By Ononye VC
Thousands of faithful on Thursday gathered at the Basilica Square,Onitsha for the yearly Chrism Mass also known as Holy Thursday which was presided over by the Metropolitan Archbishop of Onitsha,Most Rev Valerian Okeke.
In his opening remarks,the Archbishop said that Chrism Mass was the occasion where a Bishop consecrates the sacred Chrism oil used for confirmations,ordinations, baptisms,churches and altars.
It is also an occasion for priests to renew their priestly vows as if they were being newly ordained,the Archbishop added.
Delivering his homily titled,”Blessed are the Pure in Heart”,the Archbishop dwelt on the need for christians to develop purity of heart which he pointed out was the basis of inner goodness in humans.
According to him,”if we have a pure heart,most of the ugly things happening in the society today will not be happening.
The Archbishop reasoned that the heart being the spiritual centre of all thoughts of human,generates good and bad thoughts from where many good and bad things are done by humans.
He pointed out that foolish and unreasonable thoughts like idol worshipping,kidnapping,drug abuse and other evil thoughts pervading the society are not in the nature of God and are not God’s plans for humanity.
The Archbishop gave instances of Biblical personalities who demonstrated good heart inspite of all odds,namely,David who spared Saul his master,Job who endured sufferings and later triumphed and Joseph the husband of Mary who accepted his fate as the father of Jesus Christ.
He recommended some ways which christians can achieve pure heart and live with the peace of God
They include regular prayers,regular reading of the Bible,reception of sacrament and strong faith in God.Full text of the Archbishop’s homily is captured in his Pastoral Letter 2024 which was distributed to all heads of organisations and other personalities.
Earlier,the Archbishop had prayed for peace and progress in the state and urged all to live in peace as brothers and sisters.
Chancellor of the Archdiocese Very Rev Fr Dr Prudentius Emeka Aroh gave the vote of thanks and commended the Archbishop for his resilience and achievements in the Archdiocese.
Highlight on the occasion are, blessing of the Chrism oil by the Archbishop,renewal of priestly vows and Cathedraticum where many parishes,organisations,societies and individuals presented gifts to the Archbishop.
The Archbishop expressed gratitude to the faithful for their support irrespective of the prevailing hardship and prayed that God will replenish their pockets.
