

























“GRATIALOGY”: TOWARDS AN EXISTENTIAL 
THEORY OF GRATITUDE ITS IMPLICATIONS 

FOR SEMINARY FORMATION

Peter Ajayi Wojuaye

Abstract 
Gratialogy, is the discourse on gratitude, expresses greatly, 
the pertinence of the attitude of gratitude. This is quite apt, 
given the fact that in our world today, there is an increasing 
depreciation in the expression of gratitude among people. It 
is important to note that gratitude to God should not only be 
rendered in good times, but in bad times alike. St. Paul says 
in 1 Thess. 5:18 that “In all things, give thanks.” The idea of 
Gratialogy, therefore, introduces us to the undying 
importance of Gratitude in Seminary formation.  We shall in 
this paper, apply it to humanity and the four areas of 
formation or as I like to call it, the Tetra-Inseparable 
Formative Process, which is the Human, the Spiritual, the 
Intellectual, and the Pastoral areas of Seminary formation.  
We shall learn through this paper how gratitude gives birth 
to people who are able to build good relationship with 
others, and with God. We will also be introduced to how 
gratitude equips one with good intellectual implements to 
ward off ignorance and build a stronger faith. This seeks to 
critically expose the human person in general and 
seminarians in particular on the need to be thankful at all 
times. The goal of this theological enterprise will be 
facilitated through the use of the expository method. 

Key Words: Implications, Gratitude, Thanksgiving, Seminary, 
Formation.



A. INTRODUCTION
Experiences in human behaviours have shown that humans do not 
appreciate their values until they suffer the loss of any of them. A lot 
of studies and discussions have been done on several aspects of 
human life and behaviour with no favourable impact on the aspect of 
gratitude which has seemingly deteriorated in the contemporary 
times. The sad situation is that ingratitude is rearing its ugly head in a 
variety of ways, both overtly and covertly. The human person has 
been viewed and studied from several perspectives and across 
various disciplines. But here my aim is to bring to light an aspect that 
calls for attention and needs to be addressed. The context of our 
concern is about human values of Appreciation, Thanksgiving and 
Gratitude. This work attempts to examine and study elements of 
gratitude, appreciation and thankfulness.
 The theory of Gratialogy is an attempt to view the human person 
from the perspective of thankfulness, appreciation and gratitude. 
 That is, examining the human person as an appreciating being or 
as beings that appreciate. Paul O'Callaghan beautifully describes this 
appreciative side of the human person in the book titled Eschatology 
as follows:

Humans instinctively seek recognition, appreciation, 
acceptance, admiration, fame, love. They wish to be 
remembered, if possible, forever, by the people they 
lived with and loved, and even by those whom they 
never knew or met. Humans wish to be appreciated: 
they wish to be famous, albeit on a limited scale, 
although some are happy enough with being 
infamous, perhaps on a larger one. But nobody is 
willingly prepared to be neglected or forgotten. 
People wish to leave a mark in the memory of gods or 
humans for greater or lesser deeds and noble 

1
accomplishments they were responsible for.

Paul O'Callaghan, in the above, gives the better picture of the inherent 
drive or yearning for appreciation of the human person. It is in 
recognition of this inherent desire of the human person to be 
appreciated and extend the value of appreciation, that we propose the 
theory of Gratialogy in which we seek to expose and recommend the 

131“Gratialogy”: Towards An Existential Theory...



value of the expression of this capacity of the human person to seek to 
be appreciated and to show appreciation as it will be expressed, here 
below: 

CONCEPTUAL ELUCIDATION
Ø Thanks: The word thank is a verb, to express gratitude or 

2appreciation to someone.  While “thanks” is used not formally 
as an expression of appreciation or gratitude or an 

3acknowledgment of services or favours given.
Ø Appreciation: ,A feeling or expression of admiration,  approval

4or gratitude.
Ø Gratitude: Is a feeling of being thankful and appreciative, a 

feeling of thankful appreciation for favours or benets received; 
5

thankfulness.
Ø Thanksgiving: It is the expression of gratitude, especially to 

God. 6
 'He offered prayers in thanksgiving for his safe arrival.'

� From the above, it is clear that gratitude, appreciation and thanks 
are closely related and when it comes to thanksgiving it is 
offered most especially to God. However, we appreciate things 
and actions but you thank persons for their actions, you show 
appreciation for people's actions (to appreciate means to assess 
the value of something and state it, for example, I appreciate the 

7
fact that you came and I thank you for coming.

B. LITERATURE REVIEW 
Gratitude convokes a high sense of emotions but sadly it is often 
neglected as this paper will further establish. It is neglected because it 
is often ignored and less attention is paid towards it. Psychologists 
offer little in this regard as even scholars in this eld have not 
explored it in depths. The term gratitude rarely appears in the 
emotion lexicon.  However, gratitude is a pleasant feeling about the 

8
favour received.
 In the Book, Psychology of Gratitude by Robert Emmons he 
traces the historical analysis of the idea of gratitude stating that as an 
idea gratitude has a long life span but relatively short when seen from 
its psychological perspective. While it has been appraised by 
Religious writers, very low attention have been paid to its emotional 
nature. It has been described as the most passionate transformative 

132 Ekpoma Review, Volume 9, 2022



force in the cosmos, the key that opens all doors, the quality that 
makes us and keeps us young. Breathnach opines that “whatever we 
are waiting for peace of mind, contentment, grace . . . it will surely 
come to us, but only when we are ready to receive it with an open and 

