Identify someone in a spirit of humility as you begin your Lenten Walk with One journey

/in ,

Bella Bailey

Multimedia Correspondent

In the February 28 edition of the Messenger, the faithful of the Diocese of Covington were invited to participate in the Walk with One initiative that was borne out of the National Eucharistic Revival. Encouraged to participate during the Lenten season, many will have begun their journey on March 5, Ash Wednesday. To properly begin Walking with One, the first step is to identify someone in a spirit of humility.

To identify someone you are going to walk with you can write down a list of people you know and pray over that list, you can visit the Lord in Eucharistic adoration or do a novena to the Holy Spirit asking for increased discernment and guidance. This step is heavily focused on discernment and your personal relationship with God as you try and find who God is calling you to walk with.

Tanner Kalina, project manager for the National Eucharistic Congress, said, “Our big encouragement for everyone as they do Walk with One is to surround it with prayer. That starts first and foremost at the very beginning as you discern who the Lord might be inviting you to walk with.”

“We’re careful not to say that the person you walk with has to be a Catholic, has to be a fallen away Catholic, has to be a non-Catholic, because we really want people to enter into it prayerfully and take that first step in listening to the Lord. Ultimately, they won’t be able to pass down what they haven’t first received,” continued Mr. Kalina.

As you begin your journey to walk with one, Kris Frank, vice president of Growth and Marketing for the National Eucharistic Congress, said, “There’s going to be ups and downs, it’s going to be one step forward and one step backwards … so we want to ensure that we are connected to God and it is from that overflow of prayer and our own relationship that we can share with other people.”

This Lent take the first steps to ‘Walk With One’ in the Campaign of Mercy

/in , ,

Laura Keener

Editor

With the announcement of the Campaign of Mercy last June, Bishop John Iffert is inviting the people of the Diocese of Covington to prayerfully consider a work of mercy and to engage in service to others, allowing that service to deepen their faith life and to draw them closer to Christ.

In support of the Campaign of Mercy, the Messenger has been highlighting a spiritual or corporal work of mercy and a person, parish ministry or local social service that embodies that work. The goal of the Campaign of Mercy is to evangelize through that work of service inviting someone — a family member, friend or acquaintance — to join you in that service work and through that relationship grow in faith.

With the onset of Lent, the Messenger is pausing its series on the works of mercy and turning attention to the foundational aspect of the Campaign of Mercy — personal and intercessory prayer. Lent is a penitential season of the Church that invites its members to a deepening of faith through the practices of prayer, fasting and almsgiving. For the Campaign of Mercy, the Messenger invites readers on a Lenten journey to Walk With One.

At the conclusion of the Eucharistic Congress last July, the U.S. bishops launched a national evangelization initiative entitled “Walk With One.”

“As we prayed, we realized that perhaps the profundity is found in the simplicity,” said Kris Frank, vice president of Growth and Marking for the National Eucharistic Congress, about the Walk With One Campaign. “That if one person can just reach out to one other person, that’s where we could see great results. That’s where we could see change really start to take root as the revival takes root in each one of us.”

Walk With One and the Campaign of Mercy dovetail perfectly. Both start by developing or increasing a personal relationship with the Lord through prayer. Both invite the Holy Spirit to lead to the person God has in mind for you to journey with. And both encourage daily intercessory prayer for the person so that their heart and mind will be open to Lord.

“When we’ve encountered Jesus, that changes us,” said Tanner Kalina, project manager, National Eucharistic Congress. “The Eucharist is not our private possession. The Eucharist longs to be shared with others and Jesus desires to do that through us.”

Resources developed by Eucharistic Congress organizers for the Walk With One campaign offer a four-step process: identify someone in a spirit of humility; intercede for that person in communion with the Holy Spirit; connect in Eucharistic friendship and invite that person on a path most suitable for him or her. With the help of the National Eucharistic Congress team, each of these four steps will be explored throughout the weeks of Lent, in print, on the web and the diocese’s YouTube page.

“The Church’s invitation for us to Walk With One is not an invitation for us to add one more task to do, it’s actually an invitation for us to step into the fullness of the Christian life by walking with someone and inviting them into different stages of the spiritual journey,” said Mr. Kalina. “We actually become more alive and closer to Jesus. It is about getting us to be a Eucharistic people, a people who are really living the fullness of the Christian life and, therefore, tasting the abundance and joy of the Christian life.”

The Messenger’s Lenten feature will be available online at covdio.org/messenger. For additional Walk With One resources from the National Eucharistic Congress visit eucharisticrevival.org/walk-with-one.

Parents and grandparents pray, learn and hope together as they patiently await the return of their children to the Church

/in

Laura Keener

Editor

Announced in June 2024 by Bishop John Iffert, the Diocese of Covington, as part of its pastoral plan, has embarked on a three-year Campaign of Mercy. In support of the Campaign of Mercy, each month the Messenger has been highlighting a corporal or spiritual work of mercy and ways to connect to that work through service with either a diocesan or local social service organization, a parish group or as an individual. This month the highlighted work of mercy is bearing wrongs patiently.

