Valentines Day

     It is said that Roman Emperor Claudius II, created a law forbidding marriage in hopes to booster his army. He believed that married men made poor soldiers. Valentine refused to adhere to the law and secretly performed marriage ceremonies for young men. When Claudius found out about this, he had Valentine arrested and thrown in jail.

     While in jail it is said that Valentine was interrogated by Roman Emperor Claudius II in person. Claudius was impressed by Valentine and had a discussion with him, attempting to get him to convert to Roman paganism in order to save his life. Valentine refused and tried to convert Claudius to Christianity instead. Because of this, he was executed. but before his execution, he is reported to have performed a miracle by healing his jailer's blind daughter whom he had befriended.

     On the evening before Valentine was to be executed, he would have written the first "valentine" card himself, addressed to the jailer's daughter whom he had befriended and healed. It was a note that read "From your Valentine."

     In 496 A.D. Christianity had taken over Rome and Pope Gelasius outlawed the pagan Lupercian Festival. Knowing it’s popularity, he looked to replace it with something more ‘appropriate’ and set aside a day in February to honor the martyr St. Valentine. Even though in 1969 Pope Paul VI removed St. Valentines Day from it’s calendar of ‘official’ holidays, it is still widely celebrated today.

     Today, Valentines has become a celebration of love, a day to tell those we love that we love them.

      Dear Lord, Thank you

• For all those who love us, including You
• For those whom we can love