9grateful heart.” 
 Though there have been concerns about its status of emotion 
unlike anger, fear, or disgust, gratitude does not seem to qualify as a 
basic emotion. There is unlikely to be a biologically based universal 
facial expression for it or a unique physiology underlying it. Hence, 
when gratitude is not showed for favour received, especially on 
human level, there is usually a feeling of animosity that may follow 
from the giver of such favour. 
 Two scholars Bertocci & Millard, in their holds that Gratitude 
is an emotion, the core of which is pleasant feelings about the benet 
received. At the heart of gratitude stands the idea of undeserved merit. 
The grateful person recognizes that he or she did nothing to deserve 
the gift or benet; it was freely bestowed. This point is clearly 
reected in one denition of gratitude as “the willingness to 

10
recognize the unearned increments of value in one's experience.”  
Similarly, they both opine that the virtue of gratitude is the 
willingness to recognize that one has been the beneciary of 
someone's kindness, whether the emotional response is present or 
not. They thus conceived of it as a “moral virtue-trait,” that leads a 
person to seek situations in which to express this appreciation and 
thankfulness.
 Fitzgerald identies three components of gratitude: (1)a 
warm sense of appreciation for somebody or something, (2) a sense 
of goodwill towards that person or thing, and (3) a disposition to act 
that ows from appreciation and goodwill. This shows that authentic 
gratitude ows from the heart that spurs the receiver of a favour to 

11show appreciation for the good that has been received.
 In a Similar manner, Fritz Heider a social psychologist argued 
that people feel grateful when they have received a benet from 
someone who (the beneciary believes)intendedto benet them. This 
shows the nature of intentionality of the benet received.  Hence, 
Heider posited that the perceived intentionality of the benet was the 
most important factor in determining whether someone felt grateful 
after receiving a benet. He also predicted that situations in which a 

133“Gratialogy”: Towards An Existential Theory...



benefactor calls on the beneciary's duty to be gratefulwould produce 
the opposite effect. Moreover, Heider noted that beneciaries prefer 
to have their gratitude attributed to internal motivations rather than 

12
extrinsic ones (for example, duty or social norm).  These expose us 
to the profundity of the virtue of gratitude.

C. CONCEPT OF “GRATIALOGY”
The word 'Gratialogy' is a coinage from the Latin word 'gratias' and 
English sufx 'logy'. The word 'gratias' means thanks. The word 

13'gratias' is declined  in Latin gratia-ae (feminine) which in plural 
term means gratitude or the act of being thankful. It must be noted that 

14the Latin word 'gratias' is translated as “thanks”  while 'gratia' is 
grace.

15
 Gratitude, which rhymes with 'attitude', comes from the Latin 

word gratus, which means 'thankful, pleasing.' When you feel 
gratitude, you are pleased by what someone did for you and also 

16
pleased by the results.

 The English sufx “Logy” however, is from the Greek word 
'λογος' (logos) which is derived from the verb 'λɛγω' (lego) which 
means 'I say'. The word 'λογος' (logos) is a Greek word, a noun with 
numerous meanings. It could mean; thing, word, mind, wisdom, 
science, study, sayings or discourse. However, 'logy' means the 

17
science or study of any concept.  Can we then not have 'logy of gratia' 
that is, the study of gratitude, thankfulness and appreciation in order 
to rediscover the beauty of being grateful to God, mankind and all 
creatures? It is therefore pertinent to inquire into the nature of 
'Gratialogy' that is, the study of gratitude. It is important to note that 
'Gratialogy' is an exclusive coinage by the author generated from 
amalgamation of two words namely: “gratias” and “logy”.
  Gratialogy, therefore, is the theory, discourse or study of 
gratitude, thanks or appreciation. In other words, it is a systematic 
study of gratitude, thanks and appreciation. In this way, words that 
shall be applied in this work are: thanks, gratitude and appreciation as 
they point to the human person as a being of gratitude; a grateful 
being, and an appreciative being. However, this work shall be 
expository and will draw strength from different disciplines to bring 
out the appreciating dimension of the human person. To this end, this 
work shall be using the following concepts: thanks or gratitude 
Gratias, Human Gratitude/Gratitude of the Human person 

134 Ekpoma Review, Volume 9, 2022



Hominisgratias, Thanks be to God Deo Gratias, the gratitude of the 
Church or Church's gratitude Ecclesiae Gratias, Gratitude by all 
Gratiasab Omnibus and The last gratitude or gratitude towards the 
end of time Eschatological Gratias/ gratias ad nem temporis

