If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.
If I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.
If I give away all I have, and if I deliver my body to be burned but have not love, I gain nothing.
Love is patient and kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away.
St Paul said to the Corinthians
Rubén Cedeño says, ‘Everything should be done thinking, feeling, acting and speaking with love, and with a smile on your face.’
Translation by NB