First Reading

Book of Joel (Jl 4: 12-21)

Apply the sickle, for the harvest is ripe.

Thus says the LORD:
Let the nations bestir themselves and come up
to the Valley of Jehoshaphat;
For there will I sit in judgment
upon all the neighboring nations.

Apply the sickle,
for the harvest is ripe;
Come and tread,
for the wine press is full;
The vats overflow,
for great is their malice.
Crowd upon crowd
in the valley of decision;
For near is the day of the LORD
in the valley of decision.
Sun and moon are darkened,
and the stars withhold their brightness.
The LORD roars from Zion,
and from Jerusalem raises his voice;
The heavens and the earth quake,
but the LORD is a refuge to his people,
a stronghold to the children of Israel.

Then shall you know that I, the LORD, am your God,
dwelling on Zion, my holy mountain;
Jerusalem shall be holy,
and strangers shall pass through her no more.
And then, on that day,
the mountains shall drip new wine,
and the hills shall flow with milk;
And the channels of Judah
shall flow with water:
A fountain shall issue from the house of the LORD,
to water the Valley of Shittim.
Egypt shall be a waste,
and Edom a desert waste,
Because of violence done to the people of Judah,
because they shed innocent blood in their land.
But Judah shall abide forever,
and Jerusalem for all generations.
I will avenge their blood,
and not leave it unpunished.
The LORD dwells in Zion.

— The word of the Lord.

Responsorial Psalm

Ps 97: 1-2, 5-6, 11-12

Rejoice in the Lord, you just!

The LORD is king; let the earth rejoice;
let the many isles be glad.
Clouds and darkness are round about him,
justice and judgment are the foundation of his throne.

The mountains melt like wax before the LORD,
before the LORD of all the earth.
The heavens proclaim his justice,
and all peoples see his glory.

Light dawns for the just;
and gladness, for the upright of heart.
Be glad in the LORD, you just,
and give thanks to his holy name.

Gospel

Alleluia, alleluia.

Blessed are those who hear the word of God and observe it.

Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke (Lk 11: 27-28)

Blessed is the womb that carried you. Rather, blessed are those who hear the word of God.

While Jesus was speaking,
a woman from the crowd called out and said to him,

“Blessed is the womb that carried you
and the breasts at which you nursed.”

He replied,

“Rather, blessed are those
who hear the word of God and observe it.”

— The Gospel of the Lord.

First Reading

Book of Joel (Jl 1: 13-15; 2: 1-2)

The day of the LORD is coming; a day of darkness and somberness!

Gird yourselves and weep, O priests!
wail, O ministers of the altar!
Come, spend the night in sackcloth,
O ministers of my God!
The house of your God is deprived
of offering and libation.
Proclaim a fast,
call an assembly;
Gather the elders,
all who dwell in the land,
Into the house of the LORD, your God,
and cry to the LORD!

Alas, the day!
for near is the day of the LORD,
and it comes as ruin from the Almighty.

Blow the trumpet in Zion,
sound the alarm on my holy mountain!
Let all who dwell in the land tremble,
for the day of the LORD is coming;
Yes, it is near, a day of darkness and of gloom,
a day of clouds and somberness!
Like dawn spreading over the mountains,
a people numerous and mighty!
Their like has not been from of old,
nor will it be after them,
even to the years of distant generations.

— The word of the Lord.

Responsorial Psalm

Ps 9: 2-3, 6 and 16, 8-9

The Lord will judge the world with justice.

I will give thanks to you, O LORD, with all my heart;
I will declare all your wondrous deeds.
I will be glad and exult in you;
I will sing praise to your name, Most High.

You rebuked the nations and destroyed the wicked;
their name you blotted out forever and ever.
The nations are sunk in the pit they have made;
in the snare they set, their foot is caught.

But the LORD sits enthroned forever;
he has set up his throne for judgment.
He judges the world with justice;
he governs the peoples with equity.

Gospel

Alleluia, alleluia.

The prince of this world will now be cast out, and when I am lifted up from the earth I will draw all to myself, says the Lord.

Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke (Lk 11: 15-26)

If it is by the finger of God that I drive out demons, then the Kingdom of God has come upon you.

When Jesus had driven out a demon, some of the crowd said:

“By the power of Beelzebul, the prince of demons,
he drives out demons.”

Others, to test him, asked him for a sign from heaven.
But he knew their thoughts and said to them,

“Every kingdom divided against itself will be laid waste
and house will fall against house.
And if Satan is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand?
For you say that it is by Beelzebul that I drive out demons.
If I, then, drive out demons by Beelzebul,
by whom do your own people drive them out?
Therefore they will be your judges.
But if it is by the finger of God that I drive out demons,
then the Kingdom of God has come upon you.
When a strong man fully armed guards his palace,
his possessions are safe.
But when one stronger than he attacks and overcomes him,
he takes away the armor on which he relied
and distributes the spoils.
Whoever is not with me is against me,
and whoever does not gather with me scatters.

When an unclean spirit goes out of someone,
it roams through arid regions searching for rest
but, finding none, it says,

‘I shall return to my home from which I came.’

But upon returning, it finds it swept clean and put in order.
Then it goes and brings back seven other spirits
more wicked than itself who move in and dwell there,
and the last condition of that man is worse than the first.”

— The Gospel of the Lord.