Like a lot of guys, I racked my brain this past week trying to think of a suitable Valentine’s gift from my bride. I frankly wasn’t having a lot of inspiration, but sometime during my thought process it struck me that I really don’t know much about Saint Valentine who has somehow become associated with candy hearts, Cupid, red roses, dinner reservations, jewelry, and Hallmark cards.
The ties of St. Nicholas and gift giving, or St. Patrick and all thrings green are much more clear to me… Even Halloween traditions can be tied back to All Saints eve.
So I did a little research, consulting with several Catholic textbooks on the saints, and also looking online. Frankly, even after my research, I’m still not sure I see the ties between February 14th and my annual exercise of trying to find an acceptable expression of my love.
Nothing is reliably known about St. Valentine except his name and the fact that he died on February 14th. In fact, there is conflicting information as to whether St. Valentine was one person, or two saints with the same name. The ancient Roman Martyrology, the compendium of martyrs at Rome, lists two 3rd-century martyrs named Valentine for this day. One was a priest in Rome, the other a bishop of Terni. The first healed the daughter of a prefect and converted the entire family to Christianity; the second is known for his gifts of miracle-working.
The feast of St. Valentine was first established in 496 by Pope Gelasius I, who included Valentine among those “…whose names are just reverenced among men, but whose acts are known only to God.” In other words, we really don’t know much about this guy(s).
During the Middle Ages it was believed that birds paired as ‘couples’ in mid-February. And according to Wikipedia, many of the current legends that characterize Saint Valentine were invented in the fourteenth century in England, “notably by Geoffrey Chaucer…when the feast day of February 14th first became associated with romantic love.”
As sketchy as the details are behind the romantic traditions of St. Valentine’s Day, I certainly like the idea of breaking up the day-to-day routine and spending some time focusing on the importance of love and relationships.
Pope Francis offered some Valentine’s Day advice for lasting marriage, telling 25,000 loverbirds on Friday that the recipe for success lies in saying three simple words: “Please”, “Thanks”, and “Sorry”. The pontiff told fiances gathered in St. Peter’s Square that expressions of courtesy, gratitude and contrition go a long way toward ‘conserving and enhancing love over time.’
“Never finish the day without making peace!” Pope Francis exclaimed. “Because if you end the day without making peace, what you have inside becomes hard and cold and it becomes harder to make peace the following day.”
I am pleased to report that in the end, I did manage to come up with a gift idea for my wife, and the two of us enjoyed a very nice dinner together.
I hope you each had a pleasant Valentine’s day, and take heed of Pope Francis’ wise marriage/relationship counsel.
Have a blessed week!
Mark@catholicsam.com
Catholic SAM 