[Salvation]

Prayer Intentions of the Holy Father for May.

 

MAY 2008
General:
That Christians may use literature, art and the media to greater advantage to favour a culture which defends and promotes the values of the human person
Mission:
That just as she accompanied the Apostles in the early stages of the Church, may the Blessed Virgin Mary, Star of Evangelization and Queen of Apostles, continue to guide missionaries throughout the world with maternal affection.

[Salvation]

From: Zephaniah 3:14-18a

Psalms of Joy in Zion

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[14] Sing aloud, O daughter of Zion, shout, O Israel! Rejoice and exult with all
your heart, 0 daughter of Jerusalem! [15] The LORD has taken away the judg-
ments against you, he has cast out your enemies. The King of Israel, the LORD,
is in your midst; you shall fear evil no more. [16] 0n that day it shall be said to
Jerusalem: “Do not fear, 0 Zion; let not your hands grow weak. [17] The LORD,
your God, is in your midst, warrior who gives victory; he will rejoice over you with
gladness, he will renew you in his love; he will exult over you with loud singing
[18] as on a day of festival.

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Commentary:

3:14-18a. Now the promise becomes a song of jubilation. The Lord, the Savior,
sees to it that all is joy (v. 14), and there is no room for fear (v. 16). The Chris-
tian, in reading these verses, cannot but be reminded of the scene of the Annun-
ciation: Mary, too, the humble Virgin (Lk 1:48), is invited to rejoice (Lk 1:28) and
not to fear (Lk 1:20), because the Lord is with her (Lk 1:28). And indeed, with the
Incarnation of the Word, the Lord did come to dwell among his people, and the
salvation that was promised came to pass.

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Source: “The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries”. Biblical text from the
Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of
the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.

Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States.