FRIDAY, 1 MAY 2015.
MESSAGE OF GRATITUDE
AFTER EPISCOPAL ORDINATION
by
MOST REV. DENIS CHIDI ISIZOH
Titular Bishop of Legia
Auxiliary Bishop of Onitsha Archdiocese
Basilica Square
of the Most Holy Trinity, Onitsha.
“I stand on the existing protocol.”
My dear friends gathered here today; I greet you. Some of you have come from very distant places. Counting the people I have already met since their arrival, some come from Benin Republic, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, Germany, Great Britain, Ghana, Italy, South Africa, Togo, United States of America, and from the farthest parts of Nigeria. All of you, even those who come from nearby towns, have made a great sacrifice. I am happy that you are here.
I thank the Committee that is organizing this Episcopal ordination, chairmaned by you, Very Rev. Fr Patrick Omutah. I am grateful for the excellent programme of activities you have put together. Please extend my gratitude to all the collaborators involved.
Some individuals reached out to me, on hearing of my nomination, to offer their assistance. Some of you were exceptionally helpful. I pray that God may reward you all beyond our imagination.
I am grateful to very many people who have prayed and are still praying for me. “There is power in prayer”. Like the proverbial Oliver Twist, I request, please do not be tired of praying for me. I assure you that as long as I breathe, I will never stop praying for you.
Many people sent me goodwill messages. There is no brochure to show these. The planning committee graciously accepted my wish not to publish a special goodwill booklet for this event. I shall do my best to acknowledge every message received. For now, let me say from my heart that I am grateful for the outpouring of love on me from many people.
I acknowledge the presence of so many distinguished persons: people in government past and present, Ndi Igwe, Ndi Nze na ozo, leaders of different religious communities and traditions, captains of industries, and so on. I also recognize the presence of the simple people/ordinary people, without unique titles, not particularly wealthy, most of whom came on okada or Keke na pep, or on foot. These constitute the majority of our congregation here today and in all our churches. I thank you, my fellow-ordinary-people.
To the first family of Anambra State: Governor Willie Obiano and his wife Ebele Obiano, I am profoundly grateful for the wonderful support you have given me, especially in preparation for this ordination.
I thank the members of my biological family: my brothers and sisters, in-laws, nephews and nieces, cousins and the people of Ogbunike. I am happy that you are here.
I greet my beloved brothers in the Priesthood for their presence in large numbers. One constant phrase I have heard repeated in the liturgy and by some of our superiors is “Love your priests”. My dear brothers, I assure you of my love. To the consecrated men and women, I am grateful that you are here in large numbers too. Thank you for the encouragement your presence gives me.
Archbishop Paul Ouedraogo of Bobo Dioulasso (Burkina Faso), Bienvenue, merci pour votre présence chez nous. Archbishop Peter Kwesi Sarpong of Kumasi Ghana, Nana, and Archbishop Thomas Mensah, Akwaaba, it is significant that you are here
I thank the two representatives of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue: Rev. Prof. Indunil Kodithuwakku (Under Secretary) and Mons. Lucio Sembrano. Through you, I thank Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran for his fatherly message. I am grateful to the staff of the dicastery for many happy years we worked together to promote interreligious relations in the whole world. Mons Joseph Ballong works at the Vatican radio. He is the African golden voice of the French service of the radio. Carissimo Monsignore, grazie per la tua amicizia.
Now that we are talking about the Vatican people, let me mention my brothers: Archbishop Jude Thaddeus Okolo (Apostolic Nuncio to the Dominican Republic and Puerto Ricco); Archbishop Fortunatus Nwachukwu (Apostolic Nuncio to Nicaragua), and Archbishop Brian Udaigwe (Apostolic Nuncio to the Benin Republic and Togo). I thank them for their closeness. The restrictions of their office have made it impossible for them to be physically present for this celebration.
To all our Cardinals, Archbishops and Bishops of Nigeria, I am grateful for your solidarity. What a joy for me to receive the imposition of holy hands of so many bishops! I thank you for admitting me into your fold.
Your Eminences/Excellencies, I may be many years old as a priest but, as a Bishop, I am just a newly born baby, needing plenty of support to survive the early challenges of my Episcopal life. I have indeed a lot to learn from you. Please, when I knock at your door, do kindly let me in and never be tired of explaining to me the things I do not understand. I beg you: please teach me how to be a good and a holy Bishop.
I acknowledge, with great respect, the presence of Archbishop Augustine Kasujja, the Representative of our Holy Father in Nigeria. Your Excellency, I am grateful that you are here. Please tell our Holy Father that we love him and that we are praying for him.
