Saints
Daily Readings:
First Option
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First Reading
Daniel 2:31-45
31"In your vision, O king, you saw a statue, very large and exceedingly bright, terrifying in appearance as it stood before you. 32The head of the statue was pure gold, its chest and arms were silver, its belly and thighs bronze, 33the legs iron, its feet partly iron and partly tile. 34While you looked at the statue, a stone which was hewn from a mountain without a hand being put to it, struck its iron and tile feet, breaking them in pieces. 35The iron, tile, bronze, silver, and gold all crumbled at once, fine as the chaff on the threshing floor in summer, and the wind blew them away without leaving a trace. But the stone that struck the statue became a great mountain and filled the whole earth. 36"This was the dream; the interpretation we shall also give in the king's presence. 37You, O king, are the king of kings; to you the God of heaven has given dominion and strength, power and glory; 38men, wild beasts, and birds of the air, wherever they may dwell, he has handed over to you, making you ruler over them all; you are the head of gold. 39Another kingdom shall take your place, inferior to yours, then a third kingdom, of bronze, which shall rule over the whole earth. 40There shall be a fourth kingdom, strong as iron; it shall break in pieces and subdue all these others, just as iron breaks in pieces and crushes everything else. 41The feet and toes you saw, partly of potter's tile and partly of iron, mean that it shall be a divided kingdom, but yet have some of the hardness of iron. As you saw the iron mixed with clay tile, 42and the toes partly iron and partly tile, the kingdom shall be partly strong and partly fragile. 43The iron mixed with clay tile means that they shall seal their alliances by intermarriage, but they shall not stay united, any more than iron mixes with clay. 44In the lifetime of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that shall never be destroyed or delivered up to another people; rather, it shall break in pieces all these kingdoms and put an end to them, and it shall stand forever. 45That is the meaning of the stone you saw hewn from the mountain without a hand being put to it, which broke in pieces the tile, iron, bronze, silver, and gold. The great God has revealed to the king what shall be in the future; this is exactly what you dreamed, and its meaning is sure." -
Responsorial Psalm
Daniel 3:57-61
57Bless the Lord, all you works of the Lord, praise and exalt him above all forever. 58Angels of the Lord, bless the Lord, praise and exalt him above all forever. 59You heavens, bless the Lord, praise and exalt him above all forever. 60All you waters above the heavens, bless the Lord, praise and exalt him above all forever. 61All you hosts of the Lord, bless the Lord; praise and exalt him above all forever. -
Gospel
Luke 21:5-11
5And as some spoke of the temple, how it was adorned with noble stones and offerings, he said, 6"As for these things which you see, the days will come when there shall not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down." 7And they asked him, "Teacher, when will this be, and what will be the sign when this is about to take place?" 8And he said, "Take heed that you are not led astray; for many will come in my name, saying, `I am he!' and, `The time is at hand!' Do not go after them. 9And when you hear of wars and tumults, do not be terrified; for this must first take place, but the end will not be at once." 10Then he said to them, "Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; 11there will be great earthquakes, and in various places famines and pestilences; and there will be terrors and great signs from heaven.
Second Option
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First Reading
Ephesians 1:3-14
3Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, 4even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. 5He destined us in love to be his sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, 6to the praise of his glorious grace which he freely bestowed on us in the Beloved. 7In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace 8which he lavished upon us. 9For he has made known to us in all wisdom and insight the mystery of his will, according to his purpose which he set forth in Christ 10as a plan for the fulness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth. 11In him, according to the purpose of him who accomplishes all things according to the counsel of his will, 12we who first hoped in Christ have been destined and appointed to live for the praise of his glory. 13In him you also, who have heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and have believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, 14which is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory. -
Responsorial Psalm
Psalms 85:2-4, 7-11
1LORD, thou wast favorable to thy land; thou didst restore the fortunes of Jacob. 2Thou didst forgive the iniquity of thy people; thou didst pardon all their sin. [Selah] 3Thou didst withdraw all thy wrath; thou didst turn from thy hot anger. 6Wilt thou not revive us again, that thy people may rejoice in thee? 7Show us thy steadfast love, O LORD, and grant us thy salvation. 8Let me hear what God the LORD will speak, for he will speak peace to his people, to his saints, to those who turn to him in their hearts. 9Surely his salvation is at hand for those who fear him, that glory may dwell in our land. 10Steadfast love and faithfulness will meet; righteousness and peace will kiss each other. -
Gospel
Matthew 16:24-27
24Then Jesus told his disciples, "If any man would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 25For whoever would save his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. 26For what will it profit a man, if he gains the whole world and forfeits his life? Or what shall a man give in return for his life? 27For the Son of man is to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay every man for what he has done.
