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| YOU ARE MY VALENTINE |
Dear Beloved
Thank you for being there, at least on my mind. You have the most loving and forgiving heart I have ever known and I can assure you that you will remain the center of attention for me. I will do everything in my capacity to keep you happy. Ours will be an everlasting friendship because two inseparable souls cannot live in isolation. The day I discovered you, was the happiest day of my life. When I thought of you for the first time, I knew I had found someone wonderful. And ever since then, all I have wanted is to be with you. Seeing you happy brightens my day and makes me think I am doing the right things. How can we let our love be sacrificed to the will of these mundane people? I know I cannot, and I hope that you cannot, for if you leave me, I shall never recover. In you I trust and in you I exist for without you, my existence would have been in vain…
This year’s Valentine gift I have for you is to bring to your notice the meaning of valentine and that is LOVE. Our love exist but the love of Christ surpasses all love for “Though we are incomplete, God loves us completely. Though we are imperfect, He loves us perfectly. Though we may feel lost and without compass, God's love encompasses us completely. ... He loves every one of us, even those who are flawed, rejected, awkward, sorrowful, or broken.” ― Dieter F. Uchtdorf
…Valentine by Father O'Gara,
"What Valentine means to me as a priest," explains Father O'Gara, "is that there comes a time where you have to lay your life upon the line for what you believe. And with the power of the Holy Spirit we can do that -- even to the point of death."
Flowers, candy, red hearts and romance. That's what Valentine's Day is all about, right? Well, maybe not.
The origin of this holiday for the expression of love really isn't romantic at all -- at least not in the traditional sense. Father Frank O'Gara of Whitefriars Street Church in Dublin, Ireland, tells the real story of the man behind the holiday -- St. Valentine.
"He was a Roman Priest at a time when there was an emperor called Claudias who persecuted the church at that particular time," Father O'Gara explains. " He also had an edict that prohibited the marriage of young people. This was based on the hypothesis that unmarried soldiers fought better than married soldiers because married soldiers might be afraid of what might happen to them or their wives or families if they died."
"I think we must bear in mind that it was a very permissive society in which Valentine lived," says Father O'Gara. "Polygamy would have been much more popular than just one woman and one man living together. And yet some of them seemed to be attracted to Christian faith. But obviously the church thought that marriage was very sacred between one man and one woman for their life and that it was to be encouraged. And so it immediately presented the problem to the Christian church of what to do about this."
"The idea of encouraging them to marry within the Christian church was what Valentine was about. And he secretly married them because of the edict."
Valentine was eventually caught, imprisoned and tortured for performing marriage ceremonies against command of Emperor Claudius the second. There are legends surrounding Valentine's actions while in prison.
"One of the men who was to judge him in line with the Roman law at the time was a man called Asterius, whose daughter was blind. He was supposed to have prayed with and healed the young girl with such astonishing effect that Asterius himself became Christian as a result."
In the year 269 AD, Valentine was sentenced to a three part execution of a beating, stoning, and finally decapitation all because of his stand for Christian marriage. The story goes that the last words he wrote were in a note to Asterius' daughter. He inspired today's romantic missives by signing it, "from your Valentine."
"What Valentine means to me as a Christian," explains Father O'Gara, "is that there comes a time where you have to lay your life upon the line for what you believe. And with the power of the Holy Spirit we can do that -- even to the point of death."
"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 -- some great need of God in your life. And we know, particularly in the 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. Don't be surprised if the 'gushing' love that you have for someone changes to something less "gushing" but maybe much more mature. And the question is, is that young person ready for that?"
"So on the day of the marriage they have to take that into context," Father O'Gara says. "Love -- human love and sexuality is wonderful, and blessed by God -- but also the shadow of the cross. That's what Valentine means to me."
Love from Jesus
This Christian Valentine message
sends you love I got from Jesus,
love I learned from the gospels,
found in His words,
His actions, His example.
This Christian Valentine saying
conveys love I didn't have
before I was saved,
couldn't relate to or understand
before I gave my life to the Lord.
On Valentine's Day,
know that I love you and want to
lift you up, encourage you and serve you.
Happy Valentine's Day!
Love from Jesus
This Christian Valentine message
sends you love I got from Jesus,
love I learned from the gospels,
found in His words,
His actions, His example.
This Christian Valentine saying
conveys love I didn't have
before I was saved,
couldn't relate to or understand
before I gave my life to the Lord.
On Valentine's Day,
know that I love you and want to
lift you up, encourage you and serve you.
Happy Valentine's Day!
What Valentine Can I Give Him?
What can I give to Jesus
On this special Valentine's Day?
How can I tell Him I'll love Him,
And follow Him, come what may?
How can I show I need Him?
Should I send a red heart, with lace?
How can I thank Him enough
For his sacrifice, love and grace?
What Valentine can I give Him,
My adoration to impart?
I'll give to Him what He wants most;
I'll yield to Him my heart.
Valentine Divine
When Jesus Christ decided to
Give us a Valentine,
He followed His Father's orders--
The task God did assign.
He gave Himself, His life, His all,
For this special Valentine,
Knowing He would change the world;
Real love He'd redefine.
It's sacrifice we need to give
To a beloved Valentine;
When we do that, we get a glimpse
Of the holy and divine.
Oh Lord, please help us be like you,
With every Valentine.
When we love each other as You did,
It's then that we're really Thine.
Love Him
On Valentine's Day, I'm reminded
that the love, affection and hopes
I have for you
are derived from the love I have for Him,
our Lord and Savior,
because he showed the ultimate love
for you, me, all of us.
I really want to uplift you, serve you,
enrich your life,
because I love Him,
and that's what He wants us to do.
On Valentine's Day,
I'm praying for you
that your every prayer is answered,
that your every holy wish comes true
because you love Him.
The Lord's Valentine
I'm glad the Lord chose you
As His Valentine for me,
And when I search your eyes
Christian love is what I see.
A love that gives its all
No matter what the price,
A love that gives a glimpse
Of heavenly paradise.
Dear Valentine, I'm joyful
To know that you are mine,
And that our Christian love
Is sacred, blessed, divine.
Love You Like Jesus Loves
On Valentine's Day
I reaffirm my deep and abiding love for you.
I continually pray to love you
like Jesus loves:
wholly, selflessly, completely.
I continually pray
to be the person
God wants me to be for you.
I appreciate you
for your heart full of love for me,
for your dependably fine character
and for the special gifts God has given you,
that I notice and admire and treasure.
I am abundantly blessed
that you are mine eternally.
Happy Valentine's Day, Sweetheart;
My heart and my love are yours forever.
Hearts Fixed on the Lord
On Valentine's Day, we pray
that we will always
have our hearts fixed on the Lord.
On Valentine's Day, we pray
that the love our Lord showed for us
will transfer from Him to us,
manifested in our desire
to serve those who need us.
On Valentine's Day, we pray to remember
the origin of all love, from the beginning,
and the source of all love we know now
is our Lord, Jesus Christ.
In Jesus' name we pray; amen.
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