Springtime days of service between women religious and Curia remind us of the ‘core mission of the Church’

Maura Baker

Staff Writer

The change of seasons to springtime brings with it a period of preparation and cleaning for the warm months. During this period, people in a community may require assistance with getting into the swing of spring, and the sunny spring days of April 16 and 18 brought exactly that.

Through two service days, one on April 16 where the Diocese of Covington’s Curia employees set out into their community, and another where lay people joined the diocese’s religious sisters in similar projects — neighbors helped neighbors with tasks like gardening, serving food, childcare and organizing.

Ministries such as St. Vincent de Paul, the Brighton Center, Redwood, the Emergency Shelter, the Diocesan Catholic Children’s Home and diocesan schools, benefitted from volunteers on both days coming to serve. Prayer and reflection both began and concluded both days.

“To me, it’s the core mission of the Church of Jesus,” said Notre Dame Sister Marla Monahan, vicar for religious and one of the people behind planning both days. “They call it neighbor to neighbor — you don’t have to be Catholic to receive help, you don’t have to be Catholic to give help. It’s just about the dignity of each person.”

“For me,” Sister Marla said, “The relationship is totally mutual — we’re Christ to each other.”

This sentiment resonated with volunteers, many of whom spoke positively about the people they met during their time volunteering in the following reflections.

“I think our service days are really reminding us of the heart of the Gospel,” said Sister Marla, calling to mind Luke 4. “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” (Luke 4:18–19).

“I think that’s what we do and receive from each other,” she said. “The core mission of Jesus, the core mission of the Church — the purpose of our lives … we’re made in the same image of community that reminds us that we’re one family, that we’re not saved alone. We’re saved with each other.”