TYPES OF GRATITUDE
1. Man's Gratitude /Gratitude of the Human Person (Hominis 

18Gratias )
This is the gratitude of the human person. This is a kind of gratitude 
between human beings; thus, it is a courtesy and it is based on the 
nature of the human Person. It has to do with the tendency of the 
human person to seek to be appreciated and to offer appreciation for a 
kind deed done to him invariably by another human person. Just as 
the human person wants to be appreciated, so also, he should allow 
the desire in him from within to offer and share appreciation for being 
the beneciary of the good deeds done to him by another. Any attempt 
not to reciprocate human good deeds in gratitude, is seen as a 
wrongdoing against humanity. 
  An example of human gratitude is what we have in the Bible 
when Adam saw Eve, he instantly exclaimed: “This at last is bone of 
my bones and esh of my esh; she shall be called Woman, because 
she was taken out of man” (cf. Genesis 2:23). This means that Adam 
valued Eve as the bone of his bone and esh of his esh and he 
expressed his grateful heart in “…this at last is bone of my bones and 
esh of my esh…”.This in a sense, from the biblical point of view, 
could be called the PRIMUS HOMINISGRATIAS, the rst gratitude 
of a human being. In our world today, what do we experience? Lack 
of gratitude! I will give some examples here to drive home my point 
of view.
a. Family: What do we experience in some families? Husbands 
killing wives and wives killing their husbands at an alarming rate, 
Children are not left out; some Children are using their parents for 
money! If the husband appreciates the wife with human gratitude this 
would not have surfaced in the rst place. 
b. Places of work: Even though, ngers are not equal, an employee 
deserves respect and needs to be appreciated by the employer. This 
will greatly increase the productivity of the individual and in turn, the 
rm or organization.  There is no doubt that if men and women of our 

135“Gratialogy”: Towards An Existential Theory...



age accept and practice the principle of human gratitude, there will be 
decrease in racism, tribalism, sectionalism, suicide and lack of 
respect for human dignity. This means that, the human gratitude has 
psychological, sociological, economic and even political effect on 
the human person. 
c. Political Ofce Holder: In the political domain, if the elected is 
grateful to their electorate, they will denitely put their people at 
heart, not minding their own political agenda. Leaders elected to 
various positions ought to be up to the task and be responsible. This 
indicates that they appreciate their people whom they serve at various 
levels. This is why human gratitude is very important. Also, an aspect 
of great importance in this regard as far as women participation in 
politics is concerned, globally, women are under represented in 

19politics and it is more pronounced in Nigeria.  This is a gender issue, 
and if Gratialogyis applied to it, it would mean gender ungratefulness 
by which women are not given equal opportunity as their male folks. 
It is another form of ingratitude that needs to be addressed in the 
political arena. Still on the political ground, because of political 
instability in our world, migration has been in recent time inevitable. 
Even though migration is a ubiquitous reality, people move to another 
environment base on the place, utility and duration dependence 
because human beings constantly evaluate their ability to survive and 

20
thrive in specic environments.  To this effect, migration is greatly 
inuenced through ingratitude, when one is not appreciated in a given 
environment, the person migrates to another place. This is to tell us 
how powerful the virtue of gratitude is.      
  
2. Gratitude by All (Gratiasab Omnibus)
This type of gratitude encompasses all living and non-living 
creatures. For instance, a dog is always appreciative of its owner who 
takes care of it. The dog appreciates its owner that gives food to it. On 
the other hand, all creatures can give thanks (both animate and 
inanimate) to God. This means that appreciation is not exclusive to 
men and women alone, some other creatures also have this power to 
appreciate.  No wonder Mark Twain says, “if you pick up a starving 
dog and make it prosperous, it will not bite you. This is the principal 

21
difference between a dog and a human.”  This gratitude is seen in all 
creatures as they extend it towards God in all ramications cf. Ps 

136 Ekpoma Review, Volume 9, 2022



148:1ff. The creatures daily extend their gratitude to God every 
morning as a cock will wake with a crow as early as 4:00am. The 
leaves will dance in thanksgiving to God with the early morning 
breeze. The birds will sing in whistles and we can observe the dog 
also wake to stretch in the morning as a respect to the creator of all 
things. These are expressions of Gratitude in various forms either 
from an animal to the human person or from the human person to 
creatures that are not rational beings. Human gratitude is also part of 
all gratitude but the dividing line is that human gratitude is 
particularly human while all gratitude is in different dimensions of 
thankfulness expressed by various categories of being.

22
3. Thanks be to God (Deo Gratias )
This simply means thanks be to God. It is an expression of gratitude to 
God for His providence, intervention and mercy. Interestingly, its 
expression is not restricted to human persons; the rational being. It is 
rather the one all creatures extend to God almighty. This is the highest 
form of gratitude in this world, because it is the unity of both Human 
gratitude and all gratitude. It is based on the fact that we consider God 
as our origin that is why the question of whether God exists or not is 
not a matter of debate in Gratialogy, because Gratialogy veries the 
notion that God exists based on the fact that we believe in Him and 
our belief is strong. It is popularly said that without dreams we reach 
nothing, without love we feel nothing, without God we are nothing or 
we do not achieve the fulness of our being. The aim of Gratialogy is to 
cultivate authentic gratitude to God, fellow human beings and all 
creatures, St. Leo the Great deepens our understanding of thanks to be 
God by all creatures and tells us how the Creator must be thanked in a 
special way by the intelligent creation when he says:  

…Dear friends, at every moment the earth is full of the 
mercy of God, and nature itself is a lesson for all the 
faithful in the worship of God. The heavens, the sea 
and all that is in them bear witness to the goodness 
and omnipotence of their Creator, and the marvelous 
beauty of the elements as they obey him demands from 
the intelligent creation a tting expression of its 

23gratitude…

137“Gratialogy”: Towards An Existential Theory...



