Valentine was a third century Roman priest who lived and ministered during the reign of Roman Emperor Claudius II, who persecuted Christians. Valentine could have chosen to keep a low profile during this dangerous time, but he didn't. He defied the law which forbade people from becoming Christians, by converting others and aiding Christians. Claudius issued an edict forbidding young people to marry; he preferred single soldiers in his army because they didn't have any "distractions." Valentine chose to quietly defy the law, and married Christian couples secretly. This was a very promiscuous period. Polygamy was widely practiced. By marrying young couples in Christian rites, Valentine was encouraging faithful married relationships.
Valentine was caught, imprisoned, and tortured. During his imprisonment, he met with a man named Asterius - either his jailer, or a judge - and discussed the Christian religion with him. Proving the depth of his faith, Valentine healed Asterius' daughter of her blindness, and Asterius converted to Christianity.
Later, Valentine met Claudius, who liked the priest - until Valentine also tried to convert him to Christianity. Enraged, Claudius ordered him to be executed. Legend says that the last note Valentine wrote before he was decapitated was to Asterius' daughter. He signed it "From your Valentine."
Fr. Frank O'Gara is assigned to Whitefriars Street Church in Dublin, Ireland, one of three Churches that claim to house some of Valentine's remains. He comments:
"Valentine has come to be known as the patron saint of lovers. Before you enter into a Christian marriage, you want some sense of God in your life. And we know, particularly in this modern world, many people are meeting God through His Son, Jesus Christ.... If Valentine were here today, he would say to married couples that there comes a time where you're going to have to suffer. It's not going to be easy to maintain your commitment and your vows in marriage....Love - human love and sexuality - is wonderful and is blessed by God, but also is under the shadow of the cross. That's what Valentine means to me."
But people in love aren't the only lovers in this world. Anyone who, out of sacrificial love, dedicates his or her life to helping others, is a true lover. God is Love - God is our greatest Lover - and anyone who loves lives in God, and God lives in him/her, spreading kindness, generosity, courageous acts, peace, and joy throughout this world.
Fr. O'Gara is inspired by Valentine, the priest, who loved so courageously and compassionately. He says
"What Valentine means to me as a priest is that there comes a time when you have to lay your life on the line for what you believe."
Very recently, the Church declared Bishop Oscar Romero of El Salvador a martyr. This Bishop laid his life down for his people, for what he believed. Bishop Romero was murdered - shot - as he celebrated Mass, dying as he knew he would die for loudly proclaiming that the corrupt government and the rich elite needed to stop persecuting the poor peasants. What a great lover of God's people!
In our own country, from its beginnings, how many men and women from different faith traditions have battled against religious intolerance, slavery, racism, sexism, ageism, wars, and environmental pollution, through non-violent protests and legislative actions. How many more continue to do so. These are true lovers of our country's ideals and our wonderfully diverse people.
Ordinary people can become true, courageous lovers of others. For example, in the 1740's, in Mount Holly, New Jersey, a Quaker clerk named John Woolman was asked to write a bill of sale for a slave to a local Quaker. He complied with the task, but the act troubled his conscience. Over time he became a married man with a daughter, a merchant, a tailor, a journalist, and preacher, traveling around to meet personally with individual Quakers who owned slaves, and to speak at various Quaker meetings about the evils of slavery. A true believer in non-violent persuasion, he worked within the Friends' tradition of seeking the guidance of the Spirit of Christ and patiently waiting to achieve unity in the Spirit. As he travelled, when he accepted hospitality from a slaveholder, he insisted on paying the slaves for their work in attending him.
Woolman became the leader of a movement within Quakerism that called upon their fellow Quakers to have no part in owning slaves or trading slaves. The Society of Friends became the first organization to take a collective stand against both slavery and the slave trade. By the end of the American Revolution, no Quaker in North America owned slaves.
My dear friends, no matter how young or how old you are, whether single, married, or a religious - be a Lover! Love what matters - the people whom God has put in your life, and the causes that affect others' ability to live with justice and dignity. Love faithfully and tenderly. Love passionately, and courageously! Allow your consciences to be troubled, so you can love as Jesus loved, without fear of the consequences. Only fear the compromise of your souls.
In short, love as St. Valentine loved. Belong to many people! May your lives be valentines of love, which bless and uplift hearts.