Reading 1, Joel 4:12-21
12 ‘Let the nations rouse themselves and march to the Valley of Jehoshaphat, for there I shall sit in judgement on all the nations around.
13 Ply the sickle, for the harvest is ripe; come and tread, for the winepress is full; the vats are overflowing, so great is their wickedness!’
14 Multitude on multitude in the Valley of Decision! For the Day of Yahweh is near in the Valley of the Verdict!
15 Sun and moon grow dark, the stars lose their brilliance.
16 Yahweh roars from Zion, he thunders from Jerusalem; heaven and earth tremble. But Yahweh will be a shelter for his people, a stronghold for the Israelites.
17 ‘Then you will know that I am Yahweh your God residing on Zion, my holy mountain. Jerusalem will then be a sanctuary, no foreigners will overrun it ever again.’
18 When that Day comes, the mountains will run with new wine and the hills will flow with milk, and all the stream-beds of Judah will run with water. A fountain will spring from Yahweh’s Temple and water the Gorge of the Acacias.
19 Egypt will become a desolation, and Edom a desert waste on account of the violence done to the children of Judah whose innocent blood they shed in their country.
20 But Judah will be inhabited for ever, and Jerusalem from generation to generation!
21 ‘I shall avenge their blood and let none go unpunished,’ and Yahweh will dwell in Zion.
Responsorial Psalm, Psalms 97:1-2, 5-6, 11-12
1 Yahweh is king! Let earth rejoice, the many isles be glad!
2 Cloud, black cloud enfolds him, saving justice and judgement the foundations of his throne.
5 The mountains melt like wax, before the Lord of all the earth.
6 The heavens proclaim his saving justice, all nations see his glory.
11 Light dawns for the upright, and joy for honest hearts.
12 Rejoice in Yahweh, you who are upright, praise his unforgettable holiness.
27 It happened that as he was speaking, a woman in the crowd raised her voice and said, ‘Blessed the womb that bore you and the breasts that fed you!’
28 But he replied, ‘More blessed still are those who hear the word of God and keep it!’
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