John Schweska| Correspondent
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The Christian feast day of St. Valentine on Feb.14 was first celebrated in the late 5th century when Pope Gelasius dedicated the day to the bishop St. Valentine’s martyrdom as a commemoration of Christian love. The celebration replacedthe earlier pagan holiday of fertility rituals, the Roman festival of Lupercalia.
Many beautiful stories phenomenally arose over the centuries about St. Valentine, some more than likely arising from the sacred oral tradition, and no doubt as time passed, a few were much embellished.
Whatever the case, the tales all have a remarkable consistency which convey a spiritual portrait of a loving man, bishop and priest who had a tender concern for married couples,sweethearts, genuine friendships, and those serving the needy, sick,abused and persecuted. It is certain that Valentine was martyred for proclaiming the Good News and helping others to live virtually and united to Christ.
That in itself is the greatest display of love, as Jesus tells us: “Greater love no one has than to lay down one’s life for his friend” (John 15:13).
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St. Valentine of Terni lived and died for and in Christ and in His Sacred Heart. Of all the Valentine symbols from medieval to modern day Valentine traditions, “the heart” —Jesus’s Heart — is the most loving and pure, a heart burning with an incomparable love for each of us.St Valentine leads us to base all love, friendship and caring for one another in the love of the Heart of Jesus — that same Heart that was pierced with a lance for our wholeness and reconciliation with God, self and others. (John 19:34).
As we celebrate St. Valentine’s Day in a deeper, more spiritual tone this year (on the same day we begin Lent on Ash Wednesday),let us walk with St. Valentine to Jesus and hear Jesus’ words: “Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble of heart, and you will find rest for your souls” (Matthew11:29). The journey of true, lasting love is a humble outpouring of one’s self in union with Jesus and with Him, for God and others. Such love makes us “true Valentine hearts” and “models of caring” for others all year round — and highlights that remarkable friendship and union with Christ, one that brings a rest and joy that no other love can match. It envelops all our other loves in goodness and light. Like the disciples in Emmaus, we will too will say: “Were not our hearts burning within us when he talked to us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?” (Luke 24:32).
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John Schweska is a licensed professional counselor for loss, crisis and life re-directions, a retreat and spiritual conference speaker, and a graduate of the College of the Holy Cross with master's degrees in counseling from Hunter College and systematic theology from Immaculate Conception Seminary at Seton Hall University.
