Truly I tell you, this generation will not pass away until all things have taken place. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.

“There will be signs in the sun, the moon, and the stars, and on the earth distress among nations confused by the roaring of the sea and the waves. People will faint from fear and foreboding of what is coming upon the world, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Then they will see ‘the Son of Man coming in a cloud’ with power and great glory. Now when these things begin to take place, stand up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.”

You will be hated by all because of my name. But not a hair of your head will perish. By your endurance you will gain your souls.”

Some people were talking about the Temple, remarking how it was adorned with fine stonework and votive offerings. And Jesus said, “As for these things that you see, the days will come when not one stone will be left upon another; all will be thrown down.”

“Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all of them; for all of them have contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty has put in all she had to live on.”

“Now he is God not of the dead, but of the living; for to him all of them are alive.”

The chief priests, the scribes, and the leaders of the people kept looking for a way to kill him; but they did not find anything they could do, for all the people were spellbound by what they heard.

“If you, even you, had only recognized on this day the things that make for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes.”

St Elizabeth of Hungary, religious 1st Reading: 2 Maccabees 7:1, 20-31 The mother of seven sons urges them to die rather than betray the covenant It happened also that seven brothers and their mother were arrested and were being compelled by the king, under torture with whips and thongs, to partake of unlawful swine’s flesh….

Optional Memorial: St Margaret of Scotland; St Gertrude, virgin. 1st Reading: 2 Maccabees 6:18-31 Eleazar’s refusal to be disloyal to Yahweh gives an example of virtue for the whole nation Eleazar, one of the scribes in high position, a man now advanced in age and of noble presence, was being forced to open his mouth…

1st Reading: 1 Maccabees (1:10-15 etc The Jews suffering under persecution by Antiochus Epiphanes There arose from them a sinful root, Antiochus Epiphanes, son of King Antiochus; he had been a hostage in Rome. He began to reign in the one hundred thirty-seventh year of the kingdom of the Greeks. In those days certain renegades…

“For a while he refused; but later he said to himself, ‘Though I have no fear of God and no respect for anyone, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will grant her justice, so that she may not wear me out by continually coming.’ And yet, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?”

It will be like that on the day that the Son of Man is revealed. On that day, anyone on the housetop who has belongings in the house must not come down to take them away; and likewise anyone in the field must not turn back. Remember Lot’s wife. Those who try to make their life secure will lose it, but those who lose their life will keep it. I tell you, on that night there will be two in one bed; one will be taken and the other left.

Then he said to the disciples, “The days are coming when you will long to see one of the days of the Son of Man, and you will not see it. They will say to you, ‘Look there!’ or ‘Look here!’ Do not go, do not set off in pursuit. For as the lightning flashes and lights up the sky from one side to the other, so will the Son of Man be in his day. But first he must endure much suffering and be rejected by this generation.

Then Jesus asked, “Were not ten made clean? But the other nine, where are they? Was none of them found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?” Then he said to him, “Get up and go on your way; your faith has made you well.”

His disciples remembered that it was written, “Zeal for your house will consume me.” The Jews then said to him, “What sign can you show us for doing this?” Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” The Jews then said, “This temple has been under construction for forty-six years, and will you raise it up in three days?” But he was speaking of the temple of his body. After he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this; and they believed the scripture and the word that Jesus had spoken.