Friday, week 34 in Ordinary Time

I, John,
    saw an angel coming down from heaven;
he held in his hand the key to the abyss
and a great chain.
    He seized the Dragon, the ancient serpent,
who is the Devil, Satan,
and bound him for a thousand years.
    He threw him into the abyss
and shut it over him;
he sealed it,
so that the Dragon would no longer lead the nations astray,
until the thousand years were ended.
After that, he must be released
for a short time.

    Then I saw thrones:
and to those who took their seats on them
was given the power to judge.
And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded
because of their testimony to Jesus,
and because of the word of God,
those who had not worshipped the Beast or its image,
and had not received its mark on their forehead or their hand.
They came to life again,
and they reigned with Christ for a thousand years.

    Then I saw a great white throne
and the one who sat upon it.
Before his face, earth and sky fled away:
there was no place left for them!
    I also saw the dead, great and small,
standing before the Throne.
Books were opened,
then another book was opened: the book of life.
According to what was written in the books,
the dead were judged according to their deeds.
    The sea gave up the dead that were in it;
Death and Hades
also gave up the dead that were in them,
and all were judged, each one according to their deeds.
    Then Death and Hades
were thrown into the lake of fire
– the lake of fire is the second death.
    And if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life,
he was thrown into the lake of fire.

    Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth,
for the first heaven and the first earth had disappeared,
and there was no longer any sea.
    And the Holy City, the new Jerusalem,
I saw her coming down out of heaven, from God,
ready for her wedding, adorned like a bride for her husband.

            – The word of the Lord.

My soul longs, even faints
for the courts of the Lord;
my heart and my flesh cry out
for the living God!

Even the sparrow has found a home,
and the swallow a nest for herself where she may lay her young:
your altars, Lord of hosts,
my King and my God!

Happy are those who dwell in your house:
they will still be praising you!
Happy are those whose strength is in you:
they go from strength to strength.

At that time,
    Jesus told his disciples this parable:
"Look at the fig tree and all the other trees.
    Notice them:
as soon as they bud,
you know that summer is near.
    In the same way, when you see these things happening,
know that the kingdom of God is near.
    Truly I tell you:
this generation will not pass away
before all this happens.
    Heaven and earth will pass away,
but my words will not pass away."

            – Let us acclaim the word of God.