Man on a mission

The Hutchinson News ^ | 12/05/08 | Kathy Hanks

[kathsua]

SOUTH HUTCHINSON - Working on their homework, one child looked up as the tall man in the red hooded sweatshirt calmly walked across the room.

"Father Blick," the child shouted. Ecstatic shrieks filled the air, as others cried out, "It's Father Blick."

Uproar ensued as all the children participating in the after-school program at Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic Church raced to greet their beloved former pastor, offering him the biggest group hug possible.

"He survived Iraq," 9-year-old Miguel Juan said gleefully after hugging the priest they had not seen since he left the parish at the end of 2007.

Father Ned Blick, currently stationed in Baghdad as a chaplain for the Archdiocese for the Military Services, was home for about a week and a half, visiting with parishioners and children of his former congregation and hometown.

Outwardly, the 44-year-old Blick looked the same, though Deb Castaneda, a volunteer with the after-school program, thought he appeared taller.

"How could I have grown taller?" he asked, laughing, and then was back to his old trick of "mopping the floor" with children, pulling them in circles by their legs as others clamored to be next.

His attitude was essentially the same, Blick said, though his appreciation for home has deepened.

But inwardly, experiences in the past months while serving in a war zone have forced him to hunker down in his faith.

"As a priest it's a little bit of a sense you're in the desert," he said, noting the names of biblical figures who had desert experiences. "You're digging down and finding yourself. You run into situations where you have to search within how to handle them. And you find you can do more than you realized."

He's assigned to a unit known as "Special EODs," or explosive ordinance disposal. These are the soldiers who defuse roadside bombs, he explained. His work as chaplain is to go out with the soldiers. He is one priest for about 5,000 soldiers. Battalions are spread over nine different base camps, so he must fly by Blackhawk helicopter every day to meet the spiritual needs of the battalions.

"I travel a fifth of Iraq to cover the entire 10th Mountain Division," he said. "I fly around six days a week visiting the EOD teams, and do the entire Catholic coverage for the entire division."

As chaplain his job includes being there in an emergency, as well as counseling the soldiers whenever they need to talk, plus performing services and providing the sacraments.

"I make sure everyone's spiritual needs are being taken care of," he said. "We're responsible for morale. It's important not to get hardened or let the mundane atmosphere get to you. It's important to stay refreshed."

As chaplain, Blick doesn't carry a weapon.

"We are to be tending to the wounded and dying, not firing a weapon," he said. "But I have a bodyguard."

In an essay written for Catholic Military, Blick spoke of the shortage of priests, which intensifies his workload. Many of those he visits have not seen a priest in months. There was the major, he said, who hadn't seen one for more than a year and a half.

"Every Sunday, I drive my Humvee to different chapels within our base camp complex to say Mass for our soldiers. Next I visit the local laundry facilities and give communion to the workers, many of whom are from the Philippines. Then it's off to the airfield, where I board a Blackhawk helicopter that takes me to another base camp for Mass. In the late evening I celebrate Mass for the cafeteria workers, many who are from India," Blick wrote.

He has run into Hutchinson soldiers while in Iraq, including one parishioner at whose marriage he presided, and even a college classmate.

The peace process is making headway, Blick said, noting that the causality numbers are down to a fourth of what they were a year ago.

The man with the children climbing on his back and swinging from his arms will head back Monday to the Middle East, for five more months of service.

"I was really excited to see him because I hadn't seen him for a long time. He was in the Army," said 8-year-old Omar Andrade after hugging Blick.

[kathsua]

We think of heroes as those who carry weapons, but chaplains like Father Blick are heroes who are armed only with their faith in God.

[jch10]

I thank him for his service to our country.