Love Never Fails

As a lector at my parish, I was humbled at Mass today by having the privilege of proclaiming today’s second reading, 1 Cor 12:31-13:4-13. Certainly, it is always a privilege to read God’s word at Mass, but today’s stunning letter from St. Paul to the Corinthians struck me in such a way that I was filled with emotion and admittedly, a good measure of discomfort. I’m sure most of us are very familiar with this particular passage – it’s often read at weddings, and inscribed on plaques and greeting cards. Because of its familiarity I don’t think it’s always pondered quite seriously enough; it seems to lose a certain degree of its impact. For me, the Holy Spirit delivered it with quite a punch this morning and I can’t stop thinking about it. 

I know that God is LOVE and that He commands us to love one another as He loves us. This means that we must be willing to lay down our lives for one another. (John 13) There are a variety of ways of demonstrating our willingness to do this. But for now, in today’s reading St. Paul describes what love is and what it isn’t: 

Love is patient, love is kind.
It is not jealous, it is not pompous,
It is not inflated, it is not rude,
it does not seek its own interests,
it is not quick-tempered, it does not brood over injury,
it does not rejoice over wrongdoing
but rejoices with the truth.
It bears all things, believes all things,
hopes all things, endures all things.

Love never fails. (1 Cor 13:4-8)

I consider myself a loving Christian wife, mother, daughter, sister, and friend. So sure, I know what love is. And yes, of course I love God. But based on the above passage, do I really??

O, my! Perhaps I’m not quite as loving as I thought, yet I know that with Our Lord’s grace I can be and I so very much want to be! The good news is that our merciful Jesus longs for us to come to Him often, with hearts of sorrow and contrition for what we have done and failed to do; for when we have failed miserably to truly love. We are given countless opportunities to beg forgiveness, to receive it (particularly in the sacrament of confession) and to be restored and renewed once more. (Revelation 21:1-5) It’s never too late to strive to love as St. Paul demonstrates.

Lord,

Forgive me when I am impatient with my husband, my kids, my friends and co-workers, myself and most of all, You.

Forgive me when I am unkind to others, or don’t take the time to offer a gesture of kindness because I’m too shy or too busy with my own affairs.

Forgive me when I am jealous of the good fortune of others.

Forgive me when I act pompously and take pride in believing that I am somehow better than someone else.

Forgive me when I am simply so full of myself that I’ve left no room for the concerns of others, or You.

Forgive me when I react rudely to my husband and children, particularly when I think they should automatically know my expectations without my need to communicate them clearly.

Forgive me for putting my needs and desires above those of others.

Forgive me for my quick, biting temper and for brooding when my feelings are hurt or I feel offended.

Forgive me when I am amused by off-color or unchaste jokes or the wrongdoing of others.

Help me with Your saving grace to bear all things, to believe all things, to hope and endure all things.

Pick me up when I fail so miserably. 

Grant me the grace to love once more.