Reading 1  Sirach 48:1-14 Like a fire there appeared the prophet Elijahwhose words were as a flaming furnace.Their staff of bread he shattered,in his zeal he reduced them to straits;By the Lord’s word he shut up the heavensand three times brought down fire.How awesome are you, Elijah, in your wondrous deeds!Whose glory is equal to yours?You brought a dead man back to lifefrom the nether world, by the will of the LORD.You sent kings down to destruction,and easily broke their power into pieces.You brought down nobles, from their beds of sickness.You heard threats at Sinai,at Horeb avenging judgments.You anointed kings who should inflict vengeance,and a prophet as your successor.You were taken aloft in a whirlwind of fire,in a chariot with fiery horses.You were destined, it is written, in time to cometo put an end to wrath before the day of the LORD,To turn back the hearts of fathers toward their sons,and to re-establish the tribes of Jacob.Blessed is he who