Women religious embark on Selma pilgrimage for upcoming Jubilee Day

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Maura Baker

Staff Writer

Jubilee days provide opportunity for prayer and reflection and are dedicated to a certain demographic in the Catholic Church. Declared with the 2025 Jubilee, Pilgrims of Hope, one upcoming celebration commemorates consecrated life.

The Jubilee of Consecrated Life will be celebrated Oct. 8–9, and “includes all consecrated men and women from all forms of religious life are invited to this jubilee event: men and women religious, monks and contemplatives, members of secular institutes, members of the Ordo virginum, hermits and members of new institutes,” according to the official Jubilee 2025 website. In Rome, these days will be set aside for pilgrimage, dialogue and prayer among consecrated men and women.

In the Diocese of Covington, religious sisters in particular are planning a pilgrimage of their own — one that takes place between Selma and Montgomery, Alabama.

In March 1965, hundreds of people gathered in Selma to march on the Alabama capital of Montgomery — led by figures such as Martin Luther King, Jr. The demonstration hoped to ensure African Americans the right to vote and was successful in doing so.

“Selma has such a rich history of persistence and moving forward for what’s right,” said Divine Providence Sister Leslie Keener, one of the sisters working on planning the pilgrimage for all of the diocese’s women religious. “I think it’s important for us to go and bear witness to that,” she said.

“I think it’s important, as we think about hope, that this is not our first time with struggle as people, but there have been successes — and it’s hopeful to remember that,” said Sister Leslie. “For me, being a sister is a lot about accompaniment and service … at the heart of it is presence with people in the way that God is present to me in my own life.”

Sister Leslie said that she, and all women religious, would be “very grateful” for prayers, and uniting in prayer with them as they undertake this pilgrimage and celebrate their jubilee. She also invites people to connect with the sisters.

“We love the people we serve, and we love our friends and neighbors,” she said. “All of us are here in service to people, and so we love when people stay connected with us in whatever way they can.”

Give Catholic NKY announced — join the Diocese in an online day of giving

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Maura Baker

Staff Writer

A “one-day celebration of faith and generosity” in the Diocese of Covington has been announced for this years’ “GivingTuesday,” Dec. 2. Annually recognized the Tuesday following Thanksgiving, the global generosity movement designates it as a day of charity — and the launch of Give Catholic NKY, the Diocese of Covington’s officially established GivingTuesday campaign, streamlines the giving process both for donors and the parishes, schools and ministries they support.

Participating in GivingTuesday was an idea brought to the Office of Stewardship and Mission Services by Bishop John Iffert, but parishes were concerned about competition and resources about managing the campaigns themselves according to Jim Hess, director. And so, the idea to coordinate it at the diocesan level came into play, and Give Catholic NKY was the result.

“We handle running the day of giving,” said Mr. Hess. “So, it’s very low workload for parishes and schools to participate.” Additionally, participation for schools, parishes and diocesan ministries is free — with all money collected during the day of giving going back to them at no cost. “It presents a beautiful opportunity for the entire diocese to come together and to prioritize giving Catholic on GivingTuesday.”

The user experience, Mr. Hess describes, will also be “fun and interactive” — with a displayed “leaderboard” showing all the available ministries to donate to. A “shopping cart” system is utilized as well, allowing individual donors to click through different fundraisers and add multiple donations to their online “cart” before checking out — streamlining the process.

“It’s a service that our office is providing to all the schools and parishes in the diocese, so hopefully people take advantage of it,” Mr. Hess said.

Information regarding the Give Catholic NKY campaign, including access to donating on Dec. 2, is available on the Give Catholic NKY webpage, www.GiveCatholicNKY.org.

 

Twenty-Fifth Sunday of Ordinary Time

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Father Stephen Bankemper

Guest

For the last few weeks, we have been making our way through a section of Luke that contains many, as some describe them, “hard sayings” of Jesus. They have been hard, not to understand, but to do — take the lowest place, give to those who cannot repay, let no one and no thing be more important to us than Jesus. The hard saying we encounter this weekend is a little of both — it can be hard at first to understand, and then also hard to do.