Bearing wrongs patiently is not an acceptance of injustice or hurts, but a realization that change is slow and requires prayer and persistence. It is also an invitation to healing and forgiveness, two other processes that require time. This week, the Messenger highlights St. Patrick Parish, Taylor Mill, where a group of parents got together to pray for their children who have fallen away from the Church.

According to a 2009 report (revised in 2011) by the Pew Research Center, 10 percent of American adults are now former Catholics; 79 percent of former Catholics leave the Church before age 23.

Additionally, 50 percent of Millennials raised Catholic no longer identify as Catholic today. A person born between 1981–1996, or between the ages of 44 and 29, are considered Millennials. Many parents and grandparents who held these children as infants as the waters of Baptism were poured over their head, who witnessed their joyful glow as they made their First Communion and who prayed with and for them at their Confirmation, are now carrying concern and hurt as they realize that the faith they intended to pass on to their children has been rejected.

Disheartened that two of his four children had walked away from the faith, John Zoburg, parishioner, St. Patrick Parish, Taylor Mill, approached Father Jeffrey VonLehmen, pastor, for advice.

“My wife and I were very concerned about our children, who we raised Catholic from the day they were born all the way through Catholic high school, Catholic grade school … we tried to be the best Christians we could be in living examples. We just didn’t understand it,” Mr. Zoburg said. Instead of an answer, Father VonLehmen tasked him with a project.

“He looked at me, handed me a book and said, ‘I want you to read this, and if you’re open to it, I’d like you to lead the parish through some kind of sessions wrapped around it.’ He told us we were not the only parents or grandparents to come to him with these concerns,” said Mr. Zoburg.

Together Mr. Zoburg and Father VonLehmen developed five monthly sessions using as a resource the book “Return: How to Draw Your Children Back to the Church” authored by Brandon Vogt and published by Word on Fire.

“It is excellent,” said John Schaefer, parishioner, St. Patrick Parish, who attended the sessions. In addition to sharing statistics on the percentages of children who leave home and leave their faith, the book also “highlights the notion of hope,” he said.

About 40 parents and grandparents attended the sessions, with each of their children having varying degrees of separation from the Church and from their parents. Mr. Schaefer is grieved with the most severe separation; his daughter hasn’t spoken to him in four years.

“One of the strongest things that came out of it (the sessions) was this notion of staying tethered to your children, not trying to beat them over the head with a Bible, not trying to force the Catechism into them, that most of them probably already have in them, but just staying connected, just staying lovingly as much as possible. And then, when the time arises in life, hopefully the seeds grow,” said Mr. Schaefer.

Mr. Schaefer finds consolation in the witness of St. Monica, the mother of St. Augustine, who prayed unceasingly for her son to return to the faith. He continues to pray the prayer to St. Monica, for himself and for his daughter.

“Kudos to Father Jeff, who is a beloved spiritual director for us, to get this started and for having John Zoburg lead us through this really difficult thing,” said Mr. Schaefer.

For Mr. Zuborg, the prayers and techniques learned are bearing fruit. A year and half later, his oldest daughter has returned to the Church, her husband is in the OCIA program, and their two children will be baptized with their dad during the Easter Vigil this year.

“The book, it teaches you techniques of how to gently just introduce the topic of faith,” he said. For him, the opportunity came in the form of Bible study on Church history. His son-in-law is a scientist and has a natural curiosity about science and history.

“I just casually said, ‘Hey, I’m going to go to this Bible study on the history of Church,’” said Mr. Zoburg. And then he shut up. He didn’t even ask them to join him. Later that week, his daughter asked if she and her husband could come along. “That’s what the book teaches, just dropping little seeds here and there, not to force. Not to say, hey, come to church with me,” he said.

Mr. Schaefer said that praying for children is a lifelong process. He remembered that his own father would pray for him and his five siblings who also strayed from the faith throughout their father’s lifetime.

“My father prayed for two decades, and you know, when he was on his deathbed, all six of us were back in the Church. It was a beautiful moment. You know, it’s a life- long thing. It’s the challenge, not only of the child, but it’s the challenge of the parent,” Mr. Schaeffer said. “Every heartbeat reminds you you’re still alive, every day is still a prayer for your children. That’s the trust.”

If you are interested in learning more about or in hosting similar sessions at your parish, contact John Zoburg at (859) 816-1645.

Project Rachel— walking with post-abortive women on the road to forgiveness

/in

Laura Keener

Editor

Announced in June 2024 by Bishop John Iffert, the Diocese of Covington, as part of its pastoral plan, has embarked on a three-year Campaign of Mercy. In year one, parishioners are asked to identify and make a corporal or spiritual work of mercy their own, incorporating that work of mercy into their life through service to others. In year two, the work of evangelization begins by inviting another Catholic person who is not active in the life of the Church to join in that work of mercy. Finally, in year three, the ask to join in that service work is extended to someone who is unchurched, eventually with an invitation to praying together.

In support of the Campaign of Mercy, each month the Messenger has been highlighting a corporal or spiritual work of mercy and ways to connect to that work through service with either a diocesan or local social service organization, a parish group or as an individual. This month the highlighted work of mercy is bearing wrongs patiently.

Bearing wrongs patiently is not an acceptance of injustice or hurts, but a realization that change is slow and requires prayer and persistence. It is also an invitation to healing and forgiveness, two other processes that require time. Project Rachel, a ministry of the Diocese of Covington, welcomes women who have had an abortion to experience God’s healing mercy and forgiveness.

