being delayed

³For as yet the vision is far off, and it will appear in the end, and it will not lie. If it expresses any delay, wait for it. For it is arriving and it will arrive, and it will not be hindered.

⁹The Lord is not delaying his promise, as some imagine, but he does act patiently for your sake, not wanting anyone to perish, but wanting all to be turned back to penance.

²⁸And we know that, for those who love God, all things work together unto good, for those who, in accordance with his purpose, are called to be saints.

²For he says: “In a favorable time, I heeded you; and on the day of salvation, I helped you.” Behold, now is the favorable time; behold, now is the day of salvation.

¹²For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against principalities and powers, against the directors of this world of darkness, against the spirits of wickedness in high places.

⁶But without faith, it is impossible to please God. For whoever approaches God must believe that he exists, and that he rewards those who seek him.

¹In the days of one of the judges, when the judges ruled, there was a famine in the land. And a man from Bethlehem in Judah departed to sojourn in the region of the Moabites with his wife and two children. ²He called himself Elimelech, and his wife Naomi, and his two sons, the one Mahlon, and the other Chilion, Ephrathites from Bethlehem in Judah. And entering into the region of the Moabites, they stayed there. ³And Elimelech the husband of Naomi died; and she remained with her sons. ⁴They took wives from among the Moabites, of whom one was called Orpah, and the other Ruth. And they lived there ten years. ⁵And they both died, namely Mahlon and Chilion, and the woman was left alone, bereaved of her two children and her husband. ⁶And she arose so that she might journey to her native land, with both her daughters-in-law, from the region of the Moabites. For she had heard that the Lord had provided for his people and had given them food.

⁹that I should do your will. My God, I have willed it. And your law is in the midst of my heart.

¹⁹Then, when it was late on the same day, on the first of the Sabbaths, and the doors were closed where the disciples were gathered, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in their midst, and he said to them: “Peace to you.”

¹“Be consoled, be consoled, O my people!” says your God. ²Speak to the heart of Jerusalem, and call out to her! For her malice has reached its end. Her iniquity has been forgiven. She has received double for all her sins from the hand of the Lord. ³The voice of one crying out in the desert: “Prepare the way of the Lord! Make straight the paths of our God, in a solitary place. ⁴Every valley will be exalted, and every mountain and hill will be brought low. And the crooked will be straightened, and the uneven will become level ways. ⁵And the glory of the Lord will be revealed. And all flesh together will see that the mouth of the Lord has spoken.” ⁶The voice of one saying, “Cry out!” And I said, “What should I cry out?” “All flesh is grass, and all its glory is like the flower of the field.

²⁵And I will repay you for the years which the locust, and the beetle, and the mildew, and the caterpillar consumed: my great strength which I sent upon you. ²⁶And you will eat with enjoyment, and you will be satisfied, and you will praise the name of the Lord your God, who has worked miracles with you, and my people will not be confounded forever.

²⁶But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will suggest to you everything whatsoever that I have said to you.

¹In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and God was the Word.

²²May the Lord add blessings upon you: upon you, and upon your sons.