Spiritual Fruits from Fr. Ken

Known to many as “Fr. Pick-a-Word” or the “Play Boy Priest” Fr. Ken Roberts was the vessel that the Blessed Mother chose to use to pour out her graces on many of her children, but somehow, always in such a particular way. I can scarcely remember a time of spiritual growth in my life that wasn’t sprinkled with the inspirations and teachings of Fr. Ken. From the prayers I say, and teach my children to say, at the consecration at mass and after communion, to the way I remember the Gospel readings at mass with one key word that stands out to me or the way I try to find God’s will and providence in all circumstances with looking for heavenly signs or “Holy Spirit Moments” like Fr. Ken would always do- his teachings of our Catholic faith will forever live on and continue to bear much fruit in my life and those around me.

I had the blessing of learning Fr. Ken’s teachings on the faith starting at a very young age. Some of my oldest and fondest memories are of listening to Father teach a group of people of all ages gathered, often times in my own home growing up and of other close friends, praying the rosary as a group and listening to him inspire all of us in knowing how powerful prayer can be and how tender of a mother we have in the Blessed Mother. Still when I hear the lyrics to the song, “Gentle Mother” my mind races back to a time of child-like love and affection for the Blessed Mother in Medjugorje, with the voice of Fr. Ken leading us in song.

Fr. Ken had the gift of taking very complex teachings on our Catholic faith, the mass, the Catechism, the rosary and many other topics, and show his listeners how these things can actually be made very simple and easily understood. He would often say that many people would consider the mass boring because we don’t know what is actually going on. He compared this to when he first came to the United States and watched his first football games- with great boredom. He said how silly the whole game was- that was, until he learned the rules of the game, about the teams and how to score- then the games became much more exciting to watch. In the same way, he taught us about what was really happening during the mass, where the readings and traditions came from, and where the prayers came from and what they meant- and in doing so, he took something that might have seemed very boring for an onlooker- but once learned about- became something very exciting and that we could fully participate in with joy and longing.

Even more, Fr. Ken had a deep love for the Blessed Mother. The love was actually two-fold because the Blessed Mother dearly loved her son. Father would often find three red roses wherever he went, given to him by all sorts of people in many different ways, all from the Blessed Mother. Over time, thinking that perhaps people knew of the three red roses to the extent that they would just give them to him on their own doing- Fr. Ken asked if the Blessed Mother would then give him also one white rose. Sure enough, from then on, Fr. Ken would find three red roses and one white rose all throughout his travels and places he went. This great love undoubtedly started when Fr. Ken lost his earthly mother just days before his ordination into the priesthood- leaving his Heavenly Mother to tenderly take care of him and all his undertakings. This love of Mary took Father to lead many pilgrimages to many apparition sites all over the world, and most notably- to Medjugorje.

I was very blessed to be given the chance to go to Medjugorje with Fr. Ken two times. The first time he gave me my First Holy Communion, and the second time I met my future husband and he blessed our relationship. Needless to say, pilgrimages with Fr. Ken always bared great spiritual fruits! The graces I received on these special pilgrimages has been the backbone to my continued faith, giving me perseverance and hope in all circumstances and a total reliance on the intersession of the Blessed Mother.

Fr. Ken Roberts has been the one most influential person in my spiritual life and his teachings and example are continuing to bare great spiritual fruits still today. Father’s memory will always be close to my heart and his love for the Blessed Mother and the Rosary will forever impact my faith and the faith of my family for generations to come.

By: Bridget Perez