Interview with Father Ken Leone
Father Ken Leone is a priest of the Archdiocese of Denver, Colorado. For the past six years he has been pastor of St. Frances Cabrini Church in Littleton, Colorado. Since last April, Fr. Ken has been very involved in ministering to the victims and families affected by the Columbine High School Shootings. The California Mission recently interviewed Fr. Ken concerning his prayer life, specifically his daily devotion of making a Holy Hour each morning in front of the Blessed Sacrament.
CM: Fr. Ken, you are the pastor of a parish of 3000 families, and until recently you were the only priest in the parish. How do you keep up with all the demands in your priestly ministry?
Fr. Ken: There are two things, really. First of all, I can't do it without the Lord. Each morning, I begin at 4:30, with a Holy Hour I make with the Lord before the Blessed Sacrament. Right next to my bedroom I have a little chapel and I begin that first hour with the Lord. I find that this renews my zeal to minister to people. When I leave that Holy Hour I really have the zeal and excitement about serving people. I know with the large number of people in the parish that all kinds of emergencies will happen during the day, but God gives me a renewed energy to help. I really believe this comes from the Holy Hour. Just this morning I was reflecting with the Lord about the call to serve, and I pictured the scene with Jesus kneeling down and washing the feet of his disciples. So, I heard the Lord asking me, "If you love me, will you reach out and serve others with a joyful and generous spirit?" After reflecting on that I was ready for anything today.
CM: What is the second thing that sustains you in your ministry?
Fr. Ken: The second thing that is very important is that in the life of a priest, or in anyone's life, there needs to be a balance. I always take off one day a week. My day off is Monday and Tuesday I do some administrative work, prepare my homily and do some spiritual reading. It's very important to have that day off. I found this out as a young priest because I went for a long time and did not take off a day. Wow, I almost burned out! Balance is very important. I also take time off after Christmas, after Easter and during the summer, when I feel I need to get away and be with the Lord. If I'm not renewed, how can I renew anyone else?
CM: How did your devotion to the Blessed Sacrament come about?
Fr. Ken: That began when I was a little kid. We lived across the street from St. Catherine's Catholic Church in north Denver. My mother would take me to Mass each morning and as we were getting ready for Mass I would kneel in front of the Blessed Sacrament. And I really developed at the grade school age a devotion to the Blessed Sacrament just from the daily Mass that mom and I attended.
CM: After your ordination to the priesthood, how did your devotion to Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament deepen?
Fr. Ken: One of the things I noticed as a young priest doing lots of retreats is the difference between when we would begin or end the retreat with Mass. I noticed a great difference in my energy when I started the day with Eucharist instead of ending the retreat with it. If we started the retreat with the Eucharist I had much more energy. I thought to myself, "isn't this interesting." I noticed a difference first in myself. This confirmed for me the importance of Eucharist both in sustaining me and in helping me minister to others.
CM: These experiences were behind the reason for your decision to have Perpetual Adoration in the parish?
Fr. Ken: Absolutely. From what I have personally experienced with the Blessed Sacrament, I would encourage any parish to promote Perpetual Adoration. When people are in front of the Blessed Sacrament praying I notice a difference in parish life. When I first came to St. Frances Cabrini the parish had 800 families and was very wounded. And as I would go out to the homes and visit the parishioners at night I would encourage them to go one hour a week to the Blessed Sacrament chapel and do intercessory prayer for healing in the parish. I have made this appeal personally to hundreds and hundreds of families. And during the past six years I've personally seen the results of that intercessory prayer in front of the Blessed Sacrament. Also, I've done over 450 retreats. I will not do a retreat unless we have the Blessed Sacrament and have people praying and making intercession in front of it. I learned years ago on these retreats what a difference it makes when a speaker talks if there is someone on their knees interceding for him or her in front of the Blessed Sacrament.
CM: Can you tell us about any memorable graces that have come about during the past year as you and the parish have sought healing after the Columbine tragedy?
Fr. Ken: One of the graces I have seen is in the aftermath of the terrible Columbine High School tragedy that took place last year. Long before the Columbine tragedy, each Saturday night a young boy in ninth grade would come in front of the Blessed Sacrament for a Holy Hour. His name is Michael Sheehan. As I would see him praying I would think, "I wonder how the Lord is going to use this young man in the future?" After the terrible Columbine tragedy, the whole student body at Columbine elected that young man to be its student body president for the next year. He came in to see me and he said, "Fr. Ken, I want to be a spiritual leader for this year at Columbine High School. Can you help me out." In talking with several of the students, I asked, "why did you select Michael as your student body president?" And they said, "Fr. Ken, he just radiates a peace. Wherever he goes it seems like he's filled with so much peace. And if there's ever a time in our high school when we need peace, it's now."
CM: Do you have any closing remarks for our readers?
Fr. Ken: A day in my life without praying in front of the Blessed Sacrament is very, very different. I can tell the difference between spending time in front of the Blessed Sacrament, or if I'm praying in a park or the mountains. There is an incredible difference that comes from praying in front of the Blessed Sacrament. It's hard to describe, but there is such intense love that comes from the Blessed Sacrament when the Lord and I are in prayer together. We always end our prayer time by blessing the people in the parish. So each day, at 5:30 in the morning I lift the monstrance and bless everyone in the parish, asking the Lord's grace for them and protection. Mother Theresa said once, "I can't go one day without the Eucharist. That's where I get my strength." I agree with her one hundred percent.