Jerusalem mourns her children

Deep mourning again descends on Jerusalem. In the past weeks, violence has erupted again and again. We want to pray for those who have been killed, for their families who are in mourning, and for the city of Jerusalem, the Holy City, shrouded in mourning, weeping for her children. The vocation of Jerusalem is to be a city of peace for all her residents.

Let us pray in the words of Isaiah the Prophet: “For Zion's sake I will not keep silent, and for Jerusalem's sake I will not rest, until her vindication shines out like the dawn, and her salvation like a burning torch. 2 The nations shall see your vindication, and all the kings your glory; and you shall be called by a new name that the mouth of the Lord will give. 3 You shall be a crown of beauty in the hand of the Lord, and a royal diadem in the hand of your God. 4 You shall no more be termed Forsaken, and your land shall no more be termed Desolate; but you shall be called My Delight Is in Her, and your land Married; for the Lord delights in you, and your land shall be married. 5 For as a young man marries a young woman, so shall your builder marry you, and as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so shall your God rejoice over you. 6 Upon your walls, O Jerusalem, I have posted sentinels; all day and all night they shall never be silent. You who remind the Lord, take no rest” (Isaiah 62:1-6).