Another Hand on Deck

At Father Strobl's request, I thought I'd pop in an introduce myself.

I'm Father Nick Blaha, currently serving as parochial vicar at Most Pure Heart of Mary Parish in Topeka, KS, and the chaplain of Hayden Catholic High School. This is my third year of priesthood--I was ordained on May 28th, 2011 along with Father Barry Clayton and Father Mike Peterson, currently pastors in Wamego and Sabetha, KS.  

Some background on me: I grew up in Overland Park and attended Catholic (Holy Spirit elementary, Rockhurst high) and public (Indian Woods) schools, as well as a brief stint in a home study program (Seton).  I developed a love early on for reading and it was in high school that I grew acquainted with the works of great Catholic writers like G.K. Chesterton and  the poetry of Gerard Manley Hopkins. It was this love for the most excellent examples of what's been thought and said in the past that got me interested in the classics, and I decided to attend Thomas Aquinas College in California for my undergraduate education.  I truly loved what I studied there, especially the theological works of our patron, St. Thomas Aquinas.  The founders of the College emphasized that his work was the greatest synthesis of faith and reason our Church has ever seen--and that if there was any hope for a growth in understanding in our own age, it would have to take into account and build upon Thomas' insights.  Furthermore, the College was saturated with a Catholic culture, and the friendships I made there continue to sustain me to the present day, though we are separated often by thousands of miles. 

Well, all that book learning got a dramatic application when I graduated from college.  I had the intention of going to medical school, but as I prepared to complete my prerequisites in the sciences, I got into a very dangerous habit: I would read a little from the Bible each night before turning off the light to sleep. As I lay there, often tossing and turning, Gospel scenes would roll around in my imagination, and I began to wonder, "What if I really tried to live this--without holding back, without fear?"  It was with this question in my mind that I was approached to consider applying for a spot as a missionary on campus with the Fellowship of Catholic University Students. I was highly skeptical: are we going to sit around in a circle and sing guitar music? Aren't I past all that? I mean, I'm a college graduate!  We don't hang around with college students!

However, I agreed to interview, on the possibility that this may be the way I could start to discern the beginnings of what I thought might be a call to the priesthood, but without neglecting the chance that I was called to the married life. The interview process hooked me: I found that FOCUS was lead by faithful, energetic Catholics who were interested in one thing: transforming the culture, and bringing as many people to Jesus Christ as possible. While this wasn't exactly what my education had prepared me for, I leapt in with abandon; the next three years were filled with tremendous experiences and tremendous challenges on the campuses of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and the University of Massachusetts Amherst. I had a front row seat to the work of the Holy Spirit in the lives of young men and women--myself included. My time in FOCUS gave me a sense that I could do this sort of thing for the rest of my life; after a struggle for discernment I entered the seminary for the Archdiocese of Kansas City in 2006.

My commitment to the vocation of the priesthood matured over the 5 years I spent in formation. I am grateful for the steady conviction that I was called to the priesthood that allowed me to throw myself into the process of priestly formation.  As a priest, that conviction has only been confirmed (though perhaps it is the confidence born of inexperience, as Orson Welles once put it).  While I still have a long way to go, I believe that my background has been a great blessing to me as a priest. Particularly, I am excited to put to work in the parish the same evangelistic vision I experienced as a FOCUS missionary on campus.  

I have run a blog for some time, which you can browse at http://upyetnotnorth.blogspot.com/ . I hope having a more intentional presence here at Evangelized Kansas will keep me posting more regularly.

I look forward to collaborating with the Office of Evangelization in the Archdiocese and trading ideas on how our parishes can continue to grow in our commitment to the mission of the Church.

After all, it's who we are!  God bless you with his peace!

Father Nick Blaha