Happy Valentine’s Day 2016!

Today, on Febuary 14th, 2016 – let’s continued be inspired. To learn how to give more, to love greater, and to believe in the power of Virtue.

On Valentine’s day we see all the red flowers, cards, and a cycle of expectations and material things. While this is good in it’s own way, it isn’t the point and certainly not the only way to show love.

Love is beyond those pink ribbons, chocolate boxes, and post cards. While I give them myself, due to an expectation, we shouldn’t be required to.

Give flowers every month, chocolates every week. Give love everyday. Why not?

Why do we even have Valentine’s Day?

You can Thank Saint Valentine.

Saint Valentine was a Roman Priest during the reign of Emperor Claudias, who had persecuted members of the church at that particular time.

Claudias had enacted a law that prohibited the marriage of young people. This was based on the hypothesis that unmarried soldiers fought better than married soldiers – because married soldiers might be afraid to die if they had wives or families to go back to.

The legend claims that soldiers were sparse at the time so this was a big inconvenience to Emperor Claudias. Valentine also refused to sacrifice to the pagan roman gods, as Christ never commanded this.

Valentine lived in very harsh and critical times, and he had the courage to go against this confinement edict.

The church established that marriage was very sacred and believed that it was to be encouraged. This immediately presented a problem to the church about what to do.

The idea of encouraging people to marry, under God, was what Valentine was all about. And he secretly married them despite the edict law.

Valentine was eventually caught, imprisoned and tortured for performing marriage ceremonies against command of Emperor Claudius the second.

One of the men who was to judge him in line with the Roman law at the time was a man called Asterius, whose daughter was blind.

Valentine performed a miracle through God and Christ when he prayed with the daughter, and healed the young girl of blindness and sickness.

Because of this miracle, with such astonishing effect, the roman judge Asterius himself became a Christian as the result.

In the year of 269 AD, Valentine was sentenced to a three part execution of a beating, stoning, and finally decapitation.

The last words he wrote were in a note to Asterius’ daughter, and then he signed it, “from your Valentine.”

Valentine was killed because he did the right thing, he believed in marriage, love, and that men have the right under god to be married and united.

Valentine has come to be known as the patron Saint of Lovers. Before you enter into a Christian marriage, it requires a priest to secure your vows, under God.
To this day, White friars Street Church is one church that house the remains of Valentine. Today, many people make the pilgrimage to the church to honor the courage, and memory of this Christian Saint.