Love is patient; love is charitable. Love is not envious; it does not have an inflated opinion of itself; it is not filled with its own importance. Love is never rude; it does not seek its own advantage. It is not prone to anger; neither does it brood over setbacks.
Your kindness is a greater joy than life itself; thus my lips will speak your praise. I will bless you all my life; with uplifted hands I will call on your name.
In the same way, even the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with sighs that cannot be put into words.
My son, concentrate attentively on my words; pay heed to the instructions I pass on to you. Do not let them slip from your mind; keep them forever in your heart.
Even though the fig tree does not blossom and there is no fruit on the vines, even though the olive crop will fail and the orchards will yield no food, even though the flock is cut off from the fold and there is no herd in the stalls, I will continue to rejoice in the Lord, and exult in the God of my salvation.