Happy Saint Valentinus Day

Well, it is Valentine's Day, which begs the question: what is Valentine's Day? Glad you asked. Saint Valentine or Saint Valentinus refers to one or more martyred saints of ancient Rome. The feast of Saint Valentine was formerly celebrated on February 14 by the Roman Catholic Church until the revised calendar 1969.

His birth date and birthplace are unknown. Valentine's name does not occur in the earliest list of Romans martyrs, that compiled by the Chronographer of 354. The feast of St. Valentine was first decreed in 496 by Pope Galasius I, who included Valentine among those people "... whose names are justly reverenced among men, but whose acts are known only to God." As Gelasius implied, nothing is known about the lives of any of these martyrs.

According to the Catholic Encyclopedia, the saint whose feast was celebrated on the day now known as Saint Valentine's Day was possibly one of three martyred men named Valentinus who lived in the late third century, during the reign of Emperor Claudius II (died 270):
--a priest in Rome

--a bishop of Interamna (modern Terni)
--a martyr in the Roman province of Africa.
Various dates are given for their martyrdoms: 269, 270 or 273. As Gelasius implied, nothing is known about the lives of any of these martyrs. The name was a popular one in Late Antiquity, with its connotations of valens, "being strong".

Many of the current legends that characterise Saint Valentine were invented in the fourteenth century in England, notably by Geoffrey Chaucer and his circle, when the feast day of February 14 first became associated with romantic love.

So, let this romantic holiday with your lover be immersed in reflections on the death of faithful Christian martyrs for the sake of the gospel in an Empire that was vying for their worship and allegiance. I'm sure that is what you were thinking about doing anyway. Like so many other things, Valentine's Day is a reminder that God brings life from death. That 'God makes beauty out of ugly things.'