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Wednesday - First Week of Advent

Now this is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about. When his mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found with child through the Holy Spirit. Joseph her husband, since he was a righteous man, yet unwilling to expose her to shame, decided to divorce her quietly. (Matthew 1:18-19)

In that time and culture, marriage involved two steps spread out over one or two years:

1. Betrothal: A formal exchange of consent before witnesses. This usually took place when the bride was 12 or 13 years old. She legally belonged to her husband from then on, and the bond could be broken only by a legal divorce.

2. The taking of the bride into the groom’s family home. This usually took place a year or two later.

At this point in Matthew’s account only step #1 has taken place. (Matthew tells us what Joseph does not yet know: She was with child through the Holy Spirit.)

In the strict interpretation of the law, Mary would be stoned to death. But Joseph planned to apply it more mercifully by quietly divorcing her.

The Latin word for mercy is “misricordia” which literally means a “heart filled with misery.” In his own heart, Joseph felt the misery of Mary, the woman he loved.

Mercy surrounded Jesus from the first moments of his human life. May it surround all God’s children. May I, like Joseph, bring my share of mercy to this world today, tomorrow. There will be plenty of chances.

Spend some quiet time with the Lord.

Thursday, December 2, 2004

St. Jean the Playful

Born April 10, 1953, Jean Donovan was the younger of two children raised in an upper-middle class family in Connecticut.

Jean was juggling a successful business career with her volunteer work in the Cleveland Diocese Youth Ministry with the poor, when she learned about a diocesan mission project in El Salvador.

She volunteered to go, underwent training, and arrived in El Salvador in July 1979. It was a dangerous time to be in the Central American country. Political unrest was broiling and the Catholic Church became a popular target.

Jean helped distribute food for the poor and refugees, and worked on family education programs. She was loved by the people who dubbed the outgoing young woman, “St. Jean the Playful.”

Jean also became devoted to Archbishop Oscar Romero of San Salvador, often traveling to the cathedral on Sundays to hear his homilies. When he was assassinated, she was among those who kept vigil at his coffin. When family and friends questioned the wisdom of her work in the war-torn country, she reassured them, “They don’t kill blond-haired blue-eyed Americans.” But she was wrong.

Jean Donovan, along with three U. S. women religious, was killed by a death squad in El Salvador on this day in 1980.