October 9th : First Reading The day of the Lord is near; sun and moon grow dark.A Reading from the Book of Joel 4: 12-21.

October 9th  :  First Reading 

The day of the Lord is near; sun and moon grow dark.

A Reading from the Book of Joel 4: 12-21. 

The Lord says this:

‘Let the nations rouse themselves, let them march

to the Valley of Jehoshaphat,

for I am going to sit in judgement there

on all the nations round.

Put the sickle in:

the harvest is ripe;

come and tread:

the winepress is full,

the vats are overflowing,

so great is their wickedness!’

Host on host

in the Valley of Decision!

For the day of the Lord is near

in the Valley of Decision!

Sun and moon grow dark,

the stars lose their brilliance.

The Lord roars from Zion,

makes his voice heard from Jerusalem;

heaven and earth tremble.

But the Lord will be a shelter for his people,

a stronghold for the sons of Israel.

‘You will learn then that I am the Lord your God,

dwelling in Zion, my holy mountain.

Jerusalem will be a holy place,

no alien will ever pass through it again.’

When that day comes,

the mountains will run with new wine

and the hills flow with milk,

and all the river beds of Judah

will run with water.

A fountain will spring from the house of the Lord

to water the wadi of Acacias.

Egypt will become a desolation,

Edom a desert waste

on account of the violence done to the sons of Judah

whose innocent blood they shed in their country.

But Judah will be inhabited for ever,

Jerusalem from age to age.

‘I will avenge their blood and let none go unpunished’,

and the Lord shall make his home in Zion.

The Word of the Lord.