1. Let us now glorify illustrious men, the ancestors of our people.

2. The Lord gave them great glory according to his own greatness from the beginning.

3. Some ruled kingdoms and were renowned for their achievements, others were wise and able to counsel, or spoke as prophets.

4. They led the people with their warnings or with their knowledge of the popular writings.

5. Some cultivated music and poetry,

6. others were rich and powerful men living peacefully in their homes.

7. All were highly respected in their days and honored by the people they lived with.

8. The names of some lived on and people still praise them today;

9. others are not remembered and have disappeared as if they never existed. It is the same for their children.

10. But now consider the godly men whose good deeds have not been forgotten.

11. Those who came after them benefited from the rich legacy they left;

12. their race remained faithful to the Covenant, their children followed their example.

13. Their family will endure forever and never will its glory be tarnished.

14. Their bodies were buried in peace but their memory lives through generations.

15. Peoples will speak of their wisdom and the assembly will celebrate their praise.

16. Enoch pleased the Lord and was taken up, calling future generations to repentance.

17. Noah was found to be perfectly just; at the time of divine anger he was the ransom; through him a remnant was left on earth after the flood.

18. Eternal covenants were made with him to ensure that never again would life be destroyed by flood.

19. No one has been found to equal Abraham in glory, the great ancestor of many nations.

20. He was faithful to the Law of the Most High who made a covenant with him, a covenant that was marked on his flesh, and on the day he was tested he was found faithful.

21. That is why God promised by oath to bless all the nations through his descendants, that he would make them as numerous as the dust of the earth and exalt his posterity like the stars. He promised that their land would stretch from sea to sea, from the River to the ends of the earth.

22. The Lord renewed his Covenant with Isaac for the sake of his father, Abraham.

23. This Covenant and the blessing of all mankind he made to rest on the head of Jacob. He assured Jacob of his blessing, giving him the land that would be his and determining the portions to be shared among the twelve tribes.





“De que vale perder-se em vãos temores?” São Padre Pio de Pietrelcina