ST. VALENTINE

Matthew 7:12

“Do to others whatever you would have them do to you. This is the law and the prophets.”

Love is in the air.

And on this day of love, the gospel focuses on the Golden Rule as spoken by Jesus. It sums up Jesus' ethical teachings in one short sentence. If we wish to be loved, we must give love. If we wish to be respected, we must respect all persons - even those we dislike. If we wish to be forgiven, we must also forgive. If we wish others to speak kindly of us, we must speak kindly of them and avoid gossip. If we want strong marriages, we must be loyal and faithful to our spouses. If we wish to be fulfilled in our lives, we must share generously with others. If we wish to reap the rewards of our Heavenly Father's love, we must truly love all His people.

And this is the same love espoused by no other than St. Valentine whose martyrdom we commemorate today. He is a Roman martyr who was beheaded in c. 269-273 AD. During that time, Emperor Claudius II declared that unmarried men were potential soldiers, so he outlawed marriage. However, St. Valentine abhorred his outrageous action and continued to marry young couples. To stop Valentine in doing so, Claudius attempted to convert St. Valentine to paganism, but St. Valentine resisted and attempted to bring Claudius to the Church and Jesus Christ. For this, the Emperor had St. Valentine jailed and later on, beheaded.

While imprisoned, his jailer saw that Valentine was a man of learning, so he brought his daughter, Julia, to Valentine for lessons. Julia was a young had been blind since her birth. One day, they are praying when suddenly there was a brilliant light in the prison cell. Julia screamed, “Valentinus, I can see! I can see!” On the eve of his death Valentinus wrote a last note to Julia, urging her to stay close to God. He signed it, “From your Valentine.”

Almighty Father, may I love You in all things and above all things. May I reach the joy which You have prepared for me in Heaven. Nothing is good that is against Your Will, and all that is good comes from Your Hand. Place in my heart a desire to please You and fill my mind with thoughts of Your Love, so that I may grow in Your Wisdom and enjoy Your Peace, forever.

You have my heart, now and forever!