After decades of carrying the guilt of an abortion, one woman began the process of reconciliation and healing as she was preparing to the enter the Church through RCIA. After entering the Church, she learned of Project Rachel from a witness talk during Christ Renews His Parish.

That witness, “was my catalyst to make the call,” she said about finding the courage to join a Project Rachel series. Due to the sensitive nature of abortion and out respect for the confidentiality of the Project Rachel program, the Messenger agreed not to identify the woman who was interviewed for this article.

Project Rachel is a confidential, 8-session program for women of all, or no, faiths. Project Rachel is a listening and sharing ministry consisting of two leaders — one woman who has had an abortion and one woman who has not — and just a few new participants. To facilitate the process of healing, women are encouraged to share their story, but no one is coerced to share or do anything that makes them uncomfortable. The program is offered through the Diocese’s Pro-Life Office at no cost to participants.

“It’s extremely difficult to make the call,” she said. “Statistically, women will have many touches before they’re ready or are able to talk about their abortion with someone else. If someone is sharing that experience with you, it’s so important to be empathetic and to listen to them and to encourage them. We know of Jesus’s promise to us that we’re forgiven, but oftentimes it’s them forgiving themselves that’s impossible,” she said.

In addition to being a mentor for Project Rachel, the woman interviewed also works at a local pregnancy care center helping vulnerable or abortion-minded women to take the time to recover from the shock of learning of an intended pregnancy and encouraging them to choose life for their baby. According to statistics provided by the Guttmacher Institute, one in four women will have an abortion during their lifetime. Also, from the Guttmacher Institute, in 2020, 42 percent of abortion patients reported having a prior abortion. For these women coming into the pregnancy care center, she shares the healing she experienced through Project Rachel.

“I spoke to a woman today, her priest gave her the card with the number for Project Rachel and encouraged her to try to make that call,” she said. “For her, that was a step toward her being able to forgive herself; she’s willing to try. She’s suffering in that violence of abortion, but she is wanting healing. She’s willing to walk that walk with someone else, through the Church, through the healing power of Christ and with the Holy Spirit to get there.”

Abortion, she said, is the sin that never seems to go away. Reminders are everywhere — in the crosses of the Cemetery of the Innocents displayed at parishes, during homilies, at political marches and during political campaigns, in discussions at small prayer groups and sometimes among family members. What’s important to remember, she said, is that when talking about abortion, to be aware that at least one woman in the room has probably had an abortion and that it is of the greatest importance for her to hear that healing and forgiveness is available through the Church. If your conversation leads a woman to disclose her abortion to you, don’t be afraid of that conversation. And don’t be afraid to revisit the conversation later, discreetly of course.

“Be open to being able to have that conversation. Love the person in front of you as Jesus would, hear her story and be able to help get her to a place where she’s willing to seek healing. Help her, help guide her to that, it’s so important,” she said. “The Church has that healing and forgiveness and it’s readily available. Just make sure that those touches are out there.”

While she admits that the journey to healing is long, with many stops and starts along the way, bearing that hurt patiently doesn’t mean putting off seeking forgiveness or from encouraging someone to seek forgiveness.

“If someone has a person in their life that’s come to them or shared their story, don’t be afraid to talk with them. Don’t be afraid to bring it back up again,” she said. “It might cause tears, and you might be afraid of the pain. Don’t be. Don’t be afraid to check in with them and see where they are. Oftentimes they’re not going to make that call the first time, so don’t be afraid to follow up and check back in with them. Pray with them about making the decision to make the call and step into healing.”

When a private choice becomes a secret burden, reach out for help and healing after an abortion. Call the Project Rachel confidential phone number at (859) 392-1547.

For more information on the Campaign of Mercy visit www.covdio.org/mercy.

TMU Compassion Pantry co-directors, organize shoe drive to help the most vulnerable

/in

Bella Bailey

Multimedia Correspondent

As part of the Diocesan-wide Campaign of Mercy, the Messenger has been highlighting a different work of mercy each month. For the month of January, the focus is on the corporal work, clothing the naked.

In conjunction with the December work of mercy, sheltering the homeless, clothing the naked focuses on aiding the most vulnerable. With temperatures falling, and snowbanks piling high, those without consistent shelter are at risk of frostbite and hypothermia, making warm clothes a necessity. Unfortunately, those that need warm clothes the most often have the least access. Whether it is low volume and high demand, or even cost, access to warm clothes is limited.

Thomas More University, Crestview Hills, students MaryKay Birtcil and Noah Francis, co-directors of Thomas More University Compassion Pantry, took note and are doing what they can to help. The Compassion Pantry typically focuses on nonperishable food items for students on campus, but the heart of the organization is in giving back. Ms. Birtcil and Mr. Francis met with their team of students and, in an effort to combat the lack of access, organized a shoe drive.

“I got the idea because I volunteered at the CCRU clinic, which is through the University of Kentucky, Northern Kentucky University College of Medicine. They would see 45 patients a night that would come into the Emergency Shelter of Northern Kentucky in Covington, and I noticed that one common thing among all the patients was that they really needed a new pair of shoes,” said Ms. Birtcil. “The people that come to the shelter,” she continued, “do a lot of walking so it felt like a really important need for them.”

