratitude to God. His priesthood these years can be summed up as a living sacrifice of thanksgiving and joy.
Fr Adimike can be reached via:findfadachigozie@gmail.com
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