Thursday of the Thirty-fourth Week in Ordinary Time (II)

Official Translation

Reading 1 - Revelation 18.1-2, 21-23; 19:1-3, 9a

I, John, saw another angel coming down out of heaven, having great authority.
The earth was illuminated with his glory.
He cried with a mighty voice, saying,
“Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great, and she has become a habitation of demons,
a prison of every unclean spirit, and a prison of every unclean and hateful bird!.”

A mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone and cast it into the sea, saying,
“Thus with violence will Babylon, the great city, be thrown down, and never be found again.
The voice of harpists, minstrels, flute players, and trumpeters will never be heard again in you.
No craftsman, of whatever craft, will ever be found again in you.
The sound of a mill will never be heard again in you.
The light of a lamp will never shine again in you.
The voice of the bridegroom and of the bride will never be heard again in you.
For your merchants were the princes of the earth,
and with your sorcery all the nations were deceived.”

After these things I heard something like
a loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, saying,
“Hallelujah! Salvation, power, and glory belong to our God: for true and just are his judgments.
For he has condemned the great prostitute, who corrupted the earth with her perversion,
and he has avenged the blood of his servants at her hand.”
Again they said, “Hallelujah! Her smoke goes up forever and ever.”

Then the angel said to me,
“Write, ‘Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding feast of the Lamb.’”

Responsorial – Psalm 100.1b-2, 3, 4, 5 Resp. Revelation 19.9a

R. Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding feast of the Lamb.

Shout for joy to the Lord, all you lands!
Serve the Lord with gladness.
Come before his presence with singing.

R. Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding feast of the Lamb.

Know that the Lord is God.
It is he who has made us, and we are his.
We are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.

R. Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding feast of the Lamb.

Enter into his gates with thanksgiving,
into his courts with praise.
Give thanks to him, and bless his name.

R. Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding feast of the Lamb.

For the Lord is good.
His loving kindness endures forever,
his faithfulness to all generations.

R. Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding feast of the Lamb.

Gospel – Luke 21.20-28

Jesus said to his disciples:
“When you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation is at hand.
Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains.
Let those who are in the midst of her depart.
Let those who are in the country not enter there.
For these are days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled.
Woe to those who are pregnant and to those who nurse infants in those days!
For there will be great distress in the land, and wrath on this people.
They will fall by the edge of the sword, and will be led captive into all the nations.
Jerusalem will be trampled down by the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.
There will be signs in the sun, moon, and stars;
and on the earth anxiety of nations, perplexed for the roaring of the sea and the waves,
humans fainting for fear, and for expectation of the things which are coming on the world:
for the powers of the heavens will be shaken.
Then they will see the Son of Human coming in a cloud with power and great glory.
But when these things begin to happen, look up, and lift up your heads,
because your redemption is near.”