Love is patient, kind, does not take account of evil received

In today´s prayer for marriage, we focus on that passage in the book of Corinthians that many of us remember, especially at weddings, on invitation and greeting cards, or on our own commemorations of a special date of certain years together: "Love is patient, it is kind; helpful, does not envy, does not boast, does not behave rudely, does not seek its own interests, is not provoked, does not take account of evil received, does not rejoice at injustice, but rejoices with the truth. Love forgives all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love will never pass away" (1 Corinthians 13:4-8)

Love is patient, kind and does not envy.

I think the same biblical quote can be interpreted alone. It has no other meaning than to love without measure, to love without asking in return, to love without limits. It means: "To be more patient in love, to be kinder to one another, to be more helpful, more humble, and where we cannot be jealous and where we can excuse everything, that is, we must never hold a grudge."

Love is patient and patience is a virtue that spouses must develop in order to understand each other better, listen to each other better and love each other fully in marriage. Love is patient and helpful; it is a gift of self giving that the spouses make in marriage for the well-being of their relationship.

Love does not envy; on the contrary, we should rejoice in the happiness of the other. We are one Flesh and the joy and happiness of one is the blessing for the other.

Couples must be filled with mutual love, and this love must have patience attached to it, just as You were patient with us, despite our faults and mistakes. Let us repeat once more (version of New Jerusalem Bible):

"Love is patient and kind; love is not jealous or boastful; it is not arrogant or rude. Love does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrong, but rejoices in the right. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends; as for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away." (1 Corinthians 13:4-8)

Love will never pass.

From God´s perspective of what love in marriage means, let´s do the prayer for marriage point by point. Love is patient, kind and without envy and we will ask for all this in this prayer. Before we begin, we invoke our Father in Heaven so that this prayer may penetrate the depths of each of the spouses.

God of love and reconciliation, I want to ask you through this prayer to give all couples the grace of patience, of being kind and of not being envious. To have patience is a sign of love in every other way.

Love is patient.

In essence, having patience with others means that we must be slow to anger and quick and ready to forgive. It is the opposite of suffering from anger or letting out those expressions and thoughts with unpleasant reactions or irritability. Being patient should include a self-control kit in every situation.

Lord, grant that, in marriages, the spouses may be patient with each other. Let them develop that beautiful habit of patience, because with it, they can learn to listen to each other better, to understand each other, to feel empathy and to love each other. May they be patient in small things as well as big ones. May patience be your banner when someone gets angry and loses control momentarily or when someone feels frustrated or overwhelmed by some tasks that have been difficult to bear in their day to day. Give Wisdom to each one Lord, so that they may be aware that at some point either of them may make mistakes and must treat you with understanding. Let each other´s response be motivated by patience. Amen.

Love is helpful.

Lord Jesus, grant that, in marriages, spouses may present themselves with love in the service of the other. May the two of them be able to support each other and be a rest when the other loses his or her strength.

Love is kind.

Lord Jesus, help with your love that spouses treat each other with kindness and respect. May they be more kind to each other in every single thing they do or in their daily personal dealings. May their words be so sweet that they become like caresses for each other´s hearts. Look into their hearts and uproot those seeds of spite that may be present and blocking their loving side of each other. Amen.

Love does not envy.

Lord Jesus, remove from their relationship any unhealthy desire that dwells within them. Let them not envy one another, but be like stepping stones to each other´s growth. Put in their hearts a burning desire for You, so that, seeking Your love, they may turn away the envy from their lives. Show them the way of joy for the other, of enjoying the triumphs of the other without having to be envious. You can do everything Lord, so make spouses understand that they lose everything with envy and they gain a lot by encouraging each other when the other is doing well. Amen.

Love does not make a show of itself.

Lord, help these spouses to base their relationship on humility and not to seek the approval of those who are only like strangers in their marriage. Help them, Lord, to live to honor each other and to honor you.

Your love is not selfish.

Lord Jesus, may your grace descend upon marriages to love each other with selfless love, without selfishness or arrogance. Help them, Lord, to love each other well. May they not put limitations on their love, may their self-giving be a gift of love. May they share everything as in a society and may they feel the unity of one spirit. All this I ask through the pure love of Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.

We must know true love in order to be willing to remain loving in spite of the situations we go through. Love endures through conflicts that are fleeting. Love goes through difficult fields and situations because it contains a force that brings everything down. True love remains in time and becomes stronger in spite of the external elements that oppose it.

If we really remain in that patient, generous, kind and unenviable love, we will always seek the good of others, above all, in our loved one. True love is good; it instils peace and hope in the heart of the one who receives it and the one who harbours it. Love is neither envious nor selfish, for it is not centred on seeking your personal good or an interest, but directs all its strength towards the happiness of the other, to be a blessing for the other. True love does not brag, is not boastful, does not become vain, does not believe itself to be filled with some higher power with which it can bend the other. Love is never imposing or minimizing the person loved; on the contrary, love is lowering oneself, filling oneself with humility. Love is humble and docile, it is patient, kind, without envy or arrogance. Love will never pass away.

Patience is an attribute that reveals the powerful force and nature of love. The "King James" version of the Holy Bible states that love "suffers much". This is a saying very similar to our times that means: "to resist". In other words, it is declaring that "love bears all things," or "love endures all things. And looking at it in depth, resistance always has to have Patience as its insignia.

Love is patient when it does all of the above without criticism, complaints or murmuring. We cannot say that we have a genuine agape love, that it is patient, and do things that are contrary to this virtue.

Let us repeat it once again, since this is something that spouses should learn and practice every day of their lives, with a love that lasts forever: "Love is patient and kind; love is not jealous or boastful; it is not arrogant or rude. Love does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrong, but rejoices in the right. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends; as for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away." (1 Corinthians 13:4-8)"