VALENTINES
DAY
True Love !
February 14th,
St. Valentine’s Day, a day to shower your loved ones with affection and gifts.
Valentine’s cards, red roses, wine, heart shaped boxes filled with luscious chocolates
(my favorite), romantic dinners, and jewelry of course are just some of the
ways we show our love.
We express
our affections and celebrate this day of love in many ways, but I wonder how
many know the story behind Valentine’s Day.
Valentine’s Day, according to church
history and an accounting by Father Frank O’Gara of Dublin, Ireland, reveals
the tragic story of a Roman Priest, named Valentine.
During the
reign of Emperor Claudias II, there was an edict that prohibited marriage for
young people. The Emperor believed men fought better if they weren't married
and didn't have to worry about the fate of their wives and children while they
were off at battle. Father Valentine, firmly
believed in marriage, and not only encouraged but secretly married young couples in
direct violation of the emperor’s edict.
Valentine was eventually caught, imprisoned, tortured and then beheaded in
the year 269 AD.
Before his execution,
he is reported to have performed a miracle by healing Julia, the blind daughter
of his jailer Asterius. It is said that the jailer's daughter and his forty-four member household (family
members and servants) came to believe in Jesus and were baptized.
I think
Father O’Gara best summed it up when he says, “There comes a time where you
have to lay your life upon the line for what you believe. And with the power of
the Holy Spirit we can do that – even to the point of death.”
So, as tragic
as the story may be of Father Valentine’s demise, he did it out of LOVE - love for God and for mankind. Father Valentine's convictions may of cost him his life, but he gave eternal life to others. Today Valentine is remembered as the patron saint of lovers.
I can’t think of a better reason to celebrate
Valentine’s Day, than true LOVE!
HAPPY VALENTINES DAY
