Liturgical Readings for : Tuesday, 6th August, 2024
FIRST READING
A reading from the book of the Prophet Daniel 7:9-10.13-14
His robe was white as snow.
As I watched:
Thrones were set in place and one of great age took his seat. His robe was white as snow, the hair of his head as pure as wool.
His throne was a blaze of flames, its wheels were a burning fire.
A stream of fire poured out, issuing from his presence.
A thousand thousand waited on him, ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him.
A court was held and the books were opened. I gazed into the visions of the night.
And I saw, coming on the clouds of heaven, one like a son of man.
He came to the one of great age and was led into his presence.
On him was conferred sovereignty, glory and kingship,
and men of all peoples, nations and languages became his servants.
His sovereignty is an eternal sovereignty which shall never pass away,
nor will his empire ever be destroyed.
The Word of the Lord Thanks be to God.
Responsorial Psalm Ps 96
Response The Lord is king, most high above all the earth.
1. The Lord is king, let earth rejoice, let all the coastlands be glad.
Cloud and darkness are his raiment; his throne, justice and right. Response
2. The mountains melt like wax before the Lord of all the earth.
The skies proclaim his justice; all peoples see his glory. Response
3. For you indeed are the Lord most high above all the earth
exalted far above all spirits. Response
SECOND READING
A reading from the second letter of St Peter 1:16-19
We heard this ourselves, spoken from heaven.
It was not any cleverly invented myths that we were repeating when we brought you the knowledge of the power and the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ; we had seen his majesty for ourselves. He was honoured and glorified by God the Father, when the Sublime Glory itself spoke to him and said,
‘This is my Son, the Beloved; he enjoys my favour.’
We heard this ourselves, spoken from heaven, when we were with him on the holy mountain.
So we have confirmation of what was said in prophecies; and you will be right to depend on prophecy and take it as a lamp for lighting a way through the dark until the dawn comes and the morning star rises in your minds.
The Word of the Lord Thanks be to God.
Gospel Acclamation Mt 17:5
Alleluia, alleluia!
This is my Son, the Beloved, he enjoys my favour; listen to him.
Alleluia!
GOSPEL
The Lord be with you. And with your spirit
A reading from the holy Gospel according to Mark 9:2-10 Glory to you, O Lord.
This is my Son, the Beloved.
Jesus took with him Peter and James and John and led them up a high mountain where they could be alone by themselves. There in their presence he was transfigured: his clothes became dazzlingly white, whiter than any earthly bleacher could make them. Elijah appeared to them with Moses; and they were talking with Jesus.
Then Peter spoke to Jesus:
‘Rabbi,’ he said ‘it is wonderful for us to be here; so let us make three tents, one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.‘
He did not know what to say; they were so frightened. And a cloud came, covering them in shadow; and there came a voice from the cloud, ‘
This is my Son, the Beloved. Listen to him.‘
Then suddenly, when they looked round, they saw no one with them any more but only Jesus.
As they came down from the mountain he warned them to tell no one what they had seen, until after the Son of Man had risen from the dead. They observed the warning faithfully, though among themselves they discussed what ‘rising from the dead’ could mean.
The Gospel of the Lord. Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.
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Gospel Reflection The Transfiguration of the Lord Mark 9:2-10
The second reading for today’s feast speaks of a ‘lamp for lighting a way through the dark until the dawn comes’. That seems like a good description of the disciples’ experience of Jesus being transfigured on the mountain. Jesus had just spoken of himself to his disciples as the Son of Man who would be rejected and put to death; he was just about to set out with them on the road to Jerusalem, where he would be crucified. There were heading into a valley of darkness. The experience of Jesus transfigured on the mountain was like a lamp for lighting a way through the dark which lay ahead. It would help to sustain Jesus and his disciples, until the dawn came, the dawn of Easter Sunday, which would proclaim the triumph of light over darkness and of life over death.
We are all familiar with the experience of darkness in one shape or form. We have all spent time in some valley of darkness or other, because of suffering and loss. Within our darkness, the Lord will always be a lamp for lighting our way through the darkness until the dawn comes. The Lord is always coming to us as light in our darkness. If we can open ourselves to his presence, even in our valleys of darkness, we might find ourselves saying with Peter, ‘it is wonderful for us to be here’. As we pray in the psalm, ‘The Lord is my Shepherd’, ‘you are there with your crook and your staff’. At those moments, when the Lord makes himself present to us as light in our darkness, God the Father is saying to us what he said to his disciples in the gospel reading, ‘This is my Son, the Beloved. Listen to him’. The Lord speaks to us in the darkness if we open our ears, our hearts, to him at such times. Such experiences of the light of the Lord’s presence in our dark times are an anticipation of the dawning of eternal light beyond this earthly life.
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The Scripture Readings are taken from The Jerusalem Bible, published 1966 by Darton, Longman & Todd Ltd.
