1. “I found him whom my soul loves. I held him and would not let go.”-Song of Songs 3:4

This book of the bible speaks of the search of the Beloved and culminates in a wedding feast. We see this verse all the time at weddings. It tells us that the love of God is best shown on earth through the bond of marital love. Marriage is under attack in our society. Marriage is no longer a noble pursuit with the end goal of salvation. Rather, it is seen as an excuse to throw a big party or just a piece of paper that means nothing. It’s a contract that you can break when times get tough rather than a covenant made between husband and wife. Our souls ache to be loved and we must open ourselves up to God and let Him completely fill us and we must pour ourselves into Him as well. We cannot do that without communicating with Him in prayer. Set aside at least 10 minutes to talk with God every day.

2. “We love because He first loved us.”-1 John 4:19

God is the source of everything, He is Love Itself. He became man and died for each one of us so that we could spend eternity with Him. He created us to love Him and to spread that love so people can truly encounter Love. We must imitate this sacrificial love to all we encounter. Christ came down from Heaven to die for us and to show us how to love. To love as God loves is a death to us in small ways or in great ways. Whether it’s letting someone go ahead of you in line, or dying the death of a martyr, God knows and hears of the sufferings we bear in his name.

3. “I thirst.”-John 19:28

Thirst is a funny thing. Once you feel it, you can’t stop thinking about it. You have to find a way to quench it. You won’t be satisfied until you have found your way to the proverbial spring. Jesus wasn’t asking for water on the Cross when he said this. Rather, he was making a statement of his love for us. He thirsts for us. Nothing but us can satisfy His thirst. He desires us to love Him as He loves each one of us. He thirsts for every single soul to come to know Him and to love Him. St. Teresa of Calcutta has a beautiful mediation on this that will change your life. I encourage you to pray with it.

4. “You have heard it said, ’You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, ‘Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your father who is in heaven; for he make his sun rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you have loved those who love you, what reward have you?” Matthew 5:43-46

It’s hard to be a Catholic in today’s world. Many people ridicule us for our beliefs on issues like the necessity of only male priests, the sanctity of life from conception to natural death and of marriage and so on. Some call the Church out of date and out of touch with reality and demand she starts to conform with the ideas of modern culture. As a result, it’s easy to for us slip into an “us versus them” mentality. We distance ourselves or try to get even with them instead of bearing our wrongs patiently as Christ call us to do. We must ask ourselves, “How can I love this person who disagrees with me and takes his anger at God out on me?” and “How can I better lead them to Jesus?”

5. "So faith, hope, love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love."-1 Cor 13:13

Love is not specific to romantic love, rather it can mean charity. “Charity is the theological virtue by which we love God above all things for his own sake, and our neighbor as ourselves for the love of God.” (Catechism of the Catholic Church 1822) Charity is at the heart of evangelization. When we first love God and allow it to penetrate and permeate our daily lives, we can then pass it onto others. Evangelization is our sacred duty as baptized Catholics. Charity is the greatest virtue because it allows us to see God in others. We serve others because we see Jesus in them. We must ask ourselves, “Am I seeing Jesus in all I encounter?” If we are not, “What can I do to grow my personal relationship with God so I can see Him in my neighbor?”

6. “You will seek me and find me; when you seek me with all of your heart, I will be found by you.” –Jeremiah 29:13-14

When we place God first, it illuminates our life. We cannot search for God half heartedly. We must search for Him intentionally. God is the Creator. He made us for Him. He made us to be loved by Him. He put this desire in our hearts that cannot be filled except by His love. We search for His love in all the wrong places when we fall into sin. We can overcome our sins by the love of God and His never-ending grace.

7. “‘Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?’ He said to Him, ‘Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.’ He said to him, ‘Feed my lambs.’ A second time he said to him, ‘Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?’ He said to Him, ‘Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.’ He said to Him, ‘Tend my sheep.’ He said to him the third time, ‘Simon, son of John, do you love me?’ Peter was grieved because He said to him the third time, ‘Do you love me?’ And he said to Him, ‘Lord you know everything, you know that I love you.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Feed my sheep.’”-John 21:15-17

Twice, Jesus asks Simon if he loves Him with the divine love, "agape". Peter replies I love you like a brother, a filial love. The third time, Jesus asks Peter, if he loves Him like a brother. Peter answers again that he does indeed love Jesus like a brother. Peter became humbled after the events of the Passion. He denied Jesus three times. Jesus is giving him the opportunity to make amends. Before the Passion, Peter would have replied I love you the way only God can love. But after denying Jesus, Peter learns what love demands and his own limits. God takes whatever we give Him. He took Peter’s limited ability to love and made him into the first pope. Our first pope very publically renounced Jesus during His Passion, struggled with pride and finally recognized that he was a sinful man. But God took Peter in all of his brokenness and used him to lead others to Jesus and to eternal life. God loves each one of us like Peter. He takes whatever we can give Him and uses it to bring others to Him. God does not scoff at our gift of self, but He accepts it with great love! He makes our offerings to Him fruitful.­­­

8. “For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.”-Ephesians 5:31

In marriage, we are called to love in the way that Christ loves us: totally, freely, faithfully and open to life. Marriage is highs and lows. There are times it easy to love one another perfectly, other times it’s a struggle. Sometimes, it’s easy to forget that our marriages are a sign of God’s love for us. Yes, marriage is how we gain salvation personally. But marriage is the biggest tool to evangelize. If people see a marriage where the spouses truly love one another totally, freely, faithfully and open to life, people can better understand and see how God loves them. But more importantly, people need to see the joy we have as a husband and wife that are rooted in Christ. If there is no joy in our vocation, people miss the joy that God has loving each one of us.

9. “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your might.”-Deuteronomy 6:4

Throughout the Old Testament, love is always present. Many believe that love is something found in the New Testament and the Old Testament shows only a vengeful God. This is not true. Love is shown throughout the Old Testament. The greatest love story ever told began in Genesis with Adam and Eve and culminated in the Passion of Christ. Man has always been called to love God, not merely obey him. God is not a ruler, but a father. He is not distant, but personal. He wants us to love him completely because it’s the only way to glimpse into how He loves each one of us.

10. “So God created Man in His own image, in the image of God, he created him.”-Genesis 1:27

Sometimes, we forget our dignity as human persons. We forget that we are made in the Image and Likeness of God; God who is Love itself. God made us to be in communion with Him. God made us to love and be loved by Him and others. When we nourish our relationship with Him, especially through receiving Him in the Eucharist, we are able to be tangibly loved by Him. The love of God is perfect. He loves us in a way no one else can. He has given us only a glimmer in our love of others on this earth of how he loves us.

What other Bible quotes on love inspire you? Share in a comment below!