While the Compassion Pantry primarily serves the immediate Thomas More community, Ms. Birtcil and Mr. Francis saw this as the perfect opportunity to give back.

“We receive a lot from our greater community,” said Mr. Francis, “we have partnerships with Panera, they donate all of their leftover bread every Sunday night. Master Provisions lets us come in and do some grocery shopping. We get  donations from High Schools and the alumni all the time. It is all one big family in Northern Kentucky. I think that, as much as people have helped us, we should also help people.”

Giving back to the community that has given the Compassion Pantry so much is a hallmark of the shoe drive. All of the shoes that are collected are going to be donated to the Emergency Shelter of Northern Kentucky, to help them ncombat cold related injuries and illnesses.

The coordination of Ms. Birtcil, Mr. Francis, the Compassion Pantry team and the Emergency Shelter of Northern Kentucky is a testament to the Northern Kentucky community and Mr. Francis said, their faith. “I would say faith does drive us in all aspects,” he said. “Ultimately, at the end of the day, Christ died for us, showing that love back into the community is our goal. I would say that is why we do everything.”

For those interested in donating to the shoe drive the drop off box is located inside the doors of the Mary, Seat of Wisdom Chapel, Crestview Hills, and to the left. The Chapel is on the campus of Thomas More University. The donation box will remain in the Chapel until Friday, Jan. 24.

“I hate when my feet are cold,” Mr. Francis said, “So I can only imagine what it is like for other people that don’t have roofs over their heads to not have shoes and warm feet.”

Campaign of Mercy — BBHS delivers Christmas cheer

/in

Every year, Mark Messmer, a Catholic Charities jail ministry volunteer, works with the Campbell County Detention Center, Newport, to get permission for jail ministers to bring a bag of Christmas cheer to each inmate and guard at CCDC. Each November, Bishop Brossart High School hosts a Turkey Bowl gathering donations for a variety of charities. In addition to the generous donations collected, the Turkey Bowl provides awareness of the people being served by the various ministries. This year, CCDC was added to the BBHS list of ministries.

BBHS generously responded with over 600 individually wrapped snack cakes and ChapStick for every inmate. Jail ministers had the privilege of personally handing out each bag individually. The inmates responded with great joy and thanks, grateful that people are remembering them. Jail ministers at CCDC lead weekly Bible studies. Catholic Charities, Diocese of Covington can always use more volunteers. It’s an important ministry of hope and comfort. Contact Jill Walsh at (859) 581-8974 or [email protected].

How the Jubilee year and diocesan pastoral plan are intersecting with works of mercy

/in ,

Laura Keener

Editor

In June, Bishop John Iffert launched in the Diocese of Covington a Campaign of Mercy, an initiative of evangelization coming out of the With One Heart diocesan pastoral plan. As part of the Jubilee Year 2025, Pope Francis has announced that a person can receive as many as two indulgences a day by completing acts mercy. The Messenger sat down with Bishop Iffert to gather his thoughts on how the Holy Spirit may be working in the life of the local and universal Church through the theme of mercy.

Question: Even going back to the Extraordinary Jubilee Year of Mercy, Pope Francis was already writing about how service is a journeying to Christ, or a pilgrimage to the face of Christ. This year, Pope Francis is allowing for an indulgence for corporal works of mercy performed. How has the Bull (Pope Francis’ official pronouncement of the Jubilee Year) incorporated the corporal works of mercy as part of the Jubilee Year.

Bishop Iffert: On Christmas Eve, Pope Francis will inaugurate the Jubilee year 2025 in Rome by opening the first Jubilee door. He has chosen the motto of the Jubilee Year, Pilgrims of Hope, and it’s really interesting.

Unlike during the Year of Mercy, where he authorized Jubilee doors all over the world and you could receive the Jubilee indulgence just by passing through one of these doors and praying for the intentions of the Holy Father with all the usual requirements of receiving an indulgence, this year, he has not authorized those Jubilee doors in any diocese outside of Rome.

In one way, you might think, well, he’s really narrowed that offer of mercy, but what he’s really done is broaden this. What he’s doing is, he’s keeping the Jubilee doors and the connection to that indulgence in Rome. But then he’s allowing folks to be able to gain that indulgence in a variety of ways — by visiting any diocesan cathedral or by visiting any other historic church designated by the local bishop, or visiting any number of shrines or and this, I think is very important to us, in performing a work of mercy, especially for a person who is needy.

There is this wonderful sentence, and I’m paraphrasing, I believe it is the letter in which the pope establishes the indulgence for the Jubilee Year, and he says, whenever we spend time with a person who is in need doing a work of mercy for that person, we are entering on a pilgrimage to encounter the face of Christ in our neighbor. I just think that’s beautiful. That is a sentiment that I’m going to be living with for a long time and a truth that I’m going to be living with and teaching for a long time.

This pilgrimage of hope, where we emphasize hope, this virtue that is a kind of fortitude, a kind of an expression, a kind of courage lifted to a supernatural level, this hope that is certain and constant and that knows that God has a plan for us and is bringing it to good, this hope is connected with our acting in a loving and compassionate and merciful way to others.

