Bio - The Donovan Family

Donovans

Michael Donovan, his wife Deidre and their four children live in New York City where they minister at a local Catholic parish. They facilitate Bible studies, are involved in music ministry and recently joined the Emmaus Journey Ministry. 

Our Mission

The Donovan family is overjoyed to join the ministries of Emmaus Journey, embracing Goal One of “Go and Make Disciples: To bring about in all Catholics such an enthusiasm for their faith that, in living their faith in Jesus, they freely share it with others.”

Our Experience

Our preparation for this ministry developed over the course of our lives where much seeking, wandering, losing and finding took place. While I (Mike) was raised to identify as a Catholic, the “thorns” of worldly desire quickly distracted me from faith in my pre-teens. In my early teens, by God’s grace, the Lord drew me to himself through a Protestant cousin. That marked the beginning of a lifelong devotion to Christ through Sacred Scripture which formed the basis for my discipleship alongside Christian fellowship and preaching. This trajectory continued through College and, upon graduation, I chose to serve with a Protestant student ministry at New York University called The Navigators, accompanying students on their own faith journeys. It was through the relationships formed in Navigators ministry, that I met Deidre, who later became my wife. Having never ceased identifying as a Catholic, Deidre found herself worshiping in the Protestant church where she felt she was better able to learn the scriptures. Together, we worshiped in the Protestant world until many years (and children) later the Lord led us to return to our roots in the Catholic Church. When Jesus journeyed on the road to Emmaus alongside his disciples, scripture tells us that ”beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.” Our desire is to bring this fullness of revelation to those Jesus is calling to himself, and to play a role in mobilizing them in their own missions of evangelization and discipleship.

Our Methods

In 1992, The National Council of Catholic Bishops published A National Plan and Strategy for Catholic Evangelization in the United States. In it they identified two elements at work - under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit - in bringing about conversion and new life in Christ: 1) “witness, which is the simple living of faith” and 2) sharing “which is spreading the Good News of Jesus in an explicit way.” Of course, one does not even need to look outside of Scripture to find that these methods are employed, prescribed and effective. Starting with Jesus, who John tells us is the Word made flesh and who dwelt among us, we find that incarnational ministry is the model that Jesus and His disciples employed to reach the nations. In St. Paul’s epistle to the Thessalonians, he writes about how he and his co-laborers, Silvanus and Timothy, were ”like a nursing mother taking care of her own children. So, being affectionately desirous of you, we were ready to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own selves, because you had become very dear to us.”

In like fashion, the Gospel of Jesus will move through our ministry at the speed of love and relationship. Scripture, together with Church teaching and Emmaus Journey’s resources, equip us to come alongside people at any stage of their spiritual development to plant the seed of God’s Word for new life, spiritual growth and spiritual multiplication.

How Can I Help?

In Matthew 6, Jesus gives us many words about material concerns, such as What shall we eat? or What shall we drink? or What shall we wear? He teaches us not to be anxious about such things, but instead to focus our energies on seeking “first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” With that in mind, the first thing you can do to help our cause, which is your cause, is to find peace with God in your material life and to seek first His kingdom in which we find membership by His grace. Hopefully, we will all come to the understanding that in materially providing for each of us, the Lord has called us not to ownership, but to stewardship of His resources. Out of the abundance of His provision, we hope your hearts will overflow with generosity and the desire to support the work of His kingdom in the world, whether that is with us or with another mission.

Our ministry with Emmaus Journey is a collaborative effort, bringing together the prayers and gifts of a great many faithful followers of Jesus Christ from many different Christian traditions. In St. Paul’s epistle to the Philippians, Paul thanks the Philippians for materially “sharing in his trouble,” saying that he does not seek the gift, but that he seeks the fruit that increases to the credit of the Philippians. Friends, our desire is the same. We are after the fruit that will abound to your credit for your material and spiritual participation in the advancement of His gospel through our ministry in New York City. Will you join us?