Valentine's Day

 Have you ever thought that something you do or say, or maybe a letter you write, would be saved for years to come?

Does it every occur to you that your story might become a legend thousands of years later?

There is much lore and legend in the story of St. Valentine, and yet every year millions of dollars worth of food, flowers, vacations, and romantic gestures are made in his very name.

The general legend goes something like this…

Valentine was a doctor who turned priest in the Roman Catholic church during the reign of Claudius II. This Roman Emperor was so set on building his army that he didn’t want the men of Rome to be distracted by wives and families.

As a side note, this seems very short-sighted, because if men don’t have wives and families, then there wouldn’t be much of Rome left to rule after one generation.

But, apparently, this was not Claudius’ main concern. He was so adamant about this issue that he actually made it illegal for priests to perform weddings. However, the Christian church has a long history of bringing men and women together in matrimony, and Valentine refused to leave the young lovers in his care to the temptations of sin outside of marriage. So, he did what he was called to do by his vocation as priest, and he performed marriages, even though it was against the law.

It didn’t take long for Claudius to hear of this, and he had Valentine arrested and sent to prison. While in jail, Valentine continued to teach and preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ to anyone who would listen. If he couldn’t bring two lovebirds together in marriage, he could still bring the love of Christ to the ears of anyone who would hear it.

The jailer, Asterious, is said to have listened to the teachings of Valentine, and while this Roman had his doubts, he proclaimed that he would believe if only God would heal his daughter who had been blind since birth. Asterious brought his daughter, Julia, to visit with Valentine, and after a time, her sight was miraculously restored.

So many good reports of Valentine came from the jail, that Emperor Claudius himself went to visit Valentine, and enjoyed listening to him speak. He offered pardon and freedom for the prisoner, if only he would renounce the Christian faith. Instead, Valentine refused, and challenged Claudius to renounce the Roman gods and worship the one true God in Jesus Christ. This made Claudius so angry that he sentenced Valentine to be executed.

The day of his execution, February 14th, 270, Valentine left a note for Julia, and signed it “Love, Your Valentine”. 

Over the years, the stories of Valentine have grown and changed, and no historian today claims to know for certain the history of this man. But, whatever he did and said, it has been talked about for two thousand years.

May your faith be so bold that generations to come are telling stories of it.