In this light, we call “Deogratias” the highest gratitude. In an attempt 
to give unceasing thanks to God, there comes the Church's gratitude 
Ecclesiae Gratias or the gratitude of the Church because this 
gratitude is directed towards God. In the light of this, Gratialogy 
brings to the general; public men and women who had appreciated 
and are still thanking God in their lives and exposes the way the 
Church gives thanks to God also.

4. The Last gratitude (Eschatological Gratias), Gratias ad nem 
24

temporis
Gratitude at the end of time: According to Daley Brian, Eschatology 
is a word with different meanings. Essentially as religious doctrine, 
about “last things” an ordered doctrine of the “last things” such as 
personal expectation of nal justice and retribution; a person longing 

25for rest and satisfaction in a new life that will begin at death.
 One of these mutual self-giving between creator and creature is 
this type of this gratitude, eschatological gratias. The basic fact about 
eschatology is the fact that it is the hope which lies ahead. Applying it 
to Gratialogy, it is the gratitude that lies ahead. Christian life is always 
eschatological and of course, human life is always in hope of 
something to come. To this effect, Karl Barth says: “Christianity that 
is not entirely and altogether Eschatological has entirely nothing to 

26
do with Christ.”  Eschatology is the nal state of Christology as 

27Daley Brian noted.  J. Moltmann makes us to understand how 
eschatological outlook is characteristic of Christian faith when he 
said:

The eschatological is not one element of Christianity, 
but it is the medium of Christian faith… Hence, 
eschatology cannot really be only a part of Christian 
doctrine. Rather, the eschatological outlook is 
characteristic of Christian proclamation, of every 

28
Christian existence and of the whole Church.

Naturally, if a gift is given to a person and that person uses it 
judiciously, what do you think that the owner will do? Will he not say 
bravo!? God is not an ingrate, and if life is a gift from God, and it is 
used for the purpose of which God created it, God will denitely 
thank the person. This is the rst form of eschatological gratias on 

138 Ekpoma Review, Volume 9, 2022



the part of God. In fact, one could say it is an indispensable work of 
God at the end of time. The scripture gives us a clearer view of the rst 
part of eschatological gratias in the parable of the talents in the 
Gospel of Matthew 25:14 -30;where those who used the talents were 
told well done. From the passage, it is clear that God will thank us rst 
at the end of our lives, if we have lived a life that is in accordance with 
the purpose for which he created us. The appreciative word used in 
the passage above in Greek isεὖan adverb which means “Well done” 
which could be used for do good, show kindness, do well, act rightly. 
29 “Well Done” is used as a way of praising someone and saying that 
you are pleased about and approve of something they have done. It is 
used to express congratulations or approval. “Well done—you have 
worked very hard!” In fact, we see this clearly in Jesus Christ, as man, 
he thanked the Father (cf. Mt 11:25, Lk: 19:17)

HOW TO BE GRATEFUL
A wise man once said, “the greatest problem of an atheist is, who to 
give thanks to.” This is because they experience and enjoys the daily 
miracles of life, and other events which they know, could not have 
been done by a force not higher than themselves. But because they 
have conditioned themselves to not believe in the ultimate force 
(God) they condition themselves also not to give thanks to that force, 
as a corollary effect of their unbelief. Indeed, what a torture! The 
problem of who to give thanks to sometimes leaves the way for the 
problem of how to give thanks. As a guide through the second 
problem, we shall be examining three ways from these ve ways in 
which we could be grateful. 
1. By Words 
2. By Usage of the Received Gift
3. By Being content with the Received Gift
4. By giving gift also
5. By rendering Assistance  

THE AIM AND NEED FOR GRATITUDE AS A WAY OF LIFE
The aim of Gratialogy is to give a study of the human person in 
relation to God “anthropo-theological” analysis of the nature of men 
and women as an appreciative being. Consequently, it will 
'appreciate' appreciation in the attempt to expose the human person as 

139“Gratialogy”: Towards An Existential Theory...



a being that gives thanks. To this effect, Gratialogy shall teach 
humanity to say “Thank you” in an authentic way. However, it must 
be noted that authentic gratitude is not only based on the 
presupposition of 'Thank You, Ma or Sir', it goes beyond that. 
 Attitude of gratitude, as a problem-solving tool, avails the 
human person the opportunity to resolve some existential problems 
of the human person that makes him to reject himself, others or things 
around him. For instance, low self-esteem, suicide, abortion, 
enthronement of relativism, colonialism, racism, oppression of the 
weak and so on, in human existence. If we live in this authentic 
relationship of gratitude with one another there is no doubt that our 
perception will change for better in our personal and interpersonal 
relationships and with ecology, we will benet from gratitude. If we 
appreciate nature and the environment, there is no doubt that nature 
too would be nice to humanity. This is why the attitude of gratitude is 
a must in this life.  

A P R A C T I C A L D I M E N S I O N  O F G R AT I A L O G Y: 
GRATIALOGY AS SOLUTION TO SOME HUMAN 
PROBLEMS
When we live a life of gratitude, we will come to understand gratitude 
in itself as a tool to solving fundamental human problems in our 
contemporary society some of which include:

1. Suicide: Gratialogy takes into consideration the pitiable condition 
of suicide that is on the increase in our world. From statistics, an 
estimated one million people in the world die by suicide every year.
 