“And the master commended that dishonest steward for acting prudently.” What does this mean? Can a person act dishonestly and prudently at the same time? What is Jesus trying to teach with this parable?

Dr. Brant Pitre, drawing on St. Augustine, explains the parable by highlighting two aspects of the steward’s actions: his foresight (securing a place for himself when his time as steward ends) and his resourcefulness.

The key to understanding Jesus is this sentence: “For the children of this world are more prudent in dealing with their own generation than are the children of light.” Jesus is not saying that the children of light — his disciples — should be dishonest as the children of this world, but that we should be as intelligent and resourceful in our preparations for eternity as they are in living their lives now.

As Dr. Pitre puts it, “What Jesus is saying is that if people in this world go to extreme measures to think about providing for themselves for the future, even so much as to steal, then how much more should Christians — disciples of Jesus — go to extreme measures to prepare for and to ensure for our … eternal life.” (Pitre podcast)

That one day we will leave this Earth and live somewhere else for eternity is surprisingly hard for us to remember; after all, we experience people dying all the time. We focus so much on our earthly lives that we can forget or ignore reality. Even when they remember, however, many people in our modern society make an even worse mistake — they assume that everyone spends eternity with God, that there is no need to prepare for it in this life. Jesus’ parable is a reminder of these two important truths: that there is life after our time on Earth, and that we need to prepare for it.

How should we prepare? Pitre connects the steward’s actions in the parable with a line from a commentary by St. Ephrem: “Buy for yourselves, O sons of Adam, those things which do not pass away, by means of those transitory things which are not yours!”

Just as the steward uses money which is not his (change your promissory note from 100 measures of olive oil to 50) to buy a secure future for himself, so should we use the earthly money that does not belong to us to secure our heavenly future.

What money do we have that does not belong to us? One of the principles of Catholic social teaching is called the universal destination of goods. After we have supplied our legitimate needs with our money, the Church understands that we have a moral obligation to use our excess, at least in part, to care for others in need. “And the multitudes asked him [John the Baptist], ‘What then shall we do?’ And he answered them, ‘He who has two coats, let him share with him who has none; and he who has food, let him do likewise.’”

The word Scripture uses for this practice is almsgiving. In the Bible, alms refer to money — any material goods, really — given to the poor. Almsgiving is different from tithing. Tithing is 10 percent — the first and best — of one’s goods returned to God (it belonged to God by virtue of the fact that all we have comes from God) by prescription of the law. Almsgiving is a practice certainly encouraged in Scripture — some say implicitly mandated — but was money given to other human beings more out of the moral obligation of charity, mercy, or compassion.

We cannot literally buy ourselves into heaven — it is unlikely that St. Ephrem meant that — but almsgiving is a practice that can free us from a spiritually unhealthy attachment to our material goods (“Anyone of you who does not renounce all his possessions cannot be my disciple.” Luke 14:33), increase the virtue of charity in us, and help us to lay up for ourselves “treasure in heaven,” (Matt 6:20)

St. Augustine preached that the steward was “insuring himself for a life that was going to end.” (Sermon 359a, cited by Pitre) Then he asks the question, “Would you not insure yourself for eternal life?” Will we?

Father Stephen Bankemper is pastor, St. Catherine of Siena Parish, Ft. Thomas, Ky.

Exaltation of the Cross

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Father Michael Elmlinger

Guest

This Sunday is a rather unique Sunday, because instead of celebrating the Twenty-Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time, we celebrate a Feast that happens to fall on Sunday — the Exaltation of the Cross, also known as the Triumph of the Holy Cross.

Now, crucifixion in the ancient world, especially the Roman Empire, was considered to be the most brutal form of torture, reserved for the worst criminals. Not only that, it was a very public execution, a sign to all in the empire of what happens when you rebel against Caesar. “Stay in line, or you will suffer this same torture.” Not only is it probably the most painful way to be executed, but it was also a total humiliation. The empire would use crucifixion to make an example of you.

When we consider this, why is it that we hold the Cross in such high regard as Catholics? What is it about the Cross that drove St. Helena to search for it? Why is it that this ancient torture device is considered to be so central to Christianity? The reason is because by his Crucifixion and Resurrection, our Lord, Jesus Christ, has turned what was originally our greatest defeat into the greatest victory ever known in history.

