On this Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time, we are treated with the beautiful words of Saint Paul in his First Letter to the Corinthians. Of all the scriptures, this is one of the most popular, if not the most popular, chosen by couples for their wedding ceremony.
After extolling the various qualities of the virtue of love, Paul sums up his thoughts on love by saying: “Now then, faith, hope, and love are valid; all three, but the greatest of these three is love” (1 Corinthians 13:13).
The big question is this: “What is love?” When we speak of “loving” others, as we “love” ourselves, we mean that we wish the best for others and for ourselves. That leads to the logical conclusion that, as Catholic Christians, we pray for God to save all people: everyone who ever lived; all who live today; and all who will ever live in the future. We ask this of God with courage, because in the Catholic Christian worldview, God’s love and mercy have no limits. In this worldview, with God, all things are possible. And in this worldview, God has told us “ask and you will receive.”