We know that faith, hope and love they all blend. Faith and hope lead us into love and charity and mercy and compassion. Well, this is, this is the journey we’re on. We’re on this hope-filled journey, not only that God’s compassion will rule in our world, but that we will be made over in the image of that compassion and that mercy.

There are three great things that are happening this year for us here in the Diocese of Covington. One is the inauguration of the Jubilee year. We’re also completing the last year of the Eucharistic Revival, which is focused on walking with another in Eucharistic faith, accompanying another in Eucharistic faith. And then here locally, as part of our pastoral plan, we are inaugurating a Campaign of Mercy. We’re inviting Catholics to enter more fully into regular works of mercy, to make this a regular part, a monthly part, a weekly part, a daily part of our life to be doing works of mercy for those around us.

These kinds of great themes come together, to me, it all speaks of one thing, which is the Church is awakening to this reality that we are the mission of Jesus, the mission of Jesus to be mercy for the world, to be mercy for one another, to proclaim the kingdom and the mercy of the Father, the love that the Father has for each one of us. This is our mission.

Everything about these great celebrations and so much of what we find in our pastoral plan and everything that the Church speaks these days seems to be clarifying that and reinforcing that we’re the living mission of Jesus, and that that mission is a mission of mercy for everyone.

That’s what the point this Jubilee Year is making by connecting that pilgrimage motif with the theological virtue of hope and with the work of mercy. And I’m just inspired by it.

Question: You mentioned that the Campaign of Mercy, the Eucharistic Revival and now the Jubilee Year as having a common theme of serving and journeying with each other. That seems to me to be a work of the Holy Spirit. With the Campaign of Mercy, we’re using the corporal and spiritual works of mercy as tools for evangelization. Tell me more about that concept.

Bishop Iffert: In the Campaign of Mercy, that comes out of our pastoral plan, which came out of consultations with people at the grassroots level, what we’re doing is, we’re inviting, first, ourselves to enter into works of mercy so that we can be more deeply converted to Christ. Not only to do volunteer work, but to do it specifically as a work of mercy for another inspired by the love of Christ. In other words, we love Christ, and so we’re going to, in action, love our neighbor, especially our neighbor who is in need. We’re going to commit to that, and we’re going to live that way.

Then we’re going to do the next step, too, which is we’re going to reflect on that experience, both alone and with others, with other Catholics. We’re going to reflect on that. We’re going to ask ourselves, where did I encounter Jesus in my neighbor? Where did I encounter Jesus in this work of mercy? Where did I meet the crucified Jesus who suffers on the cross for us for mercy? Where did I meet that Jesus? And what is Jesus asking of me? What is that merciful Jesus asking of me in my attitude towards others? Then at some point, I’m going to invite people to say, okay, let’s reach out to someone who we know is a Catholic person, but who maybe isn’t as connected with the life of the Church, maybe isn’t as connected with this life of merciful care of others. Let’s invite this person to join us in doing that work of mercy and then join us in reflecting on it and encountering Jesus there. We’ll take that risk.

The whole idea, of course, is that we encounter Jesus in this way of life. And so, we’re going to invite people back to this way of life, trusting that they, too, will encounter Jesus there, and that meeting Jesus face to face in service to those who are in need, that that will be an impulse for conversion, for deeper conversion in Christ.

At some point, we’re going to, again, put out a call and say, okay, now think of somebody in your life who is not churched at all, who maybe even hasn’t heard much about Jesus, and invite them, take the risk of inviting them to do this work of mercy with you. And then maybe dare to invite them to pray with you about it. And again, the whole idea being that we believe that we will encounter Jesus in the face of our neighbors, and that that encounter with Jesus calls us to deepening conversion.

We’re going to employ this doing of these works of mercy, as a way to invite people to meet Jesus and to respond to His invitation to love others. It’s going to become really one of the great strategies for evangelization. That’s a 50-cent word that just literally means sharing the good news of Jesus, sharing the good news of Jesus with others. That’s going to be a primary strategy for us for three or four years of the Diocese of Covington. That’s a response to what we see as coming out, that it is this work of the Spirit.

Another thing, you said that all of this coming together really does seem like it’s the Holy Spirit. You know, there’s this theological concept, we speak of two offices in the Church — the magisterium, which is the teaching office, which is primarily the bishops around the world teaching in union with the Pope, but also, this office that we call the “sense of the faithful.”

The Church believes and proclaims that the whole body of believers cannot be misled. That the Holy Spirit speaks, yes, through our pastors, through the magisterium, but also in the body of believers. And that while individual believers can be misled, that the Holy Spirit dwells within the temple that is the whole Church. The whole Church, the temple of the people of God, cannot, as a body, be completely misled about the work of God and the movement of the Holy Spirit and the life of the Church, especially about anything that would jeopardize our salvation.

I really do think that this rediscovery that we’re the living mission of Jesus, we’re the living mission of the Spirit of Jesus, that we’re all called to carry on his mission of mercy, compassion, self-sacrifice, gifted self-donation, we’re all called to be that. I really do believe this is a sense where the Holy Spirit is inspiring the sense of the faithful and inspiring the magisterium towards the sense of truth to bring new life and new birth to the Church.

