First ReadingSirach 48:1-14
From the Book of Sirach
1Then Elijah arose, the prophet like fire.His word burned like a torch.2He brought a famine upon them,and by his zeal made them few in number.3By the word of the Lord he shut up the heavens.He brought down fire three times.4How you were glorified, O Elijah, in your wondrous deeds!Whose glory is like yours?5You raised up a dead man from death,from Hades, by the word of the Most High.6You brought down kings to destruction,and honorable men from their sickbeds.7You heard rebuke in Sinai,and judgments of vengeance in Horeb.8You anointed kings for retribution,and prophets to succeed after you.9You were taken up in a tempest of fire,in a chariot of fiery horses.10You were recorded for reproofs in their seasons,to pacify anger, before it broke out into wrath,to turn the heart of the father to the son,and to restore the tribes of Jacob.11Blessed are those who saw you,and those who have been beautified with love;for we also shall surely live.12Elijah was wrapped in a whirlwind.Elisha was filled with his spirit.In his days he was not moved by the fear of any ruler,and no one brought him into subjection.13Nothing was too hard for him.When he was buried, his body prophesied.14As in his life he did wonders,so his works were also marvelous in death.