VATICAN CITY, APRIL 30, 2004 (Zenit.org).- John Paul II chose the month of May to pray that the conjugal bond between a man and a woman may be recognized by all as the fundamental cell of society.
Every month, the Pope chooses two intentions, one general and the other specifically missionary, to offer his prayer and sacrifices together with thousands of faithful of the universal Church.
The Apostleship of Prayer’s general intention for May is: «That the family, founded on marriage between a man and a woman, may be recognized as the fundamental cell of human society.»
Humanity must not forget «that marriage was willed and instituted by God himself at the moment of the creation of man and woman,» said a commentary published by the Pontifical Council for the Family.
According to the Book of Genesis, God created man and woman in their complementarity and said to them: «Increase and multiply» so that by the «mutual gift of themselves they would realize that communion of persons that is at the origin of the family,» the commentary continues.
In this context, marriage is «a pact, a covenant that a man and a woman conclude for life before God.» It is not «a social convention nor a historical accident, which can change at will,» the commentary adds. Rather, it is a «natural truth» that «God the Creator has inscribed in the very existence of man and woman.»
«It is from this profound and indissoluble communion of persons, the conjugal union, that life derives: Life is born from love,» it emphasizes.
