Valentine’s Love
Happy Valentine’s Day! I LOVE YOU! “Love sweet love. It’s the only thing that there’s just too little of!” Thanks, Dionne Warwick, for that sweet love song memory! This day is about love and loving others, and the credit goes to St. Valentine and his story of love, A.D. 270.
Valentine was a Christian priest who lived near Rome during the time of Emperor Claudius II, a sworn enemy of the faith. Valentine became famous for marrying couples who were in love but couldn’t get legally married in Rome. Emperor Claudius II, outlawed weddings. He wanted to recruit men for his army. He thought marriage was an obstacle for soldiers – especially that it would distract them from their work.
When the emperor realized that Valentine was performing weddings, he sent Valentine to jail. But Valentine used his time in jail to continue to reach out to people with the love that he said Jesus Christ gave him for others. In fact, Valentine befriended his jailer, Asterious, who asked Valentine to help his blind daughter, Julia, with her studies.
Emperor Claudius offered to pardon Valentine and set him free if he would renounce his Christian faith and agree to worship the Roman gods. Not only did Valentine refuse to leave his faith, he continued to encourage the emperor to place his trust in Christ.
Emperor Claudius was so enraged at Valentine’s response that he sentenced Valentine to die. Before he was killed, Valentine wrote a last note to encourage Julia to stay close to Jesus and to thank her for being his friend. He signed the note: “From your Valentine.”
That note inspired people to begin writing their own loving messages to people on Valentine’s Feast Day, February 14th – the day Valentine was martyred. Believers say that God miraculously cured Julia of her blindness and continued to live out her faith helping others.
I wonder what St. Valentine would make of this day of celebrating love that includes chocolates, flowers, hearts, and expressions of affection that lovers share. Would he be dismayed at all the expense without a true increase in genuine love — especially when it would be so beautiful if this day would really increase our love for each other?
Perhaps he would appreciate it all and maybe he would express his feelings by quoting St. Paul, whose wisdom he revered: “Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good.” Romans 12:9
Thank you, St. Valentine’s for reminding us, above all — to LOVE. I urge us all to live in the moments God has given us. Let’s treasure our moments with those we love. Never should we take those moments for granted.
And, I would like to gently remind us of an important truth that has made all the difference in my life. If we are God’s children, we are involved in the greatest love story ever created.
God created us, knows us inside and out, and loves us so much. We can celebrate this day and every day by knowing that we have a deeper understanding than anything that’s advertised or on the shelves in a store. GOD LOVES US!
Happy St. Valentine’s Day to all my social media friends! God loves you so much AND so do I…….