Forty nine years ago I proposed to the love of my life on Valentine’s Day (actually it was a few days before because I couldn’t wait!). Am I a hopeless romantic or just a victim of the crass commercialization of yet another pagan festival? Well, it did start as a pagan Roman festival called Lupercalia, a.k.a. Februa (from which we get February), which involved young men draped in the skins of sacrificed goats roaming through the streets and lashing women with strips of goat skin to increase their fertility. How romantic!?
Fortunately, just like Easter, Halloween and Christmas, the Church instituted a Christian alternative to these pagan practices. They chose the priest St. Valentine as an example for us to follow. Going against the edict of Emperor Claudius II, who preferred to keep his soldiers single, St. Valentine readily officiated at their weddings. Eventually, on February 14th, he was martyred by the Romans, not just because he promoted marital love but ultimately because he loved God more than his life, refusing to renounce his faith!
That’s why Valentine’s Day became the occasion to show love to one another, especially to those we have chosen as our life mates. But why do we need a day like that; how did love become such a driving force in our lives? Meat Loaf said it for all of us - “we would do anything for love!” To love and be loved are the two strongest psychological needs we have, and sometimes even greater than our need for self-preservation, as the martyrs of our faith clearly illustrate.
The reason we act this way is because of our Creator. We love because He first loved us (1 John 4:19). It was God’s love that compelled Him to create us. It was that love that drove Jesus to die for us. It is His love for each of us that offers unconditional acceptance, forgiveness and a welcoming embrace into His eternal family.
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