Question: You’ve said before about acts of service performed during the Campaign of Mercy and then here again with the indulgences, that we’re not doing these things to tick boxes. I often hear people say that when they’re involved in works of mercy that they get more out of the experience than what they give. How can acts of mercy, then, develop someone’s personal faith life?

Bishop Iffert: That’s exactly right. The Church does offer an indulgence for the Jubilee Year. Indulgences are an important category that bring not only a remission of sin, but also a healing of the effect of sin in our life, a healing of that destructive effect that sin can have on us.

An indulgence is not just a formality. It’s not a trick. It’s not a get-out-of-purgatory-early card, right? What is it? It is an expression of a desire for God’s grace to work in us in a direct and powerful way. To really change us and to help us to grow closer to the heart of Jesus. That’s what this is all about.

When we talk about the Jubilee indulgence, Pope Francis, another way he has made this is, he says you can receive an indulgence as often as twice a day during the Jubilee Year, as long as one of those you are applying not to yourself, but to the poor souls in purgatory — the suffering Church. This is the spirit. It’s not about bean counting. It’s not about adding up the number of days, right?

What is it about? It’s about inviting the Spirit of God to heal us and to draw us into deeper conformity with Christ. That is really what assures our salvation.

We believe that the more we live like Christ, the more the grace of God will be unleashed in our lives. That’s why we’re emphasizing this aspect of being part of the corporal and spiritual works of mercy. These are powerful actions that change us from the inside out; that help us to encounter Jesus. By entering into this pilgrimage to encounter Jesus in our neighbor, we’re making ourselves available so that Christ can meet us, that we can see him face to face, and that he can change us and heal us, and by healing us, heal our world. That’s what it’s all about.

DCCH Center for Children and Families shelters the homeless year round; Is that your Dad?— soon, one prospective family hopes to answer with a resounding ‘yes!’

/in

Bella Young

Multimedia Correspondent

As part of the Diocesan wide Campaign of Mercy, the Messenger has been highlighting a different work of mercy each month. For the month of December, the focus is on the corporal work, sheltering the homeless.

Sheltering the homeless is not something that many people feel they can participate in. The image many conjure is of welcoming into their home a stranger; perhaps someone who sits on the corner or sleeps on the sidewalk. Opening your home to strangers can not only be dangerous but for many they feel wary about letting a stranger into their home. It takes specially trained people and organizations to meet the housing needs of this most vulnerable population. For individuals, its best to support these organizations in their mission and ministry.

However, there are other groups to consider when thinking of sheltering the homeless. Instead of picturing a stranger on the corner, picture a small child who had to be removed from his or her home because of unsafe conditions. Picture a teenager, whose whole life has been in and out of institutions, multiple homes and new people. These are the faces of the children in our local foster care and adoption system. And they have many ways for individuals to participate in their mission and ministry of providing shelter for homeless children.

DCCH Center for Children and Families, Ft. Mitchell, receives 400 referrals a month for children that need to be placed with a foster or adoptive family. Ron Bertsch, Therapeutic Foster Care/Adoption/ILP director, said that every month they must turn away referrals because they do not have enough families. Mr. Bertsch, in his role, recruits families, trains them, does their home study and gets them approved so that he can help those 400 children who do not have a home to go to.

“Without the recruitment of resources and families it is hard to do the rest of our job, which is to match homeless children, that need a foster or adoptive family,” he said.

When the job is difficult, Mr. Bertsch said that remembering the work of mercy he is doing helps him stay motivated. “It helps me stay motivated in this job because I feel like it is a ministry that I am doing, and it is God’s work. There are a lot of days that are hard and frustrating, but I feel this is more than a job for me, it truly is a ministry.”

The DCCH Center for Children and Families also has a program that aids older children once they have aged out of the traditional foster care system.

“In the history of our services, many kids turned 18 and aged out and had to fend for themselves,” said Mr. Bertsch. Recognizing the needs of these vulnerable young adults, in 2017 DCCH found some funding, and launched its independent living services.

“Kids that are 18 … if they choose, they can extend their stay in foster care. We find them an apartment, we pay utilities and rent and offer case management and therapy … I have had a lot of success with over a dozen kids since we have been doing that, I feel like I am another father figure to these young men and women,” said Mr. Bertsch.

The best part of the job, Mr. Bertsch said, is being able to tell a child that they found a family. “To be able to tell them, ‘Hey, we found you a family.’ I don’t know if I have the words … but I can see it on their face, it is almost unbelievable, the excitement and the joy … it is the excitement, ‘there is somebody out there in the world that is willing to give me a chance.’”

Anyone interested in learning more about foster care or adoption services, DCCH is hosting a no obligation, informational night, Monday, Dec. 9, 6:30 p.m. at DCCH Center, 75 Orphanage Road, Ft. Mitchell, in its Miller Building — signs will direct you.

One-on-one ZOOM information meetings can be scheduled if the planned info meeting is not convenient. E-mail [email protected] requesting a meeting with someone from our team.

For a related story about an upcoming 175th DCCH adoption see page 16

Is that your Dad?— soon, one prospective family hopes to answer with a resounding ‘yes!’

