A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew 17:14-20
A man came up to Jesus, knelt down before him, and said, “Lord, have pity on my son, who is a lunatic and suffers severely; often he falls into fire, and often into water.
A man came up to Jesus, knelt down before him, and said, “Lord, have pity on my son, who is a lunatic and suffers severely; often he falls into fire, and often into water.
Are you not from eternity, O Lord,/ my holy God, immortal?/ O Lord, you have marked him for judgment,/ O Rock, you have readied him for punishment!/ Too pure are your eyes to look upon evil,/ and the sight of misery you cannot endure./ Why, then, do you gaze on the faithless in silence/ while the wicked man devours/ one more just than himself?/ You have made man like the fish of the sea,/ like creeping things without a ruler./ He brings them all up with his hook,/ he hauls them away with his net,/ He gathers them in his seine;/ and so he rejoices and exults./ Therefore he sacrifices to his net,/ and burns incense to his seine;/ for thanks to them his portion is generous,/ and his repast sumptuous./ Shall he, then, keep on brandishing his sword/ to slay peoples without mercy?
Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me.
See, upon the mountains there advances/ the bearer of good news, announcing peace!/ Celebrate your feasts, O Judah,/ fulfill your vows!/ For nevermore shall you be invaded/ by the scoundrel; he is completely destroyed./ The Lord will restore the vine of Jacob,/ the pride of Israel,/ Though ravagers have ravaged them/ and ruined the tendrils.
Jesus took Peter, James, and his brother, John, and led them up a high mountain by themselves.
Beloved: We did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we had been eyewitnesses of his majesty.
As I watched:/ Thrones were set up/ and the Ancient One took his throne./ His clothing was bright as snow,/ and the hair on his head as white as wool;/ his throne was flames of fire,/ with wheels of burning fire./ A surging stream of fire/ flowed out from where he sat;/ Thousands upon thousands were ministering to him,/ and myriads upon myriads attended him.