Earlier this week, many of us celebrated Valentine’s Day. Did you know that Saint Valentine was a real person who upheld the sanctity of marriage and the holy beauty of the Gospel?
According to church tradition, in around 270 A.D., Emperor Claudius II outlawed marriage in Rome. The emperor needed soldiers to defend his empire. He believed the loyalties of married men rendered them less-effective warriors. Claudius also outlawed Christianity, proclaiming himself the supreme god and Emperor of Rome.
Valentine served as a bishop and defied the emperor’s ruling by secretly performing marriage ceremonies for couples in his area. According to tradition, Valentine also partnered with Saint Marius and his family to assist persecuted believers. Some accounts of Valentine’s story include him helping condemned Christ followers elude imprisonment and execution.
Claudius captured Valentine and demanded he renounce his faith and serve the empire and Roman gods. Valentine refused to deny his Lord Jesus. Awaiting his martyrdom, he continued to preach the Gospel and win others to Christ.
Some accounts record that while in prison, Valentine healed the jailer’s daughter, Asterius, of blindness. Other legends record Valentine and Asterius falling in love. He wrote her a final letter, signed “From your Valentine.”
Though Valentine was imprisoned, he was well liked by Emperor Claudius. He was not condemned to death until he shared the Gospel with Claudius, attempting to convert the emperor. Claudius ordered his death on Feb. 14, 270 A.D.
In 496 A.D., Pope Gelasius declared Feb. 14 a commemoration of Valentine’s martyrdom.
Does this make you wonder: How have present-day Valentine customs become more about chocolates, flowers and jewelry rather than remembering a holy man’s ministry and sacrifice? Saint Valentine’s Day was instated for holy recollection and prayer. Have our hearts and ears become so clogged with romantic notes and candy that we miss out on the heart of Saint Valentine?
Let’s proclaim with words and lifestyle the treasure of marriage and the unending worth of the good news of Jesus, a message worthy of our complete surrender and even our lives.