“Following God’s will of caring for orphans can seem like a lot, but God will take your yes and meet you where you are at. My journey began with two years of mentoring Joseph. We got to know each other through Sundays at church and many other diverse activities and events. “Then God saw fit to provide everything needed for me to foster Joseph with the intention of adoption. After 11 months, we have the final court date for adoption on Dec. 3. God is so good. “So, wherever you are in your decision process with mentoring, fostering or adopting know that God will honor your yes and do more than you can imagine changing the life of a child for His Kingdom and glory,” Brian Menendez.

These words were expressed from the heart and mind of Mr. Menendez as he finalizes the adoption of his son, Joseph. Below is the story of how Brian and Joseph will become the 175th family through adoption facilitated by DCCH Center for Children and Families.

Brian Menendez, a 40-year-old single man had recently moved and was getting to know the Northern Kentucky area. He read the bible verse James 1:27 which reads, “religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows”. Something stirred, and Brian did an internet search for places to help orphans and came across DCCH Center for Children and Families, in Ft. Mitchell. He immediately began the process to become a mentor for a child.

DCCH just marked their 175th anniversary of providing care for children since starting in 1848 as St. John Orphanage. Merging with St. Joseph Orphanage forming the Diocesan Catholic Children’s Home focusing on the healing of children abused and neglected entering the foster care system.

Brian was matched with Joseph, a then 10-yr old boy in March of 2022. Brian and Joseph’s visits started on the DCCH campus together talking and building Lego sets. In time, Brian was able to take Joseph out during the day and they would attend church and do fun activities together.

Brian shared that he understood his role as a mentor. He wanted to be a safe and loving person for Joseph. During that time, Joseph was open with Brian about things that were occurring in his life. Brian was praying that Joseph would be able to leave DCCH Residential Program and be with a forever family. Brian shared that it never crossed his mind that he could become his family.

Months turned into years, and Joseph still was without the forever family. Brian and Joseph were out in the community one day and someone asked Joseph if Brian was his dad. Joseph nodded his head yes, while cautiously looking at Brian. For the first time, Brian realized that maybe he could be Joseph’s father. Brian prayed and talked with his pastor and those in leadership at church. They agreed that Joseph had become part of the church family, and he needed to be with us.

Brian was introduced to Ron Bertsch, Foster Care and Adoption Director in the fall of 2023. Brian shared his heart and his desire to be a father and a safe home for Joseph. Brian started foster and adoptive classes through DCCH. When Brian was able to inform Joseph of his intention, Joseph was surprised and excited but still reserved because many other family opportunities had presented for him but had always fallen through.

Joseph progressed to having overnight visits with Brian, and then weekend visits and even spending longer times during school holidays. By February 2024, Joseph and Brian were ready; Joseph moved into Brian’s home full-time.

It wasn’t the easiest transition as Brian and Joseph had to learn to become father and son rather than mentor and mentee, but the bond was well started. In addition, Joseph enrolled at a new school. Brian and Joseph worked together through many obstacles to grow in attachment and trust with one another.

This summer, Brian took Joseph to his family’s home in Florida to meet Brian’s extended family. This was Joseph’s first time flying on a plane and the first time seeing the Atlantic Ocean and beach. As a 13-year-old, that made for quite a memorable experience.

Brian and Joseph have an incredible community surrounding them. Good friends from their church attended DCCH’s respite training to further support Brian and Joseph, providing childcare and respite when needed.

Much of Brian and Joseph’s church family plans to attend the adoption finalization hearing on December 3. Joseph’s adoption marks the 175th adoption facilitated through DCCH, so a large contingency of DCCH staff will also attend the hearing. Celebrating this momentous occasion and being blessed to witness the young Joseph grow from the little boy in residential, to the young man in foster care to now being adopted by such a selfless, strong Christian man become father is another cherished gift from God.

For anyone interested in learning more about fostering, adopting or mentoring, attend a free informational meeting on Monday, Dec. 9, 6:30 p.m. at DCCH campus or contact (859) 331-2040 or www.DCCHCenter.org

How peanut butter and jelly sandwiches will help form good, Christian men and women at St. Augustine School

/in

Bella Young

Multimedia Correspondent

St. Augustine School, Covington, focuses on forming good, holy, Christian men and women through practical application of the faith. Father Dan Schomaker, pastor at St. Augustine Parish, Covington, asks the question, “How can we get the students used to understanding that the faith is practical? It’s not just this philosophy, or ideas, or feelings, it engages the whole person.” The answer this time lies in the classic peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

Recently inspired by a story told by Father Salvador Gonzalez, director of the National Shrine of Our Lady of the Snows, Father Schomaker knew he wanted to instill in the students the virtue in Father Gonzalez’s story. “Father Gonzalez, when he was a young man, was a server at his home parish. Before serving on the weekend, he would have to show up an hour early, he would have to go give a sandwich to one of the homeless people on the property. The pastor required that he had to get to know them, he had to learn their name.” The virtue, feed someone else before you feed yourself.

