St. Valentine

It is just a day....but it has been vamped up over the years to be one of the greatest flower and candy retail days of the year. Displays are in full bloom, boxes of Valentines for school aged children come in all different styles with every favorite character. The reds and whites and pinks and heart shaped "everythings" from cakes to pasta take a front row on any retail shelf. But just as so many other holidays have become so commercial...we often just go with the flow of the followers without having any idea what all the fuss really is about.

Valentines day is a day to celebrate people you love....and who love you back.
It is a day tilted towards couples no doubt...but what if you are not a couple do you just sink into oblivion and wait patiently for the day to come and go. I think not..whether we are couples or not...we still can make this day a day of celebration for life itself.

Just to put a little spin on this particular Valentines Day (Sunday)...what if we reached out and recognized someone who we know is not a couple...but someone who has made our life better or richer just from knowing them. A simple card...a small box of chocolates or strawberries if you know they are tiled healthy..We have a couple of days ....to present a gift of appreciation to someone who will least expect it....but who will surely appreciate it....it can be anything...but whatever it is it will be a gift of love...from you.

If there were one word associated with Valentines Day it would be LOVE.
And there is no one in this world who loves us more than God above. He doesn't need one designated day to celebrate His love for us...he does that each and everyday but oh how we miss it and take His unconditional love for granted. We overlook His blessings, take for granted His forgiveness, don't recognize His grace and are moving too fast to smell His flowers....and feast on His provisions. Today, in honor of the love that we have from God...lets pass that love on to others.

I know this sounds kind of syrupy....but truly if we take just a few moments to look around at our blessings and let the complaints and comparisons be overstepped and muddled...we will see that we are rich in love..each of us who has allowed God the chance to be our loving companion.....he shares with us a love that has no bounds...a love that is kind and holds no grudges...a love that only sees our best....a love that cherishes our attention...a love that seeks a daily relationship, a love that can give us strength when we are weak, and encouragement when we begin to lose faith, and victory when the world calls for defeat. Now that is true love...GRAND love at its best.

Psalm 86:5
You are forgiving and good, O Lord, abounding in love to all who call to you.

Valentines is tilted towards couples...and as long as God is by our side.....we are a "couple" whose relationship is founded on a greater love that goes way beyond what we know on this earth. Take time to pass that love that we know is from God to someone else...in word or deed and with prayer.

Dear Lord, thank you for the deep and grand love that have offered toe ach of us. Help us to embrace it and take cover in it, and reflect it..Amen

FYI: The Origin of St. Valentine

The origin of St. Valentine, and how many St. Valentines there were, remains a mystery. One opinion is that he was a Roman martyred for refusing to give up his Christian faith. Other historians hold that St. Valentine was a temple priest jailed for defiance during the reign of Claudius. Whoever he was, Valentine really existed because archaeologists have unearthed a Roman catacomb and an ancient church dedicated to Saint Valentine. In 496 AD Pope Gelasius marked February 14th as a celebration in honor of his martyrdom.

The first representation of Saint Valentine appeared in a The Nuremberg Chronicle, a great illustrated book printed in 1493. [Additional evidence that Valentine was a real person: archaeologists have unearthed a Roman catacomb and an ancient church dedicated to Saint Valentine.] Alongside a woodcut portrait of him, text states that Valentinus was a Roman priest martyred during the reign of Claudius the Goth [Claudius II]. Since he was caught marrying Christian couples and aiding any Christians who were being persecuted under Emperor Claudius in Rome [when helping them was considered a crime], Valentinus was arrested and imprisoned. Claudius took a liking to this prisoner -- until Valentinus made a strategic error: he tried to convert the Emperor -- whereupon this priest was condemned to death. He was beaten with clubs and stoned; when that didn't do it, he was beheaded outside the Flaminian Gate [circa 269].

Saints are not supposed to rest in peace; they're expected to keep busy: to perform miracles, to intercede. Being in jail or dead is no excuse for non-performance of the supernatural. One legend says, while awaiting his execution, Valentinus restored the sight of his jailer's blind daughter. Another legend says, on the eve of his death, he penned a farewell note to the jailer's daughter, signing it, "From your Valentine."

St. Valentine was a Priest, martyred in 269 at Rome and was buried on the Flaminian Way. He is the Patron Saint of affianced couples, bee keepers, engaged couples, epilepsy, fainting, greetings, happy marriages, love, lovers, plague, travellers, young people.He is represented in pictures with birds and roses. (http://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=159)

Praise God wherever you are or whatever situation he has allowed you to be in...for His glory will shine through.

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