— Remember the wife of Lot. Whoever seeks to preserve his life will lose
it, but whoever loses it will save it. I tell you, on that night there will be
two people in one bed; one will be taken, the other left.
And there will be two women grinding meal together; one will be taken,
the other left.” They said to him in reply, “Where, Lord?”
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Reading 1 - Wisdom 13: 1 - 9
All men were by nature foolish who were in ignorance of God, and who
from the good things seen did not succeed in knowing him who is, and
from studying the works did not discern the artisan; But either fire, or
wind, or the swift air,
or the circuit of the stars, or the mighty water, or the luminaries of
heaven, the governors of the world, they considered gods.
Now if out of joy in their beauty they thought them gods,
let them know how far more excellent is the Lord than these;
for the original source of beauty fashioned them.
Or if they were struck by their might and energy,
let them from these things realize how much more powerful is he who
made them.
For from the greatness and the beauty of created things
their original author, by analogy, is seen. But yet, for these the blame is
less; For they indeed have gone astray perhaps, though they seek God
and wish to find him.
For they search busily among his works, but are distracted by what they
see, because the things seen are fair. But again, not even these are
pardonable.
For if they so far succeeded in knowledge that they could speculate about
the world, how did they not more quickly find its Lord?
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Responsorial Psalm - Psalms 19: 2 - 5
R. (2a) The heavens proclaim the glory of God.
The heavens declare the glory of God,
and the firmament proclaims his handiwork.
Day pours out the word to day,
and night to night imparts knowledge.
R. The heavens proclaim the glory of God.
Not a word nor a discourse
whose voice is not heard;
Through all the earth their voice resounds,
and to the ends of the world, their message.
R. The heavens proclaim the glory of God.
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Gospel - Luke 17: 26 - 37
Jesus said to his disciples:
“As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be in the days of the Son of Man;
they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage up to the
day that Noah entered the ark,
and the flood came and destroyed them all.
Similarly, as it was in the days of Lot: they were eating, drinking, buying,
selling, planting, building; on the day when Lot left Sodom, fire and
brimstone rained from the sky to destroy them all.
So it will be on the day the Son of Man is revealed. On that day, someone
who is on the housetop and whose belongings are in the house must not
go down to get them, and likewise one in the field must not return to
what
was left behind.
Remember the wife of Lot. Whoever seeks to preserve his life will lose it,
but whoever loses it will save it. I tell you, on that night there will be two
people in one bed; one will be taken, the other left.
And there will be two women grinding meal together; one will be taken,
the other left.” They said to him in reply, “Where, Lord?”
He said to them, “Where the body is,
there also the vultures will gather.”