If you have ever attended a Catholic wedding, more than likely you’ve heard the Second Reading from Mass today. It comes from St. Paul’s letter to the Corinthians. It’s probably his most famous and most quoted scripture verse of all times. He writes: “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, 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. Love never fails.”

It’s obvious why wedding couples choose this reading for the ceremony. It speaks to the heart of our deepest desires. Each  of us longs to be loved in such a radical, pure, and stunning way. As you often heard from me in the pulpit, no amount of money, honor, power, or pleasure will make you happy. Only love will. We are created for relationship; not things. We desperately seek to encounter such a love in our lives. Yet strikingly so, do we realize that  we already have? For “God is love” (cf. 1 John 4:7).

Replace one word in St. Paul’s letter and hopefully it will become beautifully clear: “JESUS is patient, JESUS is kind. HE does not envy, HE does not boast, HE is not proud. HE does not dishonor others, HE is not self-seeking, HE is not easily angered, HE keeps no record of wrongs. JESUS does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. HE always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. JESUS never fails."