Year C: 4th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Second Reading: based on St Paul's first letter to the Corinthians Ch. 12: 31 - 13: 13

St Paul crowns his teaching on the gifts of the Spirit and their purpose in one of the most loved passages in Scripture. Focusing as it does on love, it is a popular choice for weddings - but it has implications for everyone - every day.

Having spoken of the charisms and their importance in building up the Church, St Paul sets them in perspective. However wonderful his own words are - how majestic his faith, St Paul knows that, without love they are empty and fruitless. What underpins his own gifts is the striving - the ambition - for the higher gifts - and especially of love.

He describes the qualities of love in words which it is fruitful to read slowly and allow to percolate through our souls.

Love is the perfection of all the gifts. The other gifts are vital to the upbuilding of the Church - but, one day, they will pass away. All the prophecy - all the prayer - all the knowledge and wisdom will be consigned to eternity. In heaven those things are not needed - in heaven only faith and hope and love will remain.

All that we see here - however, great, is, he says, like a dim reflection - or just seeing a part of something. One day, we will see things in their fullness and will no longer need human knowledge or thinking to struggle to understand.

It is a message of hope and warning. We have hope because we look at the examples of love in our own lives - and can imagine that, if these are just hints of what is to come, just how glorious our destiny is.

We have warning in that we realise too that our human gifts will pass away - at death, certainly and will find ourselves in heaven with “only” faith, hope and love. It is a reminder to rest lightly on our undoubtedly important human and spiritual gifts - and to spend as much - if not more time on cultivating an ambition and a yearning for strength in the higher ones!

What does it mean for me?

How does your experience of love here help you to look forward to heaven? How can you ensure that you spend enough time cultivating your “higher gifts”?

         Text © 2006 Wellspring

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