A reading from
the Book of Sirach 48:1-4, 9-11
In those days,/ like a fire there appeared the prophet Elijah/ whose words were as a flaming furnace./ Their staff of bread he shattered,/ in his zeal he reduced them to straits;/ By the Lord’s word he shut up the heavens/ and three times brought down fire./ How awesome are you, Elijah, in your wondrous deeds!/ Whose glory is equal to yours?/ You were taken aloft in a whirlwind of fire,/ in a chariot with fiery horses./ You were destined, it is written, in time to come/ to put an end to wrath before the day of the Lord,/ To turn back the hearts of fathers toward their sons,/ and to re-establish the tribes of Jacob./ Blessed is he who shall have seen you/ and who falls asleep in your friendship.
The word of the Lord.
