First Reading: Revelation 20:1-4, 11-21:2
And I saw an angel coming down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. And he laid hold on the dragon, the old serpent, which is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years. And he cast him into the bottomless pit and shut him up and set a seal upon him that he should no more seduce the nations till the thousand years be finished. And after that he must be loosed a little time.
And I saw seats, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them, and the souls of those who were beheaded for the testimony of Jesus and for the word of God, and who had not adored the beast nor his image nor received his character on their foreheads or in their hands, and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.
And I saw a great white throne and one sitting upon it, from whose face the earth and heaven fled away, and there was no place found for them. And I saw a new heaven and a new earth. For the first heaven and the first earth was gone, and the sea is now no more. And I John saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
Responsorial Psalm: Psalms 84:3, 4, 5-6a and 8a
R. Here God lives among His people.
Alleluia: Luke 21:28
Gospel: Luke 21:29-33
And He spoke to them a parable. See the fig tree and all the trees: when they now shoot forth their fruit, you know that summer is near. So you also, when you shall see these things come to pass, know that the kingdom of God is at hand.
Amen I say to you, this generation shall not pass away till all things be fulfilled. Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.
Reflection
John sees the dragon, the old serpent, bound and cast into the pit, and the souls of those beheaded for the testimony of Jesus living and reigning with Christ. Then a great white throne, and earth and heaven flee from the face of Him who sits on it. And then - a new heaven and a new earth, the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down from God as a bride adorned for her husband.
Everything unstable passes away, but God comes to dwell with His people. The psalm sings that longing: My soul longs and faints for the courts of the Lord. Blessed are they that dwell in your house, they shall praise you forever. Even the sparrow finds a house at your altars.
Jesus teaches to read the signs like a fig tree - when it shoots forth you know summer is near. When you see these things, know that the kingdom of God is at hand. Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.
Do not panic. Lift up your head. Anchor your life in His word that remains, and long for His dwelling.
Prayer
Lord Jesus, your word remains when heaven and earth pass away. Bind the deceiver and keep me from being seduced. Give me courage to remain faithful to your name and awaken in me longing for your house, where God lives among His people. Teach me to see signs of your kingdom and to lift my head in hope, for our redemption is at hand. Make me a citizen of the new Jerusalem. Amen.
Readings are taken from the Douay-Rheims Bible, rendered in modern English for easy reading.