“I heard that, and it stuck with me,” said Father Schomaker, “How can I participate in the corporal work of mercy, giving food to the hungry, feeding the hungry?” Turning to Parish Kitchen, Covington, Father Schomaker had an idea, what if there were to-go bags of prepackaged peanut butter and jelly sandwiches that patrons of Parish Kitchen could take with them? Inspired by Father Gonzalez and seeking to get his students involved in practical applications of faith, Father Schomaker decided that while the middle school students waited in line for breakfast, they would make peanut butter and jelly sandwiches to be taken to Parish Kitchen.

“We announced yesterday to the kids that after Mass, the kids go to Mass every day and they have breakfast every day, that before they are allowed to eat, they have to feed somebody else. They have to provide food for someone that is hungry,” said Father Schomaker. In his announcement to the students Father Schomaker explained why the sandwiches are to be made before the students eat.

“I get that you are hungry, but you have food right over there, ready for you. There are other people who don’t know if they’re going to have food and so we’re going to provide it for them,” speaking to the students Father Schomaker continued, “You are going to sacrifice three minutes of hunger, five minutes of hunger, to feed someone else.”

Only the middle schoolers will be participating in the making of the peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. “They go last anyway to get their food because the little kids go first and so instead of waiting in line doing nothing, they’re going to be making a peanut butter and jelly sandwich,” said Father Schomaker. Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches are not the only thing students will be making however, because people can be hungry in more way than one.

“Building off of what Mother Theresa has really talked about,” Father Schomaker said, “there is a greater hinger than just for food. There’s more of a hunger for love.” It was with this idea in mind that the students will also be making notes for those that receive the sandwiches.

To promote collaboration the St. Augustine Parish St. Vincent De Paul Conference will be donating the bread, peanut butter and jelly. “I talked to our conference and explained what I want to do to help promote the corporal works of mercy with the school children. I asked if they would be able to help pay for the food, and they said yes. I am very grateful for that,” said Father Schomaker.

“It’s just the practical aspect of the faith, you have to get your hands dirty, ours is not a philosophy, ours is a belief in a person who is Jesus Christ, who is God, who is put on flesh, who is given food to the poor and the hungry. He has done all these things, and we are called to emulate him. Well, this is that practice. How do we emulate the Lord? Here is a simple way that we can do it,” Father Schomaker said.

St. Vincent de Paul Northern Kentucky food pantry and parish conferences feed body and spirit

/in

Bella Young

Multimedia Correspondent

For more than 100 years the Northern Kentucky Council of St. Vincent de Paul has been spreading hope in the northern most counties of Kentucky; Kenton, Campbell, Boone, Carroll, Grant and Pendelton. The Northern Kentucky Council acts as the head of 29 parish conferences, among whom resources are spread to help as many people as possible. One such parish is St. Barbara Parish, Erlanger.

Tim Scherrer, president of the St. Barbara Conference, says about the aid they are able to provide, “We gave out almost $30,000 dollars in food last year. When we look at our total economic impact on our geographic area, it is almost $130,000 of impact.”

St. Vincent de Paul provides not only food to those in need, but also financial aid. “That is primarily rent and utilities, we bought water heaters, we buy bus tokens, we do all kind of things,” said Mr. Scherrer.

“When we get a call, we reach out to that individual, try to make contact with them, figure out what they need, and we try to set up a home visit. We prefer actually getting into the house and being able to sit there and talk to someone face to face. That is kind of the gold standard of our mission, to get face to face with people,” said Mr. Scherrer.

When the volunteers, who are often referred to as Vincentians, make home visits to assess the need for aid they never come empty handed, bringing with them groceries.

“Some people will call in and ask for help with a bill, but we ask them ‘Can we bring you food?’ That’s $100-$120 in groceries that now you can spend on your gas or childcare, or whatever you may need,” said Mr. Scherrer.

Even when people max out the amount of financial aid they can be given in a year, Mr. Scherrer says that they can always be given groceries.

People who find themselves in need of aid, whether financial or help with groceries, are often embarrassed to reach out. Mr. Scherrer says that taking food to them helps relieve some of the embarrassment that might come from walking into a traditional pantry.

The Northern Kentucky Council of St. Vincent de Paul does operate traditional pantries that are open and available to the public. They are known as a choice pantry.

As Becca Gerding, programs director with St. Vincent de Paul of Northern Kentucky, explained, “The guests that we serve can actually come through and shop with a volunteer to pick items their family needs and will eat. It caters to dietary restrictions, or even picky eaters. They get to pick the brands and flavors out of what is available to them.”

Ms. Gerding says that often, this choice can empower the family. Backing up the sentiment of Mr. Scherrer, Ms. Gerding recognizes that when a family is need of aid it can be embarrassing and lead to feeling like things are out of their control. The choice pantries, located in Falmouth, Cold Spring and Erlanger, seek to give some control back to the families.

“We couldn’t do it without the wonderful community support,” said Ms. Gerding, “We couldn’t meet the need we are seeing without community support and our community rallying behind us, and the wonderful group of people helping with St. Vincent.”

The emphasis of community drives home the goal of the Campaign of Mercy, which is to increase the number of people who participate in the corporal and spiritual works of mercy. Without the community upholding the St. Barbara Parish Food Pantry and the pantries of St. Vincent de Paul of Northern Kentucky, their mission would not be possible.

For information on St. Vincent de Paul Northern Kentucky and other ministries that help serve the needs of local families, visit www.covdio.org/mercy.