Four Women Killed in El Salvador December 2 Maura Clarke, MM, Ita Ford, MM, Dorothy Kazel, OSU, and Jean Donovan On the evening of December 2, 1980, two Maryknoll Sisters, Maura Clarke and Ita Ford, were returning to El Salvador from a retreat in Nicaragua. They were picked up at the airport by an Ursuline Sister, Dorothy Kazel, and a young lay woman, Jean Donovan, who worked in the refugee camps. On the road from the airport, they were stopped at a military roadblock. They were executed. They have become part of the martyrology of the Christian communities throughout Latin America. Morning/Evening Prayer (Psalms for Social Justice, p. 82: Feasts, p. 75) Antiphon 1 Our lips will praise you, for sweeter than life is your merciful love. Antiphon 2 They girded themselves with your strength. The light they have kindled will never go out. Antiphon 3 Give them the reward of their deeds, for they served you in the poor. Reflection/Sharing God, in His/Her loving kindness, has raised up witnesses in our midst. God is calling each of us to a more radical discipleship – one which will not be understood by the powerful of our day. We must be wise as serpents in naming and denouncing the evil which pervades our world. We must be filled with compassion with those for whom suffering from lack of basic necessities has become a way of life. We must be moved to action which will clearly identify us with the poor. Above all, let us not be filled with fear. Let us be filled with courage and hope, for “in the tender compassion of our God, the dawn shall break upon us, to shine on those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.” Sr. Melinda Roper, MM Responsory Our God is a stronghold for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble. _ Our… Those who know your name put their trust in you: - a stronghold….Glory to you, Source of all Being, Eternal Word and Holy Spirit. – Our God…. Canticle Antiphon You shall love your God with all your heart, and with all your soul and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself. Do this and you will live. Intercessions: O God, you have inspired many women to follow Jesus, your Incarnate Word, who gave his life that we may have life. We lift our voices and say: Blessed are they who suffer persecution for the sake of the gospel. Through the witness of Maura Clarke, Ita Ford, Dorothy Kazel, and Jean Donovan; -may more people be inspired to serve the homeless and the oppressed. May all who have died in Latin America for the sake of justice; -be seeds of liberty for all the oppressed. God of freedom, protect the poor and the helpless; -from the greed of large corporations and those seeking personal profit. Jesus, you lived in a land held captive by imperial Rome;-grant all peoples the right of self-determination that they may forge their own destinies. God of the Americas, Christ of the Andes, Our Lady of Guadalupe; -look with love and compassion on the peoples of Central and South America, and grant them freedom from all oppression. Prayer: O God, Lover of the poor and oppressed, in our remembrance of these four courageous women, may we honor all the nameless woman, men and children, whose lives were forfeited by violence and hatred. May they now know your peace and the joy of seeing you face to face. We ask this through the intercessions of all these victims who now stand before the Lamb, singing your praises. Amen. .