Saint Robert Bellarmine, Bishop and Doctor of the Church
Love never fails. (1 Corinthians 13:8)
Paul’s beautiful hymn of charity, as this passage is often called, portrays a mature love filled with spiritual vitality. It is not the textbook definition of love that we find in the dictionary but rather a soaring hymn that expresses what Christian love looks like as it is lived out day by day. It is patient and kind rather than irritable; it serves the needs and interests of others, not insisting on its own way; it is not quick-tempered; and it doesn’t brood over injuries.
It’s important to know that Paul wrote this vigorous call to love to the Corinthians, a community that was plagued by division, competition, and immorality. He urged them to let the love of Christ that they had experienced so powerfully at their conversion overcome their faults and heal their lack of unity. By appealing to love—especially to the example of Jesus, who taught what it means to love from the cross—Paul appealed to their deepest desires and offered them the one sure way to overcome their sins and failings.
There’s little doubt that Paul had his own life in mind, too, as he wrote about growing from childish ways into mature faith (1 Corinthians 13:11). Paul had started out as a hotheaded young Pharisee who persecuted Christians. It took some time, even after his conversion, for him to calm down. But over time, he grew into a committed lover of Jesus and a force for reconciliation and unity.
It’s as we yield to God’s love, just as Paul learned to yield, that we grow into a deeper love for the Lord and for one another. This mature love embraces God’s ways and binds us together in unity. No longer children, we “grow in every way into him who is the head.” We begin to live as part of his body, joined together so that we are no longer concerned only for ourselves but also for helping the whole Church as it “builds itself up in love” (Ephesians 4:13, 15, 16). We can walk in Christian charity—if we keep walking with Christ.
“Jesus, light the fire of your love in my life! Burn away all the dross in my heart, so that I can love you with a pure love and love others with your own love aflame in me.”
Psalm 33:2-5, 12, 22; Luke 7:31-35
Daily Marriage Tip for September 17, 2014:
“Elijah went a day’s journey into the desert.” (1 Kings 19:4) What has been a low or dry point in your relationship with your beloved? How did you get out of it? If you’re still in a desert, ask for help – from your spouse, God, or a trusted counselor.