"Certain Women"

Martyrs For Justice

(Dorothy - Ita - Jean - Maura)

Luke, the Gospel writer, tells us that there were "certain women" who followed Jesus from Galilee, all the way to Jerusalem, even to the Cross, and the empty tomb.  They poured out their resources on Jesus and the other disciples, financial and otherwise.   One of these was Mary of Magdala, first to proclaim the Easter Gospel that Jesus is alive.

In every generation there have been "certain women," faithful followers of Jesus.  In our day, we can count among these "certain women" the four Americans martyred in El Salvador on December 2, 1980.  Their names may be familiar: Sr. Maura Clarke, Sr. Dorothy Kazel, Sr. Ita Ford, and Jean Donovan.  Two were Maryknoll sisters (Maura and Ita), one was an Ursuline sister from Cleveland (Dorothy), and the youngest, Jean, was not a member of a religious congregation.  One of Jean's friends described her as the "first jet setter missionary."  "Certain Women" is their story.  And it concludes with a Stations of the Cross in their own words.