Dear Brothers and Sisters:
This week we celebrate Valentine’s Day, so…Happy Valentine’s Day! While the Church Calendar no longer officially remembers St. Valentine on February 14th, (St Valentinus was dropped from the calendar in the liturgical reform of 1969), we still celebrate his feast in a very popular way.
Valentine’s day, like most holidays, has taken on a secular life of its own. Rather than being a day of celebrating the love exemplified by the gift of the Roman Martyr, Valentinus, a priest who died in persecution of Christians during the first century, it is rather a commercial holiday known for the sale of heart shaped boxes of candy, flowers (roses!), cards, and dinner reservations – oh, and jewelry! Sorry if I sound jaded. It’s not that I didn’t get enough valentines cards when I was a kid. I guess I am just fed up with the commercialization we are constantly being subjected too. Valentinus was a martyr. He laid down his life for his flock. His was a selfless gift and example of faith and trust in God. Somehow we have gone from one end of the spectrum to the other! Don’t get me wrong. I want every husband and wife, boyfriend and girlfriend, sweetheart and sweetheart – to celebrate love, but just not the trappings of love…Rather I want you all to celebrate REAL LOVE! Love that does not need to be watered. Love that isn’t wrapped in light blue boxes and tied with white ribbon (you know what store I’m thinking of). Instead, I want you to celebrate with love that is bigger and more profound than that! I want you to celebrate a love that risks everything for another person! Love that has the courage to lay aside personal wants and desires for the greatest good for another. Love that is abiding and deep as the ocean and burns with an intensity that can never be quenched. Love that is all forgiving, all embracing, and endless. What? You think that it does not exist? But I know it does. I have caught glimpses of it, though I have never seen it face to face. I know what it looks like and have heard it whisper. Simply put, it is God. What would make Valentinus and myriads of others lay down their lives out of love? What would make Jesus embrace the cross? What could be the driving force that has propelled the Church for centuries? It’s simply God’s love. God’s love makes us strong, fearless, and brave against the worst odds. And with it we can do anything, be anyone, conquer anything, and accomplish everything, because its source is endless and all encompassing. It’s a perfect love. I want you to have even the smallest portion of that love for one another. If you do, then you don’t need candy or flowers or cards. You have all you need already!
I hope this coming Valentine’s weekend you will take the opportunity to reflect on why and how you love the people who are special in your life. Think about why you love them and what they mean to you. After all, the chocolate will be gone (quickly- except the fruit filled pieces, ugh!), the flowers will fade, the cards will go in a drawer or the garbage, but real love – that’s 365, 24/7 never fades and it makes everything else worthwhile. That’s the love God has for us. Thank goodness God loves us so perfectly. Let’s try to do the same for each other!
Peace,
Fr. Steve