Our Gospel for this Sunday is the famous John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life.” John delivers this line in the context of Jesus’ discourse to Nicodemus in the night, where he tells Nicodemus, “Just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert, so must the Son of Man be lifted up.” (3:14)

Indeed, the very mission of Jesus Christ was that he would come into the world to give the gift of eternal life to those who would believe in him and follow him. However, the means by which he would accomplish this wondrous act would be through a means that Nicodemus and all of Jesus’ disciples would not expect — the Cross, the very means of execution reserved for the worst of the worst. In fact, St. Thomas Aquinas teaches in his Summa Theologiae, “His body was endowed with a most perfect constitution” (Third Part, Question 6), meaning the pain that he endured would likely have been magnified compared to how we may experience it. But what drives Jesus on towards Calvary? The very love that God — Father, Son and Holy Spirit, has for humanity. He loves humanity so much that he is willing to send his son to endure this awful torture as a means of reconciling the world to himself.

The truth is God could have chosen another means to reconcile the human race; it would have been completely within his power. But this is the way that he chose — the Way of the Cross. He chose to empty himself, “taking the form of a slave, coming in human likeness… becoming obedient to death, even death on a cross.” (Phil 2:7-8)

He chose to endure the most brutal means of execution ever known, and what drove him? His love for each and every single one of us. Indeed, by going through this crucifixion, Jesus takes what would have been our greatest defeat — our Savior being brutally murdered — into the greatest victory, victory over sin and death. It is by his Crucifixion that he becomes a sin offering for each and every one of us, where he bears our sins and offers them to the Father so that we may be forgiven entirely.

This is a love that we cannot earn. This is a love that he freely gives to us, a love that drove him to Calvary, a love that cries out to us, “I thirst.” (Jn 19:28) Indeed, he truly thirsts for each and every one of us to accept his love and to use him as a bridge to the Father.

This love is truly the triumph of the Cross. “We adore You, O Christ, and we praise You, because by your Cross, You have redeemed the world!”

Father Michael Elmlinger is a priest of the Diocese of Covington, Ky. Father Elmlinger is currently studying Canon Law at the University of St. Paul, Ottawa, Canada.

Thomas More University hosts Mary’s Meals founder and CEO as an example of living the University mission

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Bella Bailey

Multimedia Correspondent

The mission statement of Thomas More University invites students to examine the ultimate meaning of life, their place in the world and responsibility to others. This mission statement is embodied by the nonprofit, global charity, Mary’s Meals, whose founder, Magnus McFarland, was invited to speak at Thomas More University, Sept. 11.

President of Thomas More University, Joseph Chillo, opened the event saying, “This evening’s event is a wonderful testament to the power of giving and the importance of understanding our place in the world and our responsibility to others … Supporting Mary’s Meals is a way in which this mission is put into action.”

Mary’s Meals, named in dedication to the Blessed Virgin Mary, feeds three million children in 16 of the world’s poorest countries.

“Our vision is that every child in this world should at least be able to eat one good meal in their place of education. That’s absolutely possible. I think the story of Mary’s Meals so far proclaims that this is possible. There is no good reason for hunger to exist in this world,” said Mr. McFarland.

To ensure organizational sustainability for the countries in which they operate, three crucial things must co-exist, said Mr. McFarland. First, the work must be owned by the native communities. Locals must volunteer to prepare and serve the food. This creates the infrastructure for longevity. Second, the food that they serve must be locally sourced in order to support the local farmers and economy. Lastly, the work must be done in the name of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

“Mary’s Meals, it’s a gift. There’s lots of things we can say about Mary’s Meals but in a very particular way, it’s a fruit of prayer. It’s something we really do believe belongs to our Blessed Mother,” said Mr. McFarland.

What is now a far-reaching, global organization, started in the bed of a truck and a trip across Europe to a Bosnian refugee camp. After watching news about the Bosnian war, Mr. McFarland and his brother spent three weeks requesting donations from their community.

“We found ourselves riding this old truck out of our village in Scotland. We drove it four days across Europe and delivered these things into a refugee camp,” he said.

