How well do you love? Let’s find out. Today’s first reading includes this passage from 1st Corinthians, chapter 13:
Love is patient, love is kind.
It is not jealous, love 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.
We all need to love more. Every single one of us. And with the help of Jesus, we can.
Let’s think about these questions...
How patient am I, even with those closest to me?
How kind am I, even to people I disagree with?
How jealous am I of those who have more than me?
How pompous or inflated am I when I do something well?
How rude am I when someone does something I don’t like?
How often do I seek my own interests instead of those of others?
How often do I speak before thinking or immediately jump to conclusions?
How much do I support someone’s wrongdoing, even when it seems like it’s for a good cause?
How often am I glad when someone tells the truth, even if it’s hard to swallow?
All of us need to work on these things. We can all love more. Our loving will help others to do the same. All it takes is one small action of love to get started. Compliment someone, smile at everyone you meet, text a friend you haven’t talked with in a while, send a thank you note to someone, write a letter, draw a picture, say a prayer for someone you don’t like, serve someone more food than you give yourself, forgive someone who’s hurt you, any sort of little act of love. That is a great start.
Jesus, help me to be patient with others as you are patient with me. Help me to be as kind as you were to the poor and sick. Help me to be as humble as you were, hanging naked on a cross. Help me to be as loving as you are to me, even though I sin. Help me to think before I speak so that I don’t say hurtful things. Help me to forgive as you forgive me. Help me to rejoice when someone does something good. Help me to believe in, hope in, and live my life with and for you. Jesus, help me to love you more by loving everyone I meet. Amen.
“We cannot all do great things. But we can do small things with great love.”
- St. Mother Teresa
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