Globally, suicide ranks among the three leading causes of death 
among those aged fteen to forty-four years (15-44years). However, 
incidence of suicide in a society depends on a range of factors, 
clinical depression, substance abuse, gender differences , 
religion(atheist), race and sexual orientation, social factors 
(unemployed, poverty, divorced, the childless), season (during the 
winter holidays) trends health (depression, substance abuse, obese 
persons) and suicide attempts are up to 20 times more frequently than 

30 thsuicides.  According to WHO account of suicide on 17  June, 2021 
records: more than 700, 000 people die due to suicide every year, for 

140 Ekpoma Review, Volume 9, 2022



every suicide there are many more people who attempt suicide. A 
prior suicide attempt is the single most important risk factor for 
suicide in the general population. Ingestion of pesticide, hanging and 

31
rearms are among the most common methods of suicide globally.  

th
Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Okami's article on suicide 13  January 2019 gives 
the following insight and solution to suicide:

I.  Everyone is going through one crisis or the other. 
Fr Emmanuel is also facing his own storms. So, 
you are not alone please. Life is a blend of joyful 
and sorrowful mysteries 

II.  When there is life there is hope. If anyone is 
justied to commit suicide, I think the biblical 
Joseph son of Jacob should. He was hated by 
brothers, sold, worked as a slave, when things 
seemed to be taking shape, then the Potipher's 
wife saga came and then prison followed, but all 
along he didn't drink poison and thank God he 
didn't... 

III.  Learn to share your storms with people who can 
help you, don't bottle up, open up to people with 
faith, right reason and wisdom. 

IV. Suicide is selshness: consider your parents, 
family, friends and the sorrow your departure will 
bring. Consider those who might benet from 
your life later on. 

V.  To terminate one's life doesn't put an end to 
misery, it "most likely" opens an eternal chapter 
of endless misery. You can't take a life you didn't 
create and expect the giver of life to welcome you 
peacefully at a time He isn't even expecting you. 
You can't ruin God's plan for you and be 
"condent" that your soul will nd rest with 

32God.

This is the reason why we must not despair because the life that offers 

141“Gratialogy”: Towards An Existential Theory...



difculties in one way or the other also offers hope because when 
there is life there is hope. As Roger Sruton's noted “happiness is 
directed, in the sense that one's life and circumstances provide the 

33
reason and not just the cause of one's state”.  In other words, for the 
fact that one exists is enough reason to be grateful and happy in 
respective of one's situation. Hence, no need for suicide in any 
situation!

2. Racism: Racism is a very deadly virus which is affecting the 
human race, a situation whereby people see others as inferior, and this 
is eating us up gradually.  Considering the psychological 
implications of racism in our contemporary world, it is clear that 
racism is a problem of humanity. For examples, the famous speech of 
Martin Luther King Jr. “I have a dream” gives us the reality that 
racism needs to be addressed. Martin Luther King Jr says: 

…I have a dream that my four little children will one 
day live in a nation where they will not be judged by 
the colour of their skin but by the content of their 
character. I have a dream...I have a dream that one day 
in Alabama, with its vicious racists, with its governor 
having his lips dripping with the words of 
interposition and nullication, one day right there in 
Alabama little black boys and black girls will be able 
to join hands with little white boys and white girls as 
sisters and brothers. I have a dream today...I have a 
dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, 
every hill and mountain shall be made low. The rough 
places will be made plain; all the crooked places will 
be made straight. And the glory of the Lord shall be 

34revealed, and all esh shall see it together…

Racism is a global issue which is evident in different areas of life. 
 In History, racism has been demonstrated with a lot of ill-
treatments from races who thought of being superior to another 
race(s). The reason why Gratialogy is coming in to address this 
inhuman act is to see how the human person can be appreciated with 
deep gratitude irrespective of their: gender, colour, tribe or race. In 
acknowledging this, we can see from the lens of Dr Martin Luther 

142 Ekpoma Review, Volume 9, 2022



King Jr. of his dream where our world can live in harmony, love and 
peace. To this effect, this expresses the sociological dimension of 
Gratialogy and we can now have a world that appreciates. 

3. Psychological Challenges: There are lots of psychological 
challenges that can give us enough reasons to give thanks and 
understand that nothing of this world is permanent. Particularly, 
when we come to understand the hand of the good God in such 
situations, we can then say we have accepted the situation which 
brings inner joy and peace.

Self-Acceptance: I saw some comments on the Facebook 
concerning the beauty industry about how women beautify 
themselves with articial features with an application called “sele 
editor, Photo lter, Beauty Camera and face tune's Post”. So, a lady 
commented “the heart goes out the window now in our days. It is not 
enough to just be a good woman. You must have a big bootie, big 
boobs, curves, and perfect face. The whole package”.  Another lady 
commented I am fearfully and wonderfully made and I thank God for 
that… loving myself the way I am I will never do such. Another lady 
commented: I'm grateful for the way I am, I don't need llers or 
implants to enhance my body parts, I love myself way too much to 
have complications later on in life trying to appeal to and please 
others, foreign objects do not dene me I do….”. Human being needs 
to understand that self-acceptance is equal to self-appreciation.