Your Eminence, Cardinal Francis Arinze, it is difficult to find words to thank you. For many years, I lived with you. Today is not a day of beatification for you. That day will come, many many years in the future. Come, it will. But it is important to bear witness to what I have seen and experienced.
Let me tell Your Eminence, that you have, in many ways, positively enriched my experience of the Priesthood by your exemplary life. Any assignment given to you, you do with complete dedication. You meet many people, high and low, in humility and with love. You handle communication with people, especially letter writing and now email, with diligence. The habit you cultivated as a young man is still with you. You maintain the discipline of sitting down at your desk to read and to write, discipline to eat frugally, discipline to organize your daily programme, discipline to work and to rest. These are some of the secrets of your youthful look. You are sound in mind and body.
Your Eminence, you have always kept a daily appointment with God. I have noted that in this quarter of a century I have lived with you, you begin your day in the chapel, spend about one hour every afternoon in the chapel, and your last activity of the day is with the Lord in the chapel. It is not pretence; you have done it every day for the past 26 years I have known you closely. Bible reading and praying the rosary are indispensable parts of your daily activity. I know that except on Good Fridays or Holy Saturdays when there is no Holy Mass celebrated anywhere in the Catholic world, you have never missed celebrating Mass any day of your life since your priestly ordination 57 years ago.
Your Eminence, one of the things that particularly touches me about you is your absolute trust in divine providence. In the face of the challenges of life, especially the recent case of calumny against you, you choose silence, not attempting to defend yourself, but allowing the all-knowing God, the God of justice and fairness, to vindicate you at HIS own time, not your own time. This total trust in divine providence defines your spirituality. I admire, and I would love to imitate your fidelity to and transparency with God.
Your Eminence, I thank you for accepting to be the Principal Consecrator at my Episcopal ordination today.
And now to our own beloved Archbishop, Most Rev. Valerian Maduka Okeke: Who can best describe you but our Holy Father Pope Francis himself? In the Mandate for my Episcopal nomination, he used the following words describe you: “experienced Pastor of our dearest See of Onitsha”. The Holy Father calls you “experienced Pastor”. Your Grace, the Episcopal ordination is taking place this morning because you wanted it and you requested the Holy Father to give you an Auxiliary. By my Episcopal ordination today, it is clear that your request is granted!
Your Grace, the Holy Father, Pope Francis, is sending me to you. In total obedience to him and without any reservation, here I am… I REPORT FOR DUTY.
My dear friends gathered here today; I greet you. Some of you have come from very distant places. Counting the people I have already met since their arrival, some come from Benin Republic, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, Germany, Great Britain, Ghana, Italy, South Africa, Togo, United States of America, and from the farthest parts of Nigeria. All of you, even those who come from nearby towns, have made a great sacrifice. I am happy that you are here.
I thank the Committee that is organizing this Episcopal ordination, chairmaned by you, Very Rev. Fr Patrick Omutah. I am grateful for the excellent programme of activities you have put together. Please extend my gratitude to all the collaborators involved.
Some individuals reached out to me, on hearing of my nomination, to offer their assistance. Some of you were exceptionally helpful. I pray that God may reward you all beyond our imagination.
I am grateful to very many people who have prayed and are still praying for me. “There is power in prayer”. Like the proverbial Oliver Twist, I request, please do not be tired of praying for me. I assure you that as long as I breathe, I will never stop praying for you.
Many people sent me goodwill messages. There is no brochure to show these. The planning committee graciously accepted my wish not to publish a special goodwill booklet for this event. I shall do my best to acknowledge every message received. For now, let me say from my heart that I am grateful for the outpouring of love on me from many people.
I acknowledge the presence of so many distinguished persons: people in government past and present, Ndi Igwe, Ndi Nze na ozo, leaders of different religious communities and traditions, captains of industries, and so on. I also recognize the presence of the simple people/ordinary people, without unique titles, not particularly wealthy, most of whom came on okada or Keke na pep, or on foot. These constitute the majority of our congregation here today and in all our churches. I thank you, my fellow-ordinary-people.
To the first family of Anambra State: Governor Willie Obiano and his wife Ebele Obiano, I am profoundly grateful for the wonderful support you have given me, especially in preparation for this ordination.
I thank the members of my biological family: my brothers and sisters, in-laws, nephews and nieces, cousins and the people of Ogbunike. I am happy that you are here.
I greet my beloved brothers in the Priesthood for their presence in large numbers. One constant phrase I have heard repeated in the liturgy and by some of our superiors is “Love your priests”. My dear brothers, I assure you of my love. To the consecrated men and women, I am grateful that you are here in large numbers too. Thank you for the encouragement your presence gives me.
