The ‘real’ St. Valentine was no patron of love

[Michie]

On Feb. 14, sweethearts of all ages will exchange cards, flowers, candy, and more lavish gifts in the name of St. Valentine. But as a historian of Christianity, I can tell you that at the root of our modern holiday is a beautiful fiction. St. Valentine was no lover or patron of love.

Valentine’s Day, in fact, originated as a liturgical feast to celebrate the decapitation of a third-century Christian martyr, or perhaps two. So, how did we get from beheading to betrothing on Valentine’s Day?

Early origins of St. Valentine​

Ancient sources reveal that there were several St. Valentines who died on Feb. 14. Two of them were executed during the reign of Roman Emperor Claudius Gothicus in 269-270 A.D., at a time when persecution of Christians was common.

How do we know this? Because, an order of Belgian monks spent three centuries collecting evidence for the lives of saints from manuscript archives around the known world.

They were called Bollandists after Jean Bolland, a Jesuit scholar who began publishing the massive 68-folio volumes of “Acta Sanctorum,”or “Lives of the Saints,” beginning in 1643.

Since then, successive generations of monks continued the work until the last volume was published in 1940. The Brothers dug up every scrap of information about every saint on the liturgical calendar and printed the texts arranged according to the saint’s feast day.

The Valentine martyrs​

Continued below.

The ‘real’ St. Valentine was no patron of love

Valentine’s Day originated as a feast to celebrate the decapitation of a third-century Christian martyr, or perhaps two. It took a gruesome path to becoming a romantic holiday.

theconversation.com

 

[Michie]

Will the Real St. Valentine Please Stand Up?

It's hard to figure out who St. Valentine really was, but easy to ascertain why he makes such an impression on the imagination even today.

www.catholic.com

 

[The Liturgist]

Out of curiosity @Michie don’t you think it might be better if the article used a qualification like “erotic love” or “romantic love” or used the word “romance”, since God is love, and many of the most loving Catholic saints that one associates with a supreme love for God and for their Christian brothers and sisters, like St. Francis of Assisi or St. Catharine of Sienna or St. Dominic Guzman or St. Philip Neri have been celibate, and many others have been martyrs like St. Valentinus?

 

[RileyG]

Out of curiosity @Michie don’t you think it might be better if the article used a qualification like “erotic love” or “romantic love” or used the word “romance”, since God is love, and many of the most loving Catholic saints that one associates with a supreme love for God and for their Christian brothers and sisters, like St. Francis of Assisi or St. Catharine of Sienna or St. Dominic Guzman or St. Philip Neri have been celibate, and many others have been martyrs like St. Valentinus?

Also, if I can add, I think many people confuse lust with love, which is what (secular) Valentine's Day is all about.

 

[The Liturgist]

Also, if I can add, I think many people confuse lust with love, which is what (secular) Valentine's Day is all about.

Now that being said, a dear friend of mine, whose husband reposed a few years ago, did conceive her son on the feast day of St. Valentine after many unsuccessful attempts and miscarriages, for which she and her late husband, memory eternal, were grateful, and I have no doubt that the holy martyrs named Valentinus who we commemorate on that day interceded for them, and their son has also become dear to me. Their relationship was one of true marital love, not always a state of nuptial bliss, but they loved each other and their son, and it was not a case of lust, as far as I am concerned, for lust would not sustain a marriage of such length and profundity.

 

[RileyG]

Now that being said, a dear friend of mine, whose husband reposed a few years ago, did conceive her son on the feast day of St. Valentine after many unsuccessful attempts and miscarriages, for which she and her late husband, memory eternal, were grateful, and I have no doubt that the holy martyrs named Valentinus who we commemorate on that day interceded for them, and their son has also become dear to me.

That's wonderful! May St. Valentine pray for us all and those who experience infertility

 

[Michie]

Out of curiosity @Michie don’t you think it might be better if the article used a qualification like “erotic love” or “romantic love” or used the word “romance”, since God is love, and many of the most loving Catholic saints that one associates with a supreme love for God and for their Christian brothers and sisters, like St. Francis of Assisi or St. Catharine of Sienna or St. Dominic Guzman or St. Philip Neri have been celibate, and many others have been martyrs like St. Valentinus?

No. I think the article shows that love is a choice and it endures in all circumstances if one truly loves. People often see love as an emotion that brings only pleasure and benefits. I think St. Valentine showed that love is not always a pleasurable thing. It is a choice for us. A test of loyalty of what our faith teaches us and what God has endured since creation. Maybe before our creation with the fallen angels turning against Him. To see what love is, one only needs to read Scripture. People always discuss heartbreak but our God has experienced ultimate heartbreak from the beginning and experiences it to this day, yet He endures out of love for us and his mercy. St. Valentine is a pretty good example of the imo. Erotic love and romance is just a couple of love’s benefits. Love is much deeper and multifaceted than that. Love is not always candy hearts and flowers. Few of us know how to endure all it entails.

 

[RileyG]

No. I think the article shows that love is a choice and it endures in all circumstances if one truly loves. People often see love as an emotion that brings only pleasure. I think St. valentine showed that love is not always a prettier pleasurable thing. It is a choice for us. A test of loyalty of what our faith teaches us and what God has endured since creation. To see what love is, one only needs to read Scripture. People always discuss heartbreak, our God has experiences heartbreak from the beginning of out existence. Yet He endures out of love for us and his mercy. St. Valentine is a pretty good example of the imo. Erotic love and romance is just a couple of love’s benefits. But love is much deeper and multifaceted than that. Love is not always candy hearts and flowers.

Very well said, Michie!

 

[The Liturgist]

No. I think the article shows that love is a choice and it endures in all circumstances if one truly loves. People often see love as an emotion that brings only pleasure and benefits. I think St. Valentine showed that love is not always a pleasurable thing. It is a choice for us. A test of loyalty of what our faith teaches us and what God has endured since creation. Maybe before our creation with the fallen angels turning against Him. To see what love is, one only needs to read Scripture. People always discuss heartbreak but our God has experienced ultimate heartbreak from the beginning and experiences it to this day, yet He endures out of love for us and his mercy. St. Valentine is a pretty good example of the imo. Erotic love and romance is just a couple of love’s benefits. Love is much deeper and multifaceted than that. Love is not always candy hearts and flowers. Few of us know how to endure all it entails.

Indeed, that is what I meant. Few people are willing to make the sacrifices true love requires.

 

[The Liturgist]

Very well said, Michie!

Indeed so.