Wedding Homily on 1 Corinthians 13 - "Love never fails" (Song of Songs 2:8-10, 14, 16a; 8:6-7a; 1 Corinthians 12:31-13:8a; John 15:12-16)

Dear friends, what a joy it is to gather here today in the presence of God and all of you to witness this beautiful moment in the lives of [Name] and [Name]. Let us begin with a prayer: Loving God, who has called these two hearts together, bless us with your presence as we celebrate this covenant of love. Amen.

Today, we gather to celebrate a "Love That Endures" – a love that, as Saint Paul so beautifully describes in our second reading, "bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things." This enduring love is at the heart of what we witness today.

The readings you've chosen speak powerfully about this enduring love. In 1 Corinthians 13, which will be our focus today, Paul gives us perhaps the most profound meditation on love ever written. But this isn't just any love – it's a specific kind of love that forms the foundation of Christian marriage.

Paul begins by telling us, "If I speak in human and angelic tongues but do not have love, I am a resounding gong or a clashing cymbal" (1 Corinthians 13:1). He reminds us that without love, our greatest achievements and talents amount to nothing. This teaches us something essential about marriage: all the external elements – the beautiful ceremony, the shared home, even shared interests – these things, while good, cannot sustain a marriage without love at its center.

But what kind of love is Paul describing? He tells us: "Love is patient, love is kind" (1 Corinthians 13:4). The Greek word used here is "agape" – not the romantic love of poetry, but a love of profound commitment and sacrifice. This is the love that Christ modeled for us, and it's the love that sustains a marriage through decades of joys and challenges.

This connects beautifully with your first reading from the Song of Songs, where we hear: "Set me as a seal upon your heart, for stern as death is love" (Song of Songs 8:6). This imagery of a seal speaks to permanence, to a love that cannot be broken. And in your Gospel reading, Jesus tells us, "This is my commandment: love one another as I love you" (John 15:12), showing us that the model for married love is Christ's own sacrificial love.

[Name] and [Name], this theme of enduring love will be lived out in your marriage when you choose each day to love as Paul describes. Notice that Paul doesn't describe love as a feeling but as a series of actions and choices: patience, kindness, not being jealous or pompous, not being inflated or rude, not seeking your own interests, not quick-tempered, not brooding over injury. Love, Paul tells us, "rejoices with the truth" (1 Corinthians 13:6).

Saint John Chrysostom, one of the great Fathers of the Church, commented on this passage saying that Paul is describing a love that seeks the good of the other before oneself. This is precisely what you promise to each other today – not just affection, but a daily decision to put each other's good before your own.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches us that marriage is a covenant by which a man and a woman establish between themselves a partnership for the whole of life, ordered toward the good of the spouses. This "Love That Endures" reflects how God's own covenant love works – faithful, fruitful, and forever. In the sacrament you celebrate today, your human love is transformed and elevated by divine grace, making your union a living sign of Christ's love for His Church.

To nurture this enduring love in your marriage, I offer three practical suggestions:

First, practice the patience that Paul describes. Saint Thomas Aquinas taught that patience is the virtue that enables us to bear difficulties without being broken by them. In marriage, patience means giving each other room to grow, to make mistakes, and to learn together. It means taking a deep breath before responding in moments of frustration, remembering that you're on the same team.

Second, make forgiveness a daily practice. As Paul says, love "does not brood over injury" (1 Corinthians 13:5). Pope Francis reminds us that in marriage, we must never let the sun go down on an argument. This doesn't mean resolving every disagreement before bedtime, but rather choosing to maintain your bond of love even amid differences.

Third, keep Christ at the center of your relationship. Pray together, even if it's just a moment each day. Attend Mass together. These shared spiritual practices become anchors that hold you steady through life's storms. As you heard in your Gospel reading, Jesus calls you friends and has chosen you to "bear fruit that will remain" (John 15:16).

As we conclude, remember that the love Paul describes in 1 Corinthians 13 is not just poetic language for a wedding day – it's a blueprint for a lifetime together. "Love never fails" (1 Corinthians 13:8), he tells us. Not because human love is perfect, but because when rooted in Christ, it can endure all things.

[Name] and [Name], may the God who has brought you together strengthen your love each day, so that through all the changes and challenges of life, your love may truly be that which "bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things" (1 Corinthians 13:7). May your marriage be a living testimony to a "Love That Endures."