When Mr. McFarland returned home, he was expecting to return to life as normal. However, the Lord had other plans, he said.

“God had a different plan because when I got home to Scotland, there was this mountain of goods and clothing. People just kept on donating, turning up with carloads of donations,” said Mr. McFarland.

After much prayer and consideration, Mr. McFarland left his job as a salmon farmer, sold his house and said to the Lord in prayer, “I’ll keep doing this as long as people need our help and as long as people keep giving.”

Thirteen years later, three million children are being fed daily, and local economies are being stimulated, thanks to Mr. McFarland’s answer to a call from the Lord.

Mr. McFarland emphasized his own story to those in attendance, encouraging small acts of kindness and charity. “When I think about Mary’s Meals globally, I just think about it like a series of lots and lots of little acts of love. None of us do anything spectacular on our own. All of us just doing what we can and when that’s combined, it creates this thing that’s really changing the world.”

The Christmas classic, ‘It’s a Wonderful Life,’ mirrors the ‘wonderful mission’ of the Fire Foundation of Northern Kentucky at Mass of Belonging

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Bella Bailey

Multimedia Correspondent

Bishop John Iffert celebrated the second annual Mass of Belonging at the Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption, Covington, on September 9. Joining Bishop Iffert in the celebration of the Mass were Father Mark Keene, vicar general and pastor of St. Agnes Parish, Ft. Wright; Father Ryan Maher, rector of the Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption; Father Michael Brady, pastor of St. Therese Parish, Southgate; and Father Trinity Knight, pastor of Holy Cross Parish, Latonia.

The Mass of Belonging is hosted annually by the Fire Foundation of Northern Kentucky, whose mission is to enable students with disabilities to receive a traditional Catholic education. To do this, they provide funding through grants and additional education resources to the Catholic schools in the Diocese of Covington.

Bishop Iffert, in his homily, praised the work of the Fire Foundation, saying, “We all know the right thing to do in terms of providing Catholic education and formation for all of our children. Sometimes we struggle to see how we might accomplish that, how we might afford it, how we might be able to do it. The Fire Foundation doesn’t just condemn us for our hesitance, but instead says, ‘Let me help you find a way to do what is right.’”

A few weeks ago, Bishop Iffert said he listened to a podcast in which Ken Burns, the famous filmmaker, was interviewed. In this podcast, Bishop Iffert said Mr. Burns compared the way one should live their life to the Christmas movie, “It’s a Wonderful Life.”

In this movie, there are two competing towns, Bedford Falls and Pottersville. “Bedford Falls was the place where neighbors did neighborly things for one another… It was a place where the Holy Spirit’s wealth was made present by the way neighbors loved and cared for one another,” said Bishop Iffert. Pottersville, he said, is the antithesis of these values, where greed and corruption run unencumbered.

“Burns said from an early age, as soon as he saw that movie, he knew he faced a choice. Did he want to contribute to the world that would nurture Bedford Falls and its caring community, or did he want to choose Pottersville, with the antithesis of all those values,” said Bishop Iffert, “It’s not a bad way to think about life. It’s very similar to the vision that both Isaiah and Our Lord Jesus Christ set before us tonight in the Scripture.”

Living your life in a way that promotes the values of Bedford Falls is the same way that Jesus, in the Gospel reading of Matthew 25:31-40, says one might be worthy to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. “…For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me, naked and you clothed me, ill and you cared for me, in prison and you visited.”

Those that are to be precluded from the Kingdom of Heaven, Jesus said, were those that saw their brothers and sisters — hungry, thirsty, a stranger, naked, ill and imprisoned — and did nothing.

Bishop Iffert said, “Jesus seems to be saying to us that the choices we make in the world, the choices we make in how we love and care for one another. They unleash the power of the Kingdom of God in our midst and transform our community after the likeness that God intends for us.”

The Fire Foundation of Northern Kentucky contributes to the Diocese of Covington the values of Bedford Falls and the Kingdom of Heaven. They aid in the mission of inclusive Catholic Education. Meeting parents where they are, they say, “Let me help you discover the way forward, let me help you know how you can help care for all of our own and not turn our backs on any that God has entrusted to our care,” said Bishop Iffert.

