Priest Sees Tragedy As Blessing

When Fr. Udochukwu Vincent Ogbuji recently met the members of his new parish, it was to thunderous applause. Many of them likely noticed his overwhelming sense of joy, manifested in his smile, even before they had the chance to be distracted by his wheelchair.

"I am so happy," he says. "I consider myself privileged and honored celebrating the Eucharist with you."

He is celebrating with the congregation at Christ the King Catholic church. It is Palm Sunday, and he tells those gathered that the experience reminds him of Jesus' entrance into Jerusalem.

"I have my donkey with me-my wheelchair!" he says, laughing.

Udo has every reason to be bitter and full of self-pity. But don't tell him that. After the church service, he jokes about taking the stairs in front of him instead of the ramp to his left outside of his home.

The Nigerian-born priest was most recently the pastor for churches in Searcy, Heber Springs and Bald Knob. He was driving home from dinner at a parishioner?s house one night last January when he lost control of his car. His memory of the next few moments is surprisingly detailed.

"The first thing I thought was, OK, this is how my whole life comes to an end," he recalls. "I said a short prayer. I said, 'Lord Jesus, this is my soul.' And then the car started rolling."

He didn't fully understand what the doctors meant when they told him he had suffered a spinal cord injury. But in the days and weeks that followed, he learned. His neck had been broken, and the arms and legs of this vibrant, athletic 38-year-old man stopped working.

When asked if he's ever been angry or asked why this happened to him, Udo laughs as he replies, "Never!"

The Rector of Christ the King parish, Monsignor Francis Malone, was instrumental in bringing Udo to his new home.

Monsignor says matter-of-factly, "We knew that if he went back to Nigeria, Nigeria not having the kind of rehab facilities and opportunities, he would die."

Malone had known Udo since his arrival in Arkansas in 1999. When the time came for his release from a hospital rehabilitation center, Malone was given permission by the Catholic Diocese to invite him to begin his new life at Christ the King to, as he puts it, save Udo's priesthood.

"Once you become a priest," Malone says, "you're used to interacting with people; you're used to preaching, and celebrating mass and counseling people and hearing confessions and being a priest. You know no other life."

Parishioners were asked for help in turning a near-by vacant house owned by the church into a home that would be handicapped-accessible.

"It was basically an empty shell," says Sandy DeCoursey, the director of parish life and outreach. "I think the Holy Spirit was the project manager. It was absolutely incredible the things that happened, that transpired in that time frame, would have never been possible otherwise."

Volunteers donated their time, talents, materials and worked around the clock to have the home ready for Udo's arrival in March.

DeCoursey says, "13 days from start to finish. So it was truly an extreme makeover, Catholic style."

Udo says he's been blessed with abundant time over the past several months for personal reflection. And has been reminded of what he's learned through other disappointments in his life: to trust in God's plan.

"And so when this happened, looking back, I said, you know, God must have a message, or a lesson, or a blessing. And so I'm not going to spend my time worrying about it," the young priest says. "But He will reveal it when the time comes."

Life, he says, can't be measured by a man's physical abilities. Humans, Udo says, are made in the image of God, and that image must be the prominent aspect of life.

After many long hours of rehab, Udo has regained some movement in his arms. Just recently, he's been able to move his feet slightly, as well. Doctors, though, say there's only about a 50-50 chance that he'll ever be able to walk again. But, don't tell that to Udo.