The Catholic Calendar for Sunday, February 1, 2004
Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Scripture from today's Liturgy of the Word:
Jeremiah 1:4-5,17-19
Psalm 71:1-6,15-17
1 Corinthians 12:31--13:13
Luke 4:21-30

A reflection on today's Sacred Scripture:

Today's second reading from the letter of St. Paul to the Corinthians is often read at weddings. Speaking about the qualities associated with love, it becomes for the bride and groom, and indeed all witnesses, an excellent measuring stick for our fidelity to all that love demands.

The most excellent example of love is, of course, Jesus. By surrendering the glory of heaven and becoming one of us He begins to demonstrate what true love is all about. He continues by His selfless ministry which finally culminates on the Cross by His ignominious death. For us it is difficult to fathom imitating that kind of love, and we often give up before we really even give it a shot.

Paul's letter offers us another set of criteria which are a reflection of divine Love, no less difficult to accomplish, but seemingly more within our reach. I offer just one for your consideration: “Love is kind.” If we are willing to critically evaluate our behavior and motivations against those three little words and honestly discover that we measure up, then the other more familiar three little words will not be like mere clashing cymbals ringing discordantly with disturbing noise, but instead pure and beautiful because they'll be on pitch -- they will be true.

- Donna Nelson, ocds
(drn3rd at hotmail dot com)

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posted by joachim at 5:14 AM