4. Family Challenges: There are lots of problems facing the family. 
The fact is that there is no perfect family. There is no gainsaying that 
every family has one or two challenges to face. Challenges can either 
be from the father, the mother, the children, the extended family or 
even the neighbourhood. But then, if the husband and the wife extend 
an appreciative way of life and an acceptance of others with a rm 
foundation on love, the family can weather the storms of life. It is 
very sad to realize that husband and wife cannot live together in unity, 
accept individual differences and weaknesses as well. In the area of 
unfaithfulness to marital vows, there is a danger of murder from 
either party of the spouses. When this kind of reality sets in, murder is 
not the solution but forgiveness is necessary and separation is 

143“Gratialogy”: Towards An Existential Theory...



inevitable so to avoid murder. Spouses who result to poisoning, or 
stabbing to death either of the spouses have not given a prudent and 
courageous judgement of the situation. Murder, poisoning and 
stabbing are not the solutions to violations of marital vows. Respect 
of the life of the unfaithful spouse ought to be top priority. Thus, 
appreciating the spouse's life and hoping on action of Grace that can 
change the unfaithful to a faithful person. Today's Saul can be 
changed to tomorrow's Paul. Today's Peter who denies can cry for the 
three-fold denial. Murder therefore is not and can never be the 

35solution.  Having exposed the aim purpose of Gratialogy, let us 
examine it relevance to Seminary formation.

D. “GRATIALOGY”: TOWARDS AN EXISTENTIAL 
THEORY OF GRATITUDE AND ITS IMPLICATIONS FOR 
SEMINARY FORMATION 

Priestly Vocation
The word vocation is from the Latin word Vocare which means 'to 
call'. This meaning is the one that calls one to the state of discipleship. 
In this case, one is called to become another Christ. This call has to be 
answered within a context and space. To this effect, St. Pope John 
Paul II in Pastores Dabo Vobis stated that “seminary in its different 
forms and analogously the house of formation for religious priests, 
more than a place, a material space, should be a way of life, an 
atmosphere that fosters and ensures a process of formation…” he 
went further to state that “…so that the person who is called to the 
priesthood by God may become with the sacrament of Orders, a 

36living image of Jesus, the Head and Shepherd of the Church.”  
Following from the statement of Pope John Paul II, one is able know 
that the seminary is where the vocation to the priesthood is nurtured 
to maturity, so that the one called may fully become another Christ 
and imitate Him in the life of those who are placed under his care.

Seminary Formation
The seminary is the consequence of the Council of Trent. Seminary, 
just as seen above, is where those who felt the call to live the life of the 

37
celibate priesthood are nurtured to maturity.  A  seminary theological
(grandséminaire) provides courses in , , Holy Scripture philosophy

144 Ekpoma Review, Volume 9, 2022



theology and so on to give young men the needed qualities and 
38requirement in preparation for priestly ministry.   In a nutshell, the 

seminary formation focus on the training of future priests in four core 
areas; Human, Spiritual Intellectual and Pastoral what I have 
described as “tetra-inseparable formative process.” These areas of 
formation are indeed good and useful for forming candidates for the 
priesthood in its synthesis and none of these parts should be neglected 
as if it were unimportant. 
 And in Pastores Dabo Vobis of Pope John Paul II numbers 42 
to 59 the four areas of Priestly Formation as follows: (1) Human 
Formation, the Basis of All Priestly Formation, (2) Spiritual 
Formation, in communion with God and Search of Christ, (3) 
Intellectual Formation, Understanding the Faith, and (4) Pastoral 
Formation, Communion with the charity of Jesus Christ the Good 

39
Shepherd.  Let us now look at the implication of Gratialogy for each 
part of seminary formation. 
 From the perspective of human formation, the importance of 
gratitude in our relationship with others and the environment gave 
rise to the discipline called psychology of gratitude, a discipline in 
positive psychology which deals with the examination of the 
necessity of the expression of gratitude and the need to continuously 
avoid acts which obstructs gratitude.  This form of appreciation seeks 
not to exploit gifts or the giver's desire to give, but appreciates it. In 
human formation, gratitude is important because one who is properly 
humanly formed expresses gratitude to God for his life and the grace 
to be called by God. This appreciation helps seminarians to accept 
other persons in seminary as gifts to him in the journey to be formed 
properly. Hence, gratitude in human formation helps to improve 
community spirit, fraternity, solidarity and so on. To this effect, 
human formation will be enhanced through gratitude
 Spiritually, gratitude is horizontal and vertical. In the vertical 
dimension, it is 'nothing theocentric' that is God's center. At this point, 
we must always bear in mind that human person is nothing and has 
nothing without God. In the words of John the Apostle, “a man can 
receive unless given him from heaven” (John 3:27). Gratitude in  
Spiritual formation seeks to make interesting and lively, the 
relationship of the Seminarian with God. Here we are asked questions 
such as: What is seminarian's disposition to prayers? What is his 

145“Gratialogy”: Towards An Existential Theory...



