Recently, a young Nigerian man did something thousands of people wouldn’t do in a million years. He gave up everything he had, and was, to become a Catholic priest.
What makes Rev Father Chris Orajiaka’s story very fascinating is what he gave up to enter the seminary and priesthood: highly educated, he has two degrees, a multi-million Naira business with all the trimmings expected of a successful young man.
Some people might think he’s mad or his village people have been working overtime but before we start judging his decision to answer a calling perhaps we should muse on the saying “What does it profit a man…”.
We spend every waking moment of our lives chasing a fast buck so that we can afford the finer things life has to offer, but at what cost? Enough is never enough: so a man with 5 cars in his garage still wants another one, a woman’s wardrobe is outdated before the end of the season and she needs new ones, before we can fully work iPhone15 we’re rushing out to buy iPhone16 and somebody with a billion dollars in the bank wants billions more. As a result, we end up trapped in this cycle of forever wanting more and more and this becomes our lives with a majority of our material acquisitions acquired mainly for show or public validation. Don’t get me wrong we do ‘need’….there are bills to be paid and stuff like that. The basic requirements of life still need to be met.
The strange thing is that the minute we draw our last breath everything we spent a lifetime accumulating ceases to be ours: everything, the cars, houses and money now becomes the property of who ever its willed to…or in Naija, where wills are non-existent or ignored, whoever grabs the most. All that sweat, hard work, hard earned money and it now belongs to somebody who didn’t work for it.
So, when somebody walks away from it all to live a life of religious poverty, Chasity and sometimes silence, it raises eyebrows. The turning point is when you’ve got it all and graduated from the ‘wanting-more’ phase and realise there is a void in your life: something is missing, a void all your material possessions can’t fill. At this point you start to question the reason for your existence (- something us old folk do when we reflect back on our lives and wonder what it was all about). And all these questions inevitably lead back to why God, the Supreme Being, really put us on Earth. Shakespeare’s words of “….all the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players..”. comes to mind.
But why?
Why is ‘why’ some people will leave everything earthly behind to worship a God, a supreme being, they’ve never seen but believe exists to try and understand what his will really is and how best to achieve it. The quest for knowledge – and wisdom – to connect with God is the only thing that can fill in the void and explain our existence and the result is a more fulfilling life.
It’s not all about swanning around in a Rolls Royce and private jets and dancing to whatever tune society demands you dance to. (SM is full of people trying to live up to the whims of their ‘public’). It’s one of the reasons a lot of A-listers and top people are not happy: they may seem happy because they seem to have it all but inwardly they’re not. Money can’t buy everything. There will always be something missing from their lives they can’t buy like inner peace and contentment being top of the list.
Now not all of us can drop everything and enter the clergy because we’ve got an inward desire to know more about God and our existence, because we’ve got families, friends and acquaintances who depend on our very existence. Again, being an ordinary person, outside of the priesthood, walking around with nothing – and celibate – will garner some strange looks – and remarks! So, living like a monk or priest, outside of the profession, is out of the question.
So how do we make the God-like connection?
Simple. Cut down on the material acquisition obsession (- aka ‘Superceding the Jones’s!) and become more minimalist which in turn cuts down on the stress and ultimately frees the mind to explore its Higher Consciousness which in turn fills in the void, the emptiness, you experience when you’re alone behind closed doors.
And to answer the original question as to why a young man would give it all up to become a celibate Rev Father: I think he did it because he’s seeking a more meaningful life that money can’t buy. Something beyond the fast rat race.
Think of how enriched your life can be if you can escape, or control, the clutches of the Spirit of Materialism.
You can follow Tony Ogunlowo on Twitter: @Archangel641 or visit http://www.archangel641.blogspot.co.uk
