He tells us that Love is made up of many things.
Like light. We learn at school that if we pick up a prism and allow a ray of light to pass through it, that ray will divide up into seven colours.
The colours of the rainbow.
Then Paul takes Love and allows it to pass through the prism of his intellect, dividing it up into its various elements.
He shows us the rainbow of Love, just as a prism reveals to us the rainbow colours of light.
And what are those elements? They are virtues we hear about every day and that we can practise at every moment in our lives.
It is these small things, these simple virtues, that make up the Supreme Gift of Love.
Love is made up of nine ingredients:
Patience: Love is patient…
Kindness: …and kind.
Generosity: Love does not envy…
Humility: …or boast; it is not arrogant...
Courtesy: …or rude.
Unselfishness: It does not insist on its own way.
Good temper: It is not irritable… or resentful.
Guilelessness: or resentful.
Sincerity: It does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth.
Patience. Kindness. Generosity. Humility. Courtesy. Unselfishness. Good temper. Guilelessness. Sincerity. All these things make up the Supreme Gift, and are there in the soul of whoever wishes to be in the world and close to God.
All these gifts are to do with us, with our daily lives, with today and tomorrow, not with eternity.
We hear a lot about loving God.
But Christ talks to us about loving our fellow man.
We seek peace in Heaven.
Christ seeks peace on Earth.
Our human search for the answer to our main question - What should I do with my life? - is not some strange thing imposed on us from outside.
It is to be found in all civilisations, because it was born along with mankind and is evidence of the breath of the Eternal Spirit in the world.
The Supreme Gift reflects that breath. It is not just a Gift in itself, but the words and acts that make up the sum of every ordinary day.
* * *
Love is patience.
That is how Love normally behaves: it waits calmly, unhurriedly, knowing that at some point, it will show itself.
Love is ready to do its work at the right moment, but it waits calmly and meekly.