Archbishop's web site Denver Catholic Register Parishes Catholic Pastoral Center
June 6, 2001
Missionary priest finds self, God's voice, at last
Dominican friar retires in Denver after 25 years in Bolivia
By Roxanne King
St. Dominic's Church in northwest Denver is a long way from the Bolivian cities and villages where Father Vincent Blake, O.P., spent half his 50-year priesthood ministering to street children. But it's where Father Blake has called home the past year.
Surrounded by his Dominican brothers and parishioners, Father Blake celebrated his golden jubilee with a Mass at beautiful St. Dominic's Church May 19. The soaring gothic architecture and creamy stained glass windows lent dignity to the simple celebration.
Life is quieter now. And the silence has enabled Father Blake to finally hear his own voice — and God's — speaking to him in the depths of his heart. It's made him a better preacher, Father Blake said.
"My life has not been ordinary," Father Blake said during his homily as he reflected on his priesthood. "It has been filled with Divine intervention, leaving me awestruck."
He offered this recent example. A Dominican Brother asked Father Blake to celebrate a Mass for him. Arriving early, the 76-year-old priest slipped into the cry room to wait out the final moments of the earlier Mass. There a father was teaching his son proper Mass behavior.
"Pay attention, bow your head, look down, make the Sign of the Cross," the father instructed. "When the priest blesses us, show respect — you always show respect to God and the priest."
The words made Father Blake's heart soar.
"Was this not a lesson to me from my teacher?" Father Blake asked the congregation. "Was my teacher not saying to me, `See how I've blessed you? See how much I love you.'"
The large, white-bearded priest recalled another incident. It was the early 1950s and the then young priest was hitchhiking — in a long black cassock — in Quebec. Stopping in at a Capuchin monastery, which hospitably provided a meal and lodging for the night, Father Blake visited with an old monk.
Asking the monk what he had learned during his years as a religious, the monk said, "That God takes me seriously."
The statement stayed with Father Blake.
"It made an impression on me that his relationship with God was like two friends having an understanding," Father Blake said. "The idea that God would never condescend — that became very meaningful to me."
Now the same age the monk was, in the lulls that are a part of "limited service" the missionary priest has found time to sit and contemplate, like the monk did.
A personal crisis six years ago — Father Blake calls it his "conversion" —began the contemplative journey, which has led to dramatic self-awareness and a deeper understanding of God. The result, Father Blake said, has been that he now lives a more "authentic" life.
"I'm a very interesting person," he said, only half joking, during a reception following his jubilee Mass. Twinkling eyes and a hearty laugh showed that a healthy sense of humor keeps the friar from taking himself too seriously.
Born in Perry, Iowa, May 7, 1925, Father Blake attended his parish school 12 years. At 19 he entered St. Thomas Aquinas Priory in River Forest, Ill. Given the name Daniel at birth, his new family, the Dominican order, gave him the name Vincent.
Ordained June 1, 1951, Father Blake's first assignment was to teach French at an Illinois high school. After five years, he was sent to Michigan to another high school where he taught religion. From there he was sent to Kansas where he taught philosophy at a college for five years. He then switched gears and served six years as an associate pastor in Madison, Wis.
During his pastoral work, the Second Vatican Council took place and the Church began to implement the changes it called for.
"Things were in a shambles," he said. "So, I thought it was time to join the missions."
Sent to Bolivia in 1969, Father Blake stayed in the country for 25 years. While there, Father Blake served as novice master and ran a shelter for homeless boys.
"There was a room for me and a longer one where you could put 15 beds. I just considered them to be living in my house," he said. "They were living in the streets."
When he returned to the U.S. he took up residence in Alburquerque, where he kept busy as a hospital chaplain for five years. Last year, he took up residence at St. Dominic's Priory.
"Preaching has become my passion," Father Blake said. Reflecting on his life today he added, "I enjoy every minute. I'm learning more about myself and the spiritual life."
Parishioners say his homilies are filled with insight. "He's a very deep thinker," said lifelong St. Dominic's member Jack Anthony. "His spiritual direction has meant a lot to us. He gives good homilies."
Longtime friends Alice Nash and Sister Agnes Ann Gardt, S.C., spoke of Father Blake's dedication to service.
"He has a love for the missions and for children, especially the downtrodden," Nash said, adding that Father Blake's ministry gave "courage" to street children.
"They knew someone cared about them," Sister Gardt said.
In his own life, Father Blake credits the Dominican community for caring for him and for giving him the courage to face his own demons.
"I attribute any spiritual growth I've done to living in community," he said. Despite initial anger, or hurt, Father Blake said the correction of his brother friars leads to his eventual self-improvement. Mischievously, he added, "I'm better in every way."
Noting that a German mystic once said that to know God one needs to first know oneself, Father Blake said that when he first began delving deeply into his own soul, he was elated to find light and joy at the center of his being. The discovery, he said, was "exhilarating."
"I think in this secret entry to which I only have access into myself, somehow, God is in that," he said.
Trained to propagate the faith through inspired preaching, after nearly a half century of searching, the Dominican priest finally found God and his own voice by looking into his heart.
"Now when I preach, what I find is that I talk about what I see in my inner reflecting that has so much meaning for me," he said. "The (motto) for the Dominican shield is to contemplate and give others the fruit of your contemplation.
"The Dominicans always had it," he continued. "It just took me a while to see it."
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