“It’s a beautiful mission,” he continued, “it’s a wonderful thing and so I’m grateful for this foundation, for all the work they do, for helping us to recognize how we might choose differently and helping to make it real.”

From under the sea to Radio City Music Hall, St. Timothy School students to open for Rockettes this Christmas season

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Bella Bailey

Multimedia Correspondent

An ensemble cast of 50 middle school students from St. Timothy School, Union, was selected to perform, Dec. 4, at Radio City Music Hall, New York, as the opening act for the Radio City Rockettes “Christmas Spectacular.”

Andrew Mason, an eighth-grade teacher at St. Timothy School and music minister at St. Timothy Parish, saw the show last year in New York with his family and was inspired when he saw another school open the show.

“There was a group up there that sang to open the show, and they were good, and I thought ‘give me a couple of years, my kids will be there, I really want to apply to that,’” said Mr. Mason.

However, it did not take a few years for the kids to become ready for this opportunity. Their quick progression throughout the course of “Little Mermaid Junior,” their spring musical, led Mr. Mason to believe now was the time to send in the audition tape.

“We had such a good show, so after we came off the show, I sent an email to all the parents. We sent in a 30-second to a minute-long audition tape, Madison Square Garden group vetted us and said, ‘you’re in,’” said Mr. Mason.

“It was exhilarating,” said eighth-grade student, Molly, about when the cast found out they had been selected.

“There were people jumping in the hallways, super excited,” said Johnny, another eighth-grade student.

To tell the students about their exciting selection, Mr. Mason had arranged a scavenger hunt at St. Timothy’s open house. The game led each student back to Mr. Mason, where he was able to tell them the exciting news.

“Once they found that out, it was big news around here,” said Ashley Rehkamp, principal. “Lots of screams, and giggles, and parents are just as excited.”

Eighth-grade student Emily said, “There wasn’t that big of a chance that we would get it, so it was really exciting that we actually did. We worked really hard for this; I think we deserved it.”

The group of 50 students consists of those who participated in the “Little Mermaid Junior” production and others who are interested in singing.

“We’re very passionate about this. We love to sing, and it’s great that we get to share our talents with them,” said Molly.

Johnny echoed the sentiment, saying, “All of us love singing, we love performing, and especially seeing the Rockettes. It’s a great opportunity.”

The students will spend the next several months learning to perform five Christmas classics: “Somewhere in My Memory,” “O Holy Night, Christmas Canon,” “A Child is Born in Bethlehem,” and “Angels We Have Heard on High.”

Mr. Mason, despite being the one to organize the auditions and applications, credits the students for this opportunity. “It’s really all of their work and how well they have grown and how much work they’ve put in,” said Mr. Mason. “That’s what really makes this special is the growth from where they were to where they are now.”

Painter from diocesan community returns to Greater Cincinnati to show his works and efforts after Florence art academy

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Maura Baker

Staff Writer

“Persone e Paesaggi” — an Italian title translated loosely in English to “People and Places” — was the name chosen for an exhibition of art by painter Daniel Zalla, currently on display at the Art Gallery on the campus of Xavier University, Cincinnati.

Mr. Zalla grew up in the Diocese of Covington, having graduated from Covington Latin School in 2016. Following, he pursued his first degree at Xavier University before continuing his education at the Florence Academy of Art in Italy. Open through the first week of October, the exhibition is free and open to the public Wednesday through Friday.

The exhibition itself is, “in a big way,” according to the artist, a record of the ending of a chapter of Mr. Zalla’s artistic career. This chapter, which has been characterized by “training, practicing, learning proportion and training the eye” has culminated into this show, which features charcoal drawings, oil paintings and a sculpture displayed roughly chronologically in the gallery hall.

“I’ve done this big body of work the last five years in Florence,” Mr. Zalla told the <<Messenger>>, “and I wanted something to show for it. There are a few galleries locally … but I liked the idea of being at Xavier … so it was a little bit like coming full circle, because right before I left for Florence, I had my show for my senior thesis there.”

