The Story of Saint Valentine

Camas, WA:  St. Valentine’s Day started as a Catholic holiday honoring two men named Valentine who were martyred in consecutive years during the Roman festival of Lupercalia - a bloody, violent and perverse pagan celebration including animal sacrifice and random coupling under the guise of “love.” 

At the end of the 5th century, Pope Gelasius I forbid the celebration of Lupercalia and is sometimes attributed with replacing it with St. Valentine's Day.  According to Catholic Online,  Pope Saint Valentine, officially known as Saint Valentine of Rome, a third-century Roman saint is widely celebrated on February 14 commonly associated with courtly love to  celebrate and to honor true love in marriage

"Although not much of St. Valentine's life is reliably known, and whether or not the stories involve two different saints by the same name is also not officially decided, it is highly agreed that St. Valentine was martyred and then buried on the Via Flaminia to the north of Rome.

In 1969, the Roman Catholic Church removed St. Valentine from the General Roman Calendar, because so little is known about him. However, the church still recognizes him as a saint, listing him in the February 14 spot of Roman Martyrolgy."

Father Jim based his Sunday Homely this week on 1 Corinthians 12-31  below.

He suggests people read the paragraph replacing love with their own name and see what they think:

1 Cor 12:31—13:13 

"Brothers and sisters:

Strive eagerly for the greatest spiritual gifts.

But I shall show you a still more excellent way. 

If I speak in human and angelic tongues,

but do not have love,

I am a resounding gong or a clashing cymbal.

And if I have the gift of prophecy,

and comprehend all mysteries and all knowledge;

if I have all faith so as to move mountains,

but do not have love, I am nothing.

If I give away everything I own,

and if I hand my body over so that I may boast,

but do not have love, I gain nothing"