Archbishop Paul Ouedraogo of Bobo Dioulasso (Burkina Faso), Bienvenue, merci pour votre présence chez nous. Archbishop Peter Kwesi Sarpong of Kumasi Ghana, Nana, and Archbishop Thomas Mensah, Akwaaba, it is significant that you are here
I thank the two representatives of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue: Rev. Prof. Indunil Kodithuwakku (Under Secretary) and Mons. Lucio Sembrano. Through you, I thank Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran for his fatherly message. I am grateful to the staff of the dicastery for many happy years we worked together to promote interreligious relations in the whole world. Mons Joseph Ballong works at the Vatican radio. He is the African golden voice of the French service of the radio. Carissimo Monsignore, grazie per la tua amicizia.
Now that we are talking about the Vatican people, let me mention my brothers: Archbishop Jude Thaddeus Okolo (Apostolic Nuncio to the Dominican Republic and Puerto Ricco); Archbishop Fortunatus Nwachukwu (Apostolic Nuncio to Nicaragua), and Archbishop Brian Udaigwe (Apostolic Nuncio to the Benin Republic and Togo). I thank them for their closeness. The restrictions of their office have made it impossible for them to be physically present for this celebration.
To all our Cardinals, Archbishops and Bishops of Nigeria, I am grateful for your solidarity. What a joy for me to receive the imposition of holy hands of so many bishops! I thank you for admitting me into your fold.
Your Eminences/Excellencies, I may be many years old as a priest but, as a Bishop, I am just a newly born baby, needing plenty of support to survive the early challenges of my Episcopal life. I have indeed a lot to learn from you. Please, when I knock at your door, do kindly let me in and never be tired of explaining to me the things I do not understand. I beg you: please teach me how to be a good and a holy Bishop.
I acknowledge, with great respect, the presence of Archbishop Augustine Kasujja, the Representative of our Holy Father in Nigeria. Your Excellency, I am grateful that you are here. Please tell our Holy Father that we love him and that we are praying for him.
Your Eminence, Cardinal Francis Arinze, it is difficult to find words to thank you. For many years, I lived with you. Today is not a day of beatification for you. That day will come, many many years in the future. Come, it will. But it is important to bear witness to what I have seen and experienced.
Let me tell Your Eminence, that you have, in many ways, positively enriched my experience of the Priesthood by your exemplary life. Any assignment given to you, you do with complete dedication. You meet many people, high and low, in humility and with love. You handle communication with people, especially letter writing and now email, with diligence. The habit you cultivated as a young man is still with you. You maintain the discipline of sitting down at your desk to read and to write, discipline to eat frugally, discipline to organize your daily programme, discipline to work and to rest. These are some of the secrets of your youthful look. You are sound in mind and body.
Your Eminence, you have always kept a daily appointment with God. I have noted that in this quarter of a century I have lived with you, you begin your day in the chapel, spend about one hour every afternoon in the chapel, and your last activity of the day is with the Lord in the chapel. It is not pretence; you have done it every day for the past 26 years I have known you closely. Bible reading and praying the rosary are indispensable parts of your daily activity. I know that except on Good Fridays or Holy Saturdays when there is no Holy Mass celebrated anywhere in the Catholic world, you have never missed celebrating Mass any day of your life since your priestly ordination 57 years ago.
Your Eminence, one of the things that particularly touches me about you is your absolute trust in divine providence. In the face of the challenges of life, especially the recent case of calumny against you, you choose silence, not attempting to defend yourself, but allowing the all-knowing God, the God of justice and fairness, to vindicate you at HIS own time, not your own time. This total trust in divine providence defines your spirituality. I admire, and I would love to imitate your fidelity to and transparency with God.
Your Eminence, I thank you for accepting to be the Principal Consecrator at my Episcopal ordination today.
And now to our own beloved Archbishop, Most Rev. Valerian Maduka Okeke: Who can best describe you but our Holy Father Pope Francis himself? In the Mandate for my Episcopal nomination, he used the following words describe you: “experienced Pastor of our dearest See of Onitsha”. The Holy Father calls you “experienced Pastor”. Your Grace, the Episcopal ordination is taking place this morning because you wanted it and you requested the Holy Father to give you an Auxiliary. By my Episcopal ordination today, it is clear that your request is granted!
Your Grace, the Holy Father, Pope Francis, is sending me to you. In total obedience to him and without any reservation, here I am… I REPORT FOR DUTY.