The title, “Persone e Paesaggi,” comes from the subjects of the past five years of training Mr. Zalla undertook — with subjects ranging primarily between landscapes and portraiture. The exhibition “takes the viewer through some of the big projects” that Mr. Zalla made at the Florence Academy, and ending with his most recent commission — a large-scale painting done for St. Joseph Parish, Crescent Springs, featuring St. Joseph and Jesus in a carpentry workshop. This is the second commission that Mr. Zalla has completed for a diocesan parish, with a previous piece done of St. Augustine for his namesake parish in Covington, which is also on display at the Xavier University gallery.

Moving forward, Mr. Zalla’s art focus aims to shift to more emotional compositions, as the young artist has recently accepted a fellowship in Seattle, Washington — where he will be moving at the beginning of the next year.

The residency program, called the Seattle Prize, has Mr. Zalla working in a studio space with six other classically trained painters working loosely under the theme “transcendent re-humanism” — which focuses on bringing humanity, healing and human connection into artwork. As Mr. Zalla describes, it is the “truth of living a human life, as far as emotions that everyone can relate to.”

Mr. Zalla thanks his family, who supported him throughout his journey and working towards the exhibition, calling them “extremely supportive.”

“I’m grateful for them,” he said, “and also for the show.”

God strengthens love and witness among families, Bishop Iffert says at Wedding

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Maura Baker

Staff Writer

Nearly 100 married couples celebrated their anniversaries with Vespers, Sept. 7, at the Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption, Covington. This special annual service commemorates those celebrating milestone anniversaries — 1 year, 25 years, 50 years and 60 years or more — with prayer, renewal of vows and a blessing from Bishop John Iffert.

“None of us can claim to have done the good things that God has worked in our lives on our own,” Bishop John Iffert began in his homily addressing the couples present. “Whatever God works in us, whatever good comes out of life, whatever good fruit is born out of life and the things we do, we remember that without God, we could do none of it.” He said, “Only with God’s grace are we capable of reflecting the love that God has poured out on us.”

“Look what God has done today,” Bishop Iffert remarked, “to be witness to the goodness of God in so many lives, so many families, so many marriages and so many relationships … God has done great things for me. That is the witness we are gathered here to share with one another and the world outside today.”

“God forms us together in families and in the family of the Church,” he said, “so that we might be for one another a school of charity, a place where we learn how to love God and others — where we learn how to put aside our self-centeredness and our focus on only ourselves.” Bishop Iffert continued, “The nihilism that is so present in our culture today, that is such a temptation for us. To set aside that self-centered stance and to learn to serve one another, to serve God in one another — in your families and in your married lives — this is a grace God strengthens in you.”

“May God continue to grace you,” Bishop Iffert told the couples gathered, “and may the end of your life find you ready to greet him after having known the love of your children and your children’s children.”

Prayer service for migrants is a place to ‘show compassion’, says Notre Dame sister

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Maura Baker

Staff Writer

In celebration of the World Day of Migrants and Refugees, and along with National Migration Week — Set. 22 through Sept. 28 — a prayer service will be held at the Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption, Covington, Sept. 26, 7 p.m.

For over 40 years, the Catholic Church has celebrated National Migration Week. Historically held around the time of the epiphany, using the example of the three wise men as migrants themselves, the date has been changed to September in recent years.

Every year, Notre Dame Sister Maria Francine Stacy participates in this celebration. A member of the Intercommunity Peace and Justice Committee, who has worked with migrants in the community and as a Spanish teacher at Notre Dame Academy, Sister Maria Francine was part of the committee putting together this prayer service. With it, she invites everyone to join in the celebration.

“The Church says when you welcome a stranger, you welcome me,” Sister Maria Francine said. “I want to invite people to pray for and open their hearts to the migrant.”

“It’s a place to show compassion and to learn to feel Jesus’s presence,” she said, “as we are honoring the immigrant, which is something that I think Jesus would do.”

Diversity will be a big part of the prayer service, as well — with readings and songs to be included in Spanish and English. “That sort of gives you the experience of a migrant,” Sister Maria Francine said, “We want to give glimpses of that experience.”

Sister Maria Francine also said that she was “moved” by the attendance of people at the two immigration and social teaching presentations earlier this year, seeing that the topic of immigration is “important to people.”

“I really like that we’re able to come together and work together and do something that I think people are responding to,” she said.