Today, I was privileged to have spoken to a local Sister of St. Joseph. I should say that almost 100% of our experiences with them, collectively as a Catholic community, has been associated either with liturgical abuse or liberal activism.

However, this nun with whom I spoke today was a genuine nun, secure in her femininity, loyal to the Holy Father in Rome, and ever-loving to the Catholic Church as it is, not as others would make it. She saw me and smiled, and said,

“You know, I was thinking last night, and something dawned on me. Our Lord is the greatest Valentine of all. After all, He gave us His literal heart, His Sacred Heart, while all we can give each other are representations of love. He gave Love itself.”

So, bearing this in mind, dear friends, let us have a sacred day, a Sunday and a St. Valentine’s Day both rolled together to call us to a deeper realization of divine love. St. Valentine was slain for his love, and for the love of the Christians to whom he ministered. He was martyred, being both beaten and beheaded, for helping Christian couples achieve a Christian matrimony – not some pagan ritual of the Roman government. The Emperor, Claudius, called him before his presence, that he may see the criminal who dared violate Roman law. Valentine was unyielding. He died for love others, sacrificing his life for the nobility and the unique sanctity of marriage. This, truly was an embodiment of the love which poured forth from Our Lord’s pierced side on Calvary, the blood which flowed copiously from His Sacred Heart.

Tags: Orthodoxy at Work

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