Reading 1, Daniel 2:31-45
31 ‘You have had a vision, Your Majesty; this is what you saw: a statue, a great statue of extreme brightness, stood before you, terrible to see.
32 The head of this statue was of fine gold, its chest and arms were of silver, its belly and thighs of bronze,
33 its legs of iron, its feet part iron, part clay.
34 While you were gazing, a stone broke away, untouched by any hand, and struck the statue, struck its feet of iron and clay and shattered them.
35 Then, iron and clay, bronze, silver and gold, all broke into pieces as fine as chaff on the threshing-floor in summer. The wind blew them away, leaving not a trace behind. And the stone that had struck the statue grew into a great mountain, filling the whole world.
36 This was the dream; we shall now explain to the king what it means.
37 ‘You, Your Majesty, king of kings, to whom the God of heaven has given sovereignty, power, strength and honour-
38 human beings, wild animals, birds of the air, wherever they live, he has entrusted to your rule, making you king of them all — you are the golden head.
39 And, after you, another kingdom will rise, not as great as yours, and then a third, of bronze, which will rule the whole world.
40 There will be a fourth kingdom, hard as iron, as iron that pulverises and crushes all. Like iron that breaks everything to pieces, it will crush and break all the earlier kingdoms.
41 The feet you saw, part earthenware, part iron, are a kingdom which will be split in two, but which will retain something of the strength of iron, just as you saw the iron and the clay of the earthenware mixed together.
42 The feet were part iron, part potter’s clay: the kingdom will be partly strong and partly brittle.
43 And just as you saw the iron and the clay of the earthenware mixed together, so the two will be mixed together in human seed; but they will not hold together any more than iron will blend with clay.
44 In the days of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which will never be destroyed, and this kingdom will not pass into the hands of another race: it will shatter and absorb all the previous kingdoms and itself last for ever-
45 just as you saw a stone, untouched by hand, break away from the mountain and reduce iron, bronze, earthenware, silver and gold to powder. The Great God has shown the king what is to take place. The dream is true, the interpretation exact.’
Responsorial Psalm, Daniel 3:57, 58, 59, 60, 61
57 Bless the Lord, all the Lord’s creation: praise and glorify him for ever!
58 Bless the Lord, angels of the Lord, praise and glorify him for ever!
59 Bless the Lord, heavens, praise and glorify him for ever!
60 Bless the Lord, all the waters above the heavens, praise and glorify him for ever!
61 Bless the Lord, powers of the Lord, praise and glorify him for ever!
Gospel, Luke 21:5-11
5 When some were talking about the Temple, remarking how it was adorned with fine stonework and votive offerings, he said,
6 ‘All these things you are staring at now — the time will come when not a single stone will be left on another; everything will be destroyed.’
7 And they put to him this question, ‘Master,’ they said, ‘when will this happen, then, and what sign will there be that it is about to take place?’
8 But he said, ‘Take care not to be deceived, because many will come using my name and saying, “I am the one” and “The time is near at hand.” Refuse to join them.
9 And when you hear of wars and revolutions, do not be terrified, for this is something that must happen first, but the end will not come at once.’
10 Then he said to them, ‘Nation will fight against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.
11 There will be great earthquakes and plagues and famines in various places; there will be terrifying events and great signs from heaven.
