Daily Mass Readings for August 18, 2024: Gospel — Lc 1, 39-56

1 ⁹ Then the temple of God in heaven was opened, and the ark of his covenant was visible within his temple. And there were flashes of lightning, roaring, crashes of thunder, an earthquake, and a great hailstorm. 1 2 :¹ Then a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, and with the moon under her feet, and on her head was a crown of twelve stars. ³ Then another sign appeared in heaven: a huge red dragon that had seven heads and ten horns, and on its heads were seven diadem crowns. 6 :¹ I looked on when the Lamb opened one of the seven seals, and I heard one of the four living creatures saying with a thunderous voice, “Come!” ² So I looked, and here came a white horse! The one who rode it had a bow, and he was given a crown, and as a conqueror he rode out to conquer. ³ Then when the Lamb opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature saying, “Come!” ⁴ And another horse, fiery red, came out, and the one who rode it was granted permission to take peace from the earth so that people would butcher one another, and he was given a huge sword. ⁵ Then when the Lamb opened the third seal I heard the third living creature saying, “Come!” So I looked, and here came a black horse! The one who rode it had a balance scale in his hand. ⁶ Then I heard something like a voice from among the four living creatures saying, “A quart of wheat will cost a day’s pay, and three quarts of barley will cost a day’s pay. But do not damage the olive oil and the wine!” ⁷ Then when the Lamb opened the fourth seal I heard the voice of the fourth living creature saying, “Come!” ⁸ So I looked and here came a pale green horse! The name of the one who rode it was Death, and Hades followed right behind. They were given authority over a fourth of the earth, to kill its population with the sword, famine, and disease, and by the wild animals of the earth. ⁹ Now when the Lamb opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been violently killed because of the word of God and because of the testimony they had given. 1 ⁰ They cried out with a loud voice, “How long, Sovereign Master, holy and true, before you judge those who live on the earth and avenge our blood?” 1 ¹ Each of them was given a long white robe, and they were told to rest for a little longer, until the full number was reached of both their fellow servants and their brothers who were going to be killed just as they had been. 1 ² Then I looked when the Lamb opened the sixth seal, and a huge earthquake took place; the sun became as black as sackcloth made of hair, and the full moon became blood red; 1 ³ and the stars in the sky fell to the earth like a fig tree dropping its unripe figs when shaken by a fierce wind. 1 ⁴ The sky was split apart like a scroll being rolled up, and every mountain and island was moved from its place. 1 ⁵ Then the kings of the earth, the very important people, the generals, the rich, the powerful, and everyone, slave and free, hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains. 1 ⁶ They said to the mountains and to the rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of the one who is seated on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb, 1 ⁷ because the great day of their wrath has come, and who is able to withstand it?” 1 0 :¹ Then I saw another powerful angel descending from heaven, wrapped in a cloud, with a rainbow above his head; his face was like the sun, and his legs were like pillars of fire. ² He held in his hand a little scroll that was open, and he put his right foot on the sea and his left on the land. ³ Then he shouted in a loud voice like a lion roaring, and when he shouted, the seven thunders sounded their voices. ⁴ When the seven thunders spoke, I was preparing to write, but just then I heard a voice from heaven say, “Seal up what the seven thunders spoke and do not write it down.” ⁵ Then the angel I saw standing on the sea and on the land raised his right hand to heaven ⁶ and swore by the one who lives forever and ever, who created heaven and what is in it, and the earth and what is in it, and the sea and what is in it, “There will be no more delay! ⁷ But in the days when the seventh angel is about to blow his trumpet, the mystery of God is completed, just as he has proclaimed to his servants the prophets.” ⁸ Then the voice I had heard from heaven began to speak to me again, “Go and take the open scroll in the hand of the angel who is standing on the sea and on the land.” ⁹ So I went to the angel and asked him to give me the little scroll. He said to me, “Take the scroll and eat it. It will make your stomach bitter, but it will be as sweet as honey in your mouth.” 1 ⁰ So I took the little scroll from the angel’s hand and ate it, and it did taste as sweet as honey in my mouth, but when I had eaten it, my stomach became bitter. 1 ¹ Then they told me: “You must prophesy again about many peoples, nations, languages, and kings.”

2 ⁰ But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. 2 ¹ For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead also came through a man. 2 ² For just as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive. 2 ³ But each in his own order: Christ, the firstfruits; then when Christ comes, those who belong to him. 2 ⁴ Then comes the end, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father, when he has brought to an end all rule and all authority and power. 2 ⁵ For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. 2 ⁶ The last enemy to be eliminated is death. 2 ⁷ For he has put everything in subjection under his feet. But when it says “everything” has been put in subjection, it is clear that this does not include the one who put everything in subjection to him.