I had a strange feeling during Mass today as I heard the
second reading which is passage 1 Corinthians 13. I have heard it read at
almost every wedding I have presided at over the last twenty years and I was
suddenly transported to a wedding ceremony and imagined I was listening to it
during my own wedding. It was a strange almost out-of-body experience because myself
and Josefina are yet to have a ‘proper’ church wedding (I am waiting for the
official dispensation from the Catholic church). But in that instant I felt
like I was at the altar and those words were being read at our wedding. I think
you will probably have realised, I feel that the love myself and Josefina have
for each other is the ‘perfect love’. I would not have left the priesthood for
anything less than the best!
The reading today is a beautiful passage that has reality if
you are in a truly loving relationship.
It is one of the best texts on love that you can find in the
Bible. I used to tell couples preparing for marriage if you want to know what
true love is, read that chapter over and over again. In the church we speak
about the importance of love in almost every sermon. In fact, we cannot speak
too much about love because in the Christian life, love seems to be everything.
St John in one of his letter said that God is love. Today, however, I would not
like us to propose another meditation on love. I would rather like to suggest
to you some practical exercises on love.
A Checklist on Love
How much of a loving person are you? An exercise based on
this reading helps us to find that out easily. The text, taken from the New
International Bible, version reads:
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not
boast, it is not proud.
It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily
angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.
Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.
It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always
perseveres. (1 Corinthians 13:4-7)
Now let us read the passage again putting “JESUS” and “HE”
wherever we find “LOVE” and “IT.” You can see that it read smoothly. You can
still agree with every line of the passage.
Next read the passage again, this time substituting your
name, e.g. “Kevin”, and the pronoun “I”. Do you still agree with every line in
the passage? How do you score yourself on a scale of 1 to 10? That shows how
loving a person you are.
A Homework on Love
(Adapted From A Second Helping of Chicken Soup for the Soul
by Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen, 46-48.)
An adult education teacher once gave his class an assignment
to go to someone they love before the following week's class and tell them that
they loved them. They would then give their report at the next class. It had to
be someone to whom they had never said those words before, or at least not for
a very long time. At the next class, one man stood up and recounted his story
to the class. "I was quite angry with you last week when you gave us this
assignment. I felt like, who were you to tell us to do something so personal?
But as I was driving home, my conscience started talking to me. It was telling
me that I knew exactly who I needed to say “I love you” to.
Five years ago, my father and I had a terrible argument
which we have never resolved. We have avoided seeing each other unless it was
absolutely necessary and even then we hardly spoke to each other. So last week
by the time I had gotten home after class, I had convinced myself to tell my
father that I loved him. It’s strange, but just making the decision seemed to
lift a heavy load off my chest. When I told my wife, she jumped out of bed,
gave me a big hug and for the first time in our married life saw me cry. We sat
up half of the night talking and drinking coffee.
The next day I was up bright and early as if I had slept
soundly all night. I got to the office and accomplished more in a couple of
hours than I had the whole day before. At 9AM, I called my father to tell him I
wanted to come over after work and talk to him. He reluctantly agreed. By 5:30,
I was at the house. When my father answered the door, I didn't waste any time.
I took one step inside and blurted out “Dad, I just came over to tell you that
I love you.” Well, it was as if a transformation had come over him. Before my
eyes, his face softened, the wrinkles seemed to disappear and he too began to
cry. He reached out and hugged me, saying “I love you too, son, but I’ve never
been able to say it.” My mother walked by just then with tears in her eyes. I
didn't stay long, but I had’'t felt that great in a long time.
Two days after my visit, my dad, who had heart problems but
hadn’t told us, had an attack and ended up unconscious in the hospital. I still
don’t know if he’ll make it. So my message to all of you in this class is:
don’t wait to do the things you know need to be done. If I had waited, I may
never have another chance to do what I did."
And so my Blog reading friends, your homework for this week
is, go home and tell someone you love them before next Sunday. And it has to be
someone you really love, but to whom you have never said those words before, or
at least not for a very long time now. One day it will be your turn to tell us
your own wonderful story of love.
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