A story is told of a woman who came out of her house and saw 3 old men with long white beards sitting in her front yard. She did not recognize them. She said, "I don't think I know you, but you must be hungry. Please come in and have something to eat".

"Is the man of the house home?" they asked.

"No", she said. "He's out."

In the evening when her husband came home, she told him what had happened.

"Go tell them I am home and invite them in."

The woman went out and invited the men in.

"We don't go into a house together," they replied.

"Why is that?" she wanted to know.

One of the old men explained: "His name is Wealth...he said pointing to one of his friends...and said pointing to another one, "He is Success and I am Love."

"Now go in and discuss with your husband which one of us you want in your home." The woman went in and told her husband what was said. Her husband was overjoyed, "How nice", he said. "Since that is the case, let us invite Wealth. Let him come and fill our home with wealth."

His wife disagreed, "My dear, why don't we invite Success?"

Their daughter-in-law was listening from the other corner of the house. She jumped in with her own suggestion: "Would it not be better to invite Love? Our home will be filled with love."

"Let us heed our daughter-in-law's advice," said the husband to his wife. "Go out and invite Love to be our guest."

The woman went out and asked the three old men, "Which one of you is Love? Please come in and be our guest."

Love does not boast. It loathes pride and has nothing in common with the proud, the arrogant and the bigoted. When in contact with such people, its prime objective is to change them.

Love is not complacent. Love observes, discerns and craves to make a difference in a world where there's so much pain, so much need, so much injustice, so much poverty: both physical and spiritual.

Love delights in making others happy. True love doesn't show off. In the course of the genuine craving to bring others joy, Love can be naive. Others could and would  misunderstand its motives but Love seeks to please, to delight and its motives are selfless, bona fide and pure.

Love does not rejoice in iniquity. It practices the principle of loving the Lord with one's whole being and of loving one's neighbor as oneself. If an action is going to hurt the Lord or someone else, love stirs away from it. As such love detests all manner of sin including lies, adultery and slander. It subdues carnality and exalts purity.

Love believes in action. It doesn't fold its arms and wait for things to happen by miracle. As much as being a fervent believer in miracles — and lives by faith — love is proactive and believes that actions speak louder than words. As such, love dedicates itself to helping the poor and other needy people.

Love does not seek its own. When it sees a need, it seeks ways to meet that need. If that brings joy to the Lord and to fellow humans, Love is there and makes full use of the resources it has. Love exudes youthful vitality and exuberance. It is magnanimous, convivial, scintillating and vivacious.

Love is kind. It enjoys giving than receiving and derives immense joy when a need is met and gratitude is expressed. But even when others don't express gratitude where gratitude is due, Love still carries on for its role on planet earth is not to bring glory to itself but to the Sender and the world.

Love compliments. It doesn't mince its words. It understands human nature, knows that a heart that's complimented is a happier heart. It knows that compliments = encouragement and understands that encouragement = diligence.

Love forgives. It doesn’t bear grudges and is wise enough to know that a clear conscience — one that's devoid of any traces of bitterness — is one of the keys to good health. Though it believes the best in people, love also understands that no one is perfect this side of Heaven. To Love, a forgiving spirit should be one of the most-sought after treasures.

Love does not envy. The only envy it nurtures is one to be a better person, not the envy that leads to jealousy and hatred, which is a form of murder. In fact, since love is pure, unselfish and kind, it's inconceivable for it to be envious and malicious.

Love is patient

Love doesn't easily lose its temper

Love rejoices with those who are merry

Love weeps with those who mourn

Love is sensitive

Love avoids hurting anyone

Instead, Love does everything to bring joy to others

Love is everlasting, never-ending