attitude to Spiritual Direction? How often does he visit the 
Confessional? Does he pray outside the compulsory prayer times? 
What is his disposition to our pious society or societies?
 In a nutshell, this is the appreciation of the spiritual aspect of 
the human person which is very important in the life of a seminarian 
who will later become a man of God. A priest is a Man of God. A man 
of God, who does not know God, knows neither himself nor God who 
he claims to serve. We must also be reminded of those sublime words 
of St. Jerome “ignorance of the Scripture is ignorance of Christ.” 
Applying gratitude to spiritual formation give rise to appreciation of 
things concerning God by the seminarian. In fact, for a spiritual 
seminarian, in activating his spirituality all activities carried out is 
always in communion and encounter with God.
 Intellectually, It is also the character of a grateful person to 
explore the gifts given. Intelligence, retentive memory, rationality, 
wisdom and so on are all gifts of God to humanity by which we secure 
the ability to make meaning out of our environment. A rejection of the 
desire to read, to acquire reasonable knowledge, is in itself a rejection 
of these gifts which is equal to ingratitude.
 The priest is entrusted with a lot of trust. His words are seen as 
the word of God. He must therefore read enough to be on the godlike 
level of intelligence. He must be well grounded with philosophical 
and theological knowledge, so that through his speeches and 
homilies, people may come to a clearer understanding of God. This 
can never be over-emphasized since a seminarian will eventually one 
day by God's grace become a priest, he needs to be well informed 
intellectually. 
 Seminarians must learn to appreciate their various gifts with 
regards to intellect. It is not just enough to read to understand or 
'cram', write and pass examinations for seminarians. They must go 
further to teach others, to break down the jargons of specic courses 
that others may understand and to assist that brother who they know 
needs your help. 'Publish or perish' says Rev. Fr. Prof. Pantaleon 
Iroegbu. A seminarian must pick up the attitude of writing. So many 
great theologians and philosophers of our time fail to publish hence 
their intellectual eloquence are only experienced when they speak. 
Seminarians must learn to make good records of their intellectual 
gifts that through it God may speak to generations hundreds of years 
to come.

146 Ekpoma Review, Volume 9, 2022



 In the area pastoral formation, the virtue of gratitude has a lot 
to offer in the pastoral formation of the seminarians. Since they will 
become pastors in the future they need to be well graded in pastoral 
activity. The pastoral dimension of formation is the care for souls 
according to the Heart of Jesus and Church's mind. In this, the 
Seminarians reach out to souls through visiting the sick, feeding other 
seminarians that are less privilege and so on.  
 In conclusion, judging from the above, it is clear enough that 
the virtue of gratitude is very important in priestly formation. One 
cannot underrate the positive impacts of gratitude in formation. To 
this end, Gratialogy has a lot to offer in priestly formation by which a 
seminarian can become truly human, authentically spiritual, 
intellectually sound and pastorally minded through the daily 
cultivation of the virtue of gratitude. 

ENDNOTES

1 Paul O'Callaghan, Christ our Hope: An Introduction to Eschatology 
(Washington: Catholic University Press of America, 2011), 27.

2 'Thanks'accessedSeptember15,2021 https://www.google.com/search 
?client=opera&q=thank&sourceid=opera&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8

3 'Thanks' accessed September 15, 2021, Thesaurus.com https://www. 
dictionary .com/browse/thank

4 'Appreciation' accessed September 15, 2021 https://www.merriam-
webste r.com/dictionary/appreciation

5 'Gratitude' accessed September 15, 2021 https://www.your 
dictionary.co m/gratitude

6 'Thanksgiving' accessed September,15,2021
 https://www.google.com/search?q=Thanksgiving+meaning+&client=

opera&hs=XuF&sxsrf=ALeKk03eXVJV67K
7 Cf. Bishop Godfrey I Onah, “the Word, Appreciate” explaining the 

th
difference between thanking and appreciating. May 14  2021.

8. Robert Emmuons& Michael McCulloch, (eds), The Psychology of 
Gratitude, (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004), 12

9 S.B, Breathnach, The Simple abundance Journal of Gratitude, (New 
York: Warner, 1996), 28 

10 Bertocci, P.A., & Millard, R. M., Personality and the good: 
Psychological and ethical perspectives. (New York: David McKay, 
1963, 389).

147“Gratialogy”: Towards An Existential Theory...



11 Fitzgerald, P. Gratitude and justice.Ethics 1998, 109, 119–153.
12 Heider, F., The psychology of interpersonal relations.(New York:Wiley, 

1998) 35.
13 In the grammar of Latin, Greek and certain other languages the 

variation of the form of a noun, pronoun or adjective, by which its 
grammatical case, Number and gender are identied is called 
declension

14 Cora Carrooll Scanlon and Charles L. Scanlon, Second Latin: for the 
Reading of Philosophy, Theology and Canon Law (Rockford, TAN 
Books Publishers, 1976), 247.   (The Latin course explains further that 
gratia, feminine is grace, thankfulness: gratis, Free; gratiarumactio, 
thanksgiving; gratias agree, to give thanks)

15 Cora Carrooll Scanlon and Charles L. Scanlon, Latin Grammar, 250.
16 What is the Latin Word of gratitude?  accessed September, 13, 2021, 

https://www.google.com/search?client=opera&q=what+is+the+latin+
vocabulary+for+gratitude&sourceid=opera&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8 
https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/gratitude

17 Walked, The New International Webster's, 749.
18 The literary translation of hominisgratias is Man's gratitude
19 Gregory EbaluOgbenika and Mordecai Aleoghena, “Funmilayo 

Ransome-Kuti And women Political Participation in Nigeria” An 
African Philosophical Inquiry: An Independent Forum for the 
Exchange of Ideas in Philosophy and Allied Areas, (Ibadan: Ibadan 
University Press, 2020), 1.

20 Eric Trinka, “If you will only Remain in this land: Migration Decision 
making and Jeremiah as a Religiously Motivated Nonmover”: The 
Catholic Biblical Quarterly (Vol. 80, No.4/October, Washington,Dc: 
The Catholic Biblical Association of America, 2018) 583.

21 Robert a. Emmons, Michael e. Mccullough, ed, Psychology of 
Gratitude, Oxford University Press, 2004, 214.  

22 The literary translation of Deogratias is “I give thanks to God” and in 
fact, in Classical Latin, the word gratiasconnotes I do thanks. Let us do 
thanks “gratiasagamus”, “gratiasagimustibi” we give you thanks. And 
gratias dare means to give thanks.

A Further Historical Background on DeoGratias
Deogratias is used in answer to the  (Go forth the Mass is Ite, missaest

Ended)and the  (Let us bless the Lord), in BenedicamusDomino
thanksgiving for the graces received at Mass. The formula Deogratias 
was used in extra-liturgical prayers and customs by the Christians of all 
ages. The  prescribes that the doorkeeper shall say rule of St. Benedict

148 Ekpoma Review, Volume 9, 2022



Deogratias, as often as a stranger knock at the door or a beggar asks for 
assistance. When  announced to the people the election of St. Augustine
his coadjutor and successor , they called out Deogratias thirty-Evodius
six times. 

23 In  it was the salutation used by the Catholics to distinguish Africa
themselves from the  who said Deolaudes (Praise God) Donatists
instead. Therefore, in Africa, Deogratias was used as a Catholic given 
name. For example, , Bishop of Carthage (r. 453–456), St. Deogratias
the name of the deacon for whom St. Augustine wrote his treatise De 
catechizandisrudibus was also called Deogratias. Also, Felix of 
Cantalice (1515–1587) used this interjection so often that the people 
called him "Brother Deogratias".

24 Deo gratias is Latin for "thanks be to God". It is a  in the response Latin 
Mass Vulgate 1 Corinthians 15:57 2 , derived from the  text of   and 
Corinthians 2:14 . cf. “Deogratias” accessed September 30, 2021, 
https://en.wikipedia.or g/wiki/Deo_gratias

25 Cf. Ofce of Readings Sermon by Saint, Leo the Great Pope: 
“Purication of Spirit through Fasting and Almsgiving”

26 Gratias ad nem temporisliterary means Gratitude towards the end of 
time.

27 Daley Brian, The Hope of the Early Church: A Handbook of Patristic 
Eschatology. (Peabody, Michigan: Baker Academy, 2010,) 1.

28 K. Barth, The Epistle to the Romans, (London: Philadelphia: Fortress 
Press, 1989), 314. Cited in Joseph Komonchak (et.al), The New 
Dictionary of Theology,USA: Gill and Macmillan Publication, 1987), 
329.

29 Brian, The Hope of the Early Church: A Handbook of Patristic 
Eschatology, 2.

30 J Moltmann, The Theology of Hope, (London: S.C.M Press, 1967,) 16. 
Cited in Joseph Komonchak (et.al), The New Dictionary of Theology, 
(USA: Gill and Macmillan Publication, 1987), 329.

31 Cf. BibleWorks8 ε� adverb; ne, well, good; (1) absolutely well done! 
excellent! (MT 25.21); (2) ε� πρ�σσειν do well, act correctly (Acts 
15.29); (3) ε� ποιε�ν benet, help, do good (MK 14.7)

32 “How many persons commit suicide annually” accessed May 25, 2020, 
https://en.m.wikipedia.org.wiki

33 “World health Organization Detail of Suicide 17 June 2021” accessed 
J u n e  1 7 ,  2 0 2 1  h t t p s : / / w w w. w h o . i n t / n e w s - r o o m / f a c t -
sheets/detail/suicide

24 Emmanuel Okami, Reection on suicide, “I want to commit suicide”, 

149“Gratialogy”: Towards An Existential Theory...



January 13, 2019.
25 Scruton, “Happiness”, Cited in Tom, Angier. “Happiness Overcoming 

the Skill Mode”, International Philosophical Quarterly, Vol. 55, No.1  
(USA: International Philosophical Quarterly, 2015): 15.

26 “Martin Luther King, Jr.: I Have a Dream” in Washington DC 1963, 
accessed May 28, 2020, https://www.google.com/ search? 
q=i+ahve+a+dream&oq=i+ah ve+a+dream+&aqs =chrome.6 
9i57j0l5.5578j0j7&sourceid=chrome&es_sm=93&ie=UTF-8

27 Cf. Peter Ajayi Wojuaye, Gratialogy: Towards an Existential Theory of 
Gratitude, (Benin City: Floreat Systems, 2021) 1-33. 

28 Pope John Paul II, Apostolic Exhortation 'PastoresDaboVobis' I Will 
Give you shepherd, (Vatican: St Paul Publications Africa, 1992) No. 42.

29 Viéban, A. (1912). Ecclesiastical Seminary. In The Catholic 
Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. Retrieved April 
26,  2010 from New Advent:  ht tp:/ /www.newadvent.org/ 
cathen/13694a.htm.

30 Viéban, A. (1912). Ecclesiastical Seminary. In The Catholic 
Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. Retrieved April 
26,  2010 from New Advent:  ht tp:/ /www.newadvent.org/ 
cathen/13694a.htm.

31 Pope John Paul II, Apostolic Exhortation 'PastoresDaboVobis' I Will 
Give you shepherd, (Vatican: St Paul Publications Africa, 1992) 42-59

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