A leap of faith

Wednesday, December 22, 2010
Fr. Ben Uhlenkott serves as the new parish priest for Our Lady of Good Counsel in Mountain Home. Photo by Brian S. Orban

Ben Uhlenkott still remembers the vision all too vividly. A deep, forboding chasm stood between him and the mountain on the other side. Too far to jump across and no other way to get to the other side, he took the most logical step.

He jumped into the abyss.

A leap of faith.

For Uhlenkott, it represented a final test against temptation. It became the last step in a journey that lasted most of his life.

Five years have since passed since he took that figurative step into the path that led him to a life of service. It was a commitment that led him to Mountain Home to become the city's newest Catholic priest.

The youngest of three children, Uhlenkott grew up on his parent's farm in Cottonwood, Idaho. His father ran a well drilling company while his mother taught at a local school.

While he didn't consider his family "overly spiritual," he somehow knew his destiny would take him to the priesthood.

"I always wanted to be a priest since I was in second grade," he said. "I never understood why."

Uhlenkott recalled one memorable conversation that put him on this path.

"(One day), I was asking my dad, 'So let me get this straight about priests. They get paid to pray and help other people pray?' "

While not a fully accurate, his father figured the analogy was close enough.

Growing up, Uhlenkott remained determined to help any way he could at church. Originally too young to become an altar server -- a point that left him a but disappointed at first -- he waited two more years before he became one himself.

In addition to attending church regularly, he would often join his father to pray the Rosary at home. It was something his father promised to do every evening for the rest of his life to ensure the safe return of his brothers who fought in Vietnam.

"When I got to be a senior in high school, it became clear that God wanted me to be a priest," he said.

Praying for guidance one night, he asked for a one-year break after high school to "discover life" and to see if his calling was indeed the right path.

"I wanted to go off and get a job and pay my bills and make some new friends, and that whole sensation of wanting to be a priest just left," he said.

Getting ready to enter his second year of school at Lewis and Clark State College, he again prayed for another one-year extension.

"It was miserable that next year of college. I hated it," he said.

He knew without a doubt that he needed to become a priest.

He nearly faced a setback after he realized the application deadline for seminary had already passed. However, a vocation director encouraged him to still submit the application.

"I was the last candidate they accepted that year," said Uhlenkott, who entered the seminary one day after his sister's wedding. But during his drive there, he continued to pray for some a sign to continue his path to priesthood.

"The whole way, I'm praying... and was just so nervous. But there was nothing; no signs or anything. I kept asking, 'Come on, Lord, give me something.' "

Shortly after he arrived, he discovered one of his tires on his pickup was flat. Switching out the tire, he then discovered that he couldn't get the truck started.

It was far from the "subtle" sign that he expected.

The next few years were marked with moments of reflection and revelation and some nagging doubts. Between studies, he spent his summers working at juvenile corrections centers, dealing directly with the poor and teaching religious education classes. In time, he earned a chance to intern at St. John's Cathedral in Boise.

"That was the greatest year," he said. "It was after that year that I knew without a doubt that I would be a priest," he said. "I knew exactly what God was asking of me and that people were asking of me. I knew that I had a direction in my life, and that's all I ever wanted.

The timing was actually perfect for Uhlenkott, who after six years of school was growing weary of the seminary.

"I came back and it was like 'I can't wait to get away from this place.' The last two years were very tough."

In 2005, Uhlenkott was ordained a deacon -- the next step toward priesthood. Lying on the floor with the other candidates as the prayers began, he suddenly developed a cramp in his foot that refused to go away.

"I kept thinking, 'God why does this have to happen now?' In an instant, it was gone, but I was filled with all these doubts (that hit) like a hundred tons of dynamite."

His mind was filled with doubts over his ability to preach, to lead a congregation or to be smart enough to become a priest. At one point, he considered the possibility of putting an end to nearly eight years of religious training and walking away from his lifelong dream.

But he realized he was actually facing his final temptation. Uhlenkott once again prayed for strength and guidance.

"I said, 'Lord help me. Is this what I need to do?' "

In an instant, he looked at everything during his lifetime that brought him to this moment. It helped him put things into perspective.

"I realized that God has brought me 99 percent of the way here, and this was the direction to go," he said. "Why would I doubt him now?"

He knew that he had to trust that God would be there.

"And so I jumped... into the hands of God."

In 2006, he was ordained a priest at St. John's Cathedral in Boise. His first assignment took him to Holy Apostles' Catholic Church in Meridian.

"I remember looking out and I thought to myself that this church holds more people than my entire hometown," said Uhlenkott.

After 10 months, he was transferred to another parish in Pocatello to fill a short-notice vacancy. As an associate priest, the experience remained a bit overwhelming since people expected him to have all the answers associated with running a parish. His time there was a "huge struggle" but it helped him fully understand what it meant to be a priest and lead a congregation.

"You're not here to just be the ruler of a church building. You're out there with the people building a community of God."

He faced another personal struggle the day his aunt died. Stricken with the flu himself, he made an emotional decision to leave that church.

"I was sitting in my chair in the living room just devastated," he said. "I didn't know if I could continue."

He asked to be reassigned to the diocese in Boise needing time to regain his bearings and to find a different level of support, he said. He recalled the words of people like Fr. Tim Ritchey, who he served with in Meridian.

"He said that in life, there are some people in the ocean bobbing for air and there are others that swim," he said. It was now Uhlenkott's time to swim.

"All of the sudden, there was hope," he said. This ray of hope lit the young priest's path once again.

Months passed, and Uhlenkott knew he was ready to lead his own parish. "I wanted to be by myself... and 'cut my own teeth,' " he said.

By then, parishes across the state had openings for new priests. Fully prepared to lead his own congregation, he arrived in Mountain Home two months ago. He replaced Fr. Julio Vincente, who accepted an assignment to a parish in Lewistown.

Uhlenkott considers himself the luckiest man alive.

"It's like a dream come true," he said. "It's a treat being here, but it's a lot of work."

As he gets to meet others in the community, he remains amazed at Mountain Home's close-knit community and the willingness of neighbors to know one another. To a point, it reminds him of home.

Now 31, Uhlenkott admits that it's the people of this community that make him so happy to be a priest.

"God doesn't live in a vacuum. He lives in the people," he said. "You pray that people don't see you but see Christ living in you. If that's what I can be on this Earth, then that's the best gift I have to offer."

Comments
View 2 comments
Note: The nature of the Internet makes it impractical for our staff to review every comment. Please note that those who post comments on this website may do so using a screen name, which may or may not reflect a website user's actual name. Readers should be careful not to assign comments to real people who may have names similar to screen names. Refrain from obscenity in your comments, and to keep discussions civil, don't say anything in a way your grandmother would be ashamed to read.
  • Welcome to our community Fr. Uhlenkott. You have our prayers.

    -- Posted by Fairplay on Wed, Dec 22, 2010, at 10:26 AM
  • I am blessed to see Father Ben every Sunday. You have been a blessing to my family.

    -- Posted by rlpj on Tue, Dec 28, 2010, at 10:20 PM
Respond to this story

Posting a comment requires free registration: