Wow!

The most popular (overdone) reading about loooove was a part of the Mass yesterday. The over-quoted Corinthians verses, most commonly heard at weddings in correlation to this couple who now had to love each other as Paul tells us to.

"Faith, hope, love. And the greatest of these three is love"

I don't think this letter was meant to be the wedding-canon it is today. Although it is beautiful, reminding us to be patient, kind, and understanding, the claim and call that love should be the greatest of these three means more than just loving your spouse and family.

Paul is telling us that we should known for our love.
That we should be recognized as loving.
We are being told that our defining characteristics should be love.
Like St. Mother Teresa, our love should be what makes extraordinary people. Even if it's just little things that we're doing, if we do it love... Wow.

And this isn't just the easy love, the love you got to choose when you searched for your spouse. Or the love you were raised to have for your parents and siblings. This is a conscious choice to love those around us. To love our fellows and peers, to love those different than us, to love those who make anxious or uncomfortable.

"Come on," your brain (and mine) groans, "that's so difficult. Loving people you don't even know! How do I even start?" And that's when those characteristics pop back up. Are you patient? Kind? Understanding? Forgiving? Because that's how you love someone you hardly know. And believe me, it is a difficult task, and one that very few seem to completely accomplish. But we can do it, because were created for this very task. We were designed to love this deeply, and this strongly.



Tota Tua,


LeAnn