"Love. This is the center and the meaning of life. It's not extra. It's not icing. It's IT."

 Happy St. Valentine's Day to all!

Without love I am a noisy gong,  without love I am nothing! 

A couple of Sundays ago 1Corinthians13 in Mass. This has always been one my favorite passages in Scripture. I've heard a few homilies on it, usually at weddings, but that Sunday Fr. Mark did such an excellent job some of our Seniors from the school were actually jotting down notes on their hands! Luckily, I had my iPhone (thanks to the generous and lovely Beth Gehring) and was able to record it. It's in 3 short parts totally 15 minutes, make the time to listen to it, you won't regret it.




 13 If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 If I have the gift of prophecy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge; and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. 3 And if I give all my possessions to feed the poor, and if I surrender my body [a]to be burned, but do not have love, it profits me nothing. 
4 Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, 5 does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, 6 does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; 7 [b]bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. 8 Love never fails; but if there are gifts of prophecy, they will be done away; if there are tongues, they will cease; if there is knowledge, it will be done away. 9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part; 10 but when the perfect comes, the partial will be done away. 
11 When I was a child, I used to speak like a child, think like a child, reason like a child; when I [d]became a man, I did away with childish things. 12 For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face; now I know in part, but then I will know fully just as I also have been fully known. 
13 But now faith, hope, love, abide these three; but the greatest of these is love.