77. “The Song of Songs in the Old Testament shows the way in which love ‘becomes concern and care for the other.’ Love’s growth advances as it becomes ever more definitive in the sense of exclusivity (this person alone) and is directed to the eternal (it is ‘forever’). Such love is ecstasy, not as a moment of intoxication but as a continuing journey, ‘an ongoing exodus out of the closed inward-looking self’ and toward the other, and finally toward God.” -- Richard John Neuhaus
78. “The will of God is not an alien will, God’s will is not a heteronymous imposition that constricts the self, but is an invitation to the fulfillment of the self by living a life of love in response to the gift of love. Thus is eros purified and fulfilled.” -- Richard John Neuhaus
79. “How do I love thee? Let me count the ways. / I love thee to the depth and breath and height / My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight / For the ends of Being and ideal Grace." -- Elizabeth Barrett Browning
80. "Love doesn't make the world go round, love is what makes the ride worthwhile." -- Elizabeth Barrett Browning
81. “Love does not just sit there, like a stone; it had to be made, like bread, remade all the time, made new.” Ursula LeGuin
82. “[Consider] the love of God. This love is unconditional; this love is constant; this love is faithful; this love consistently wills the good of the other. This love is not given only to those who are ‘appealing’ and who come in the right packages. It is offered freely and without calculating any sort of return.” -- Bridget Burke Ravizza
83. “The market mentality has permeated even our understanding of relationships, so that we tend to think of ourselves and others as products rather than as persons. Love, then, becomes a form of ‘salesmanship.’ It is simply a matter of selling ourselves. We attempt to make ourselves as attractive as possible so that others might ‘invest’ in us. . . . More and more we are taught that we must live up to particular cultural expectations in order to earn the ‘love’ of another and be worthy of investment. . . And yet the Christian tradition provides an alternative vision. As Nouwen powerfully states, ‘everything that Jesus has done, said, and undergone is meant to show us that the love that we most long for is given to us by God not because we deserved it, but because God is a God of love.’ This is the message that we need to hear: God profoundly loves us, just as we are! Our task is to trust in that unmerited love.” -- Bridget Burke Ravizza
84. “My lover is like a gazelle or a young stag. Here he stands behind our wall, gazing through the windows, peering through the lattices. My lover speaks; he says to me, ‘Arise, my beloved, my beautiful one, and come! For see, the winter is past, the rains are over and gone. The flowers appear on the earth, the time of pruning the vines has come, and the song of the dove is heard in our land. The fig tree puts forth its figs, and the vines, in bloom, give forth fragrance. Arise, my beloved, my beautiful one, and come!’” -- Solomon, Song of Songs
85. “Love is patient, love is kind. It is not jealous, love is not pompous, it is not inflated, it is not rude, it does not seek its own interests, it is not quick-tempered, it does not brood over injury, it does not rejoice over wrongdoing but rejoices with the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails.” – St. Paul
86. “Beloved, let us love one another, because love is of God; everyone who loves is begotten by God and knows God. Whoever is without love does not know God, for God is love. In this way the love of God was revealed to us: God sent his only Son into the world so that we might have life through him. In this is love: not that we have loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as expiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also must love one another. No one has ever seen God. Yet, if we love one another, God remains in us, and his love is brought to perfection in us.” – St. John
87. “God is love, and whoever remains in love remains in God and God in him. In this is love brought to perfection among us, that we have confidence on the day of judgment because as he is, so are we in this world. There is no fear in love, but perfect love drives out fear because fear has to do with punishment, and so one who fears is not yet perfect in love. We love because he first loved us. If anyone says, ‘I love God,’ but hates his brother, he is a liar; for whoever does not love a brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. This is the commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother.” – St. John
88. "You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and the first commandment. The second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. The whole law and the prophets depend on these two commandments." – Jesus of Nazareth
89. “No one has greater love than this, to lay down one's life for one's friends.” – Jesus of Nazareth
90. "And in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make." - John Lennon and Paul McCartney
Children's Thoughts on Love
91. "I think you're supposed to get shot with an arrow or something, but the rest of it isn't supposed to be so painful." ... Manuel, age 8
92. "Love is the most important thing in the world, but baseball is pretty good too."...Greg, age 8
93. "No one is sure why it happens, but I heard it has something to do with how you smell...that's why perfume and deodorant is so popular."...Mae, age 9
94. "One way is to take the girl out to eat. Make sure it's something she likes to eat. French fries usually works for me."... Bart, age 9
95. "Don't do things like have smelly, green sneakers. You might get attention, but attention ain't the same thing as love." ... Alonzo, age 9 "
96. “When a person gets kissed for the first time, they fall down and they don't get up for at least an hour." ... Wendy, age 8
97. "If you want to be loved by somebody who isn't already in your family, it doesn't hurt to be beautiful."...Anita, age 8
98. "I look at kissing like this: Kissing is fine if you like it, but it's a free country and nobody should be forced to do it."...Michael, age 8
99. "Don't say you love somebody and then change your mind ... Love isn't like picking what movie you want to watch." ... Natalie, age 9
100. "I'm not rushing into being in love. I'm finding fourth grade hard enough." ...Regina, age 10
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