Saint Valentine

America Needs Fatima ^ | February 9, 2016

[Angelino97]

Saint Valentine, priest and martyr, lived nearly 1,700 years ago in pagan Rome.

Father Valentine answered God’s call to the priesthood at a time when it wasn’t easy to be a Catholic, and it was downright dangerous to be a priest or bishop.

The infant Catholic Church was being brutally persecuted by Emperor Claudius II. But that didn’t scare young Valentine! He knew that the Christian Faith was the only remedy for the sick and permissive society in which he lived. Especially when it came to Her teachings about the relationship that should exist between a man and a woman as husband and wife.

Polygamy was the norm in pagan Rome. And to make matters worse, the Emperor issued 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 their wives or families if they died in battle.

Saint Valentine took that edict as a challenge. He made it his own personal mission to share the Catholic vision of marriage and the graces of the Sacrament with all those who would listen. And he would go one step further; he would secretly marry as many couples as he could.

Father Valentine was eventually caught, imprisoned and tortured for performing marriage ceremonies against the edict of Emperor Claudius II. But even while in prison, Father Valentine found ways to carry on his mission.

One of the men who was to judge him was a man called Asterius, whose daughter was blind. Saint Valentine prayed with her and healed the young girl with such charity and compassion that Asterius himself became