"Love is patient and kind; it is not jealous or conceited or proud; love is not ill-mannered or selfish or irritable; love does not keep a record of wrongs; love is not happy with evil, but is happy with the truth. Love never gives up; and its faith, hope, and patience never fail..."
1 Corinthians 13:4-7
February is a LOVE month and it's time to celebrate across the country. Valentine's Day is most closely associated with the mutual exchange of love notes in the form of "Valentines." Modern Valentine symbols include the heart-shaped outline, doves, and the figure of the winged Cupid. Candies, flowers, gifts and other souvenir items are exchanged between loved ones, even on calling/texting, e-mail and the like. Most of the times, go out on dates, concerts, and others to spend this Valentine season together with families, friends, and loved ones. This month celebrate Valentine's Day in honor of patron saint, St. Valentine. But, who is St. Valentine and how did he become associated with romance? Here's a feature based on Enrich Magazine entitled "Who was St. Valentine?" by John Dizon (Enrich Magazine vol. 2, no. 7, February 2009):
Accounts dating as far as early medieval times listed many early Christian martyrs named Valentine. To add to the confusion, the Catholic Church officially sanctioned eleven St. Valentine's Feast days, until 1969 when it removed February 14 from the General Roman Calendar with this pronouncement: "Though the memorial of St. Valentine is ancient, it is left to particular calendars, since, aprt from his name, nothing is known of St. Valentine except that he was buried on the Via Flaminia on February 14."
However, there were only three Valentines honored on February 14:
* Valentine of Terni, a bishop who was killed on AD 197 during the persecution of Emperor Aurelian and buried at the Basilica of St. Valentine in Terni.
* Valentine of Rome, a priest who was martyred on AD 269 and interred at the Church of Saint Praxed in Rome.
* Valentine of Africa, who was slain in the continent together with a number of cleric-companions. Nothing more is known about him.
In their medieval biographies, these Valentines were not attributed any romantic element that could have tied one of them to the essence of Valentine's Day celebrations in modern times.
St. Bede or Beda had a brief excerpt on St. Valentine in his Legenda Aurea (The Golden Legend). He named Valentinus as the priest who was "persecuted as a Christian and interrogated by Roman Emperor Claudius II." That was Bishop of Valentine of Terni (then called Interamna), one of the three priests we mentioned at the start. When Emperor Claudius II decided that single men made better soldiers than those with wives and families, he outlawed marriage for young men - his crop of potential soldiers. Valentine, realizing the injustice of the decree, defied Claudius and continued to perform marriages for young lovers in secret. When Valentine's actions were discovered, Claudius ordered that he be put to death. Other stories suggest that Valentine may have been killed for attempting to help Christians escape harsh Roman prisons where they often beaten, tortured and finally beheaded outside the Flaminian Gate.
In subsequent modern embellishments to his story while in prison, Valentine would find and offer prayers for little notes sent by his parishioners, which were folded up and hidden in cracks in the rocks around his cell. Young people came to visit him, throwing flowers and notes through his cell window. And as he awaited his tragic fate, Valentine met and fell in love with the jailer's daughter, the blind Asterius. A miracle happened during their brief trysts - Valentine restored her eyesight.
And as a fitting postscript to Valentine's tale, the final farewell note he sent Asterius was signed, "From Your Valentine."Now, I know the history of St. Valentine, which commemorates on February 14. Now, feel the season of happiness and love this memorable event.
Meanwhile these three remain: faith, hope, and love; and the greatest of these is LOVE...
1 Corinthians 13:13
HAPPY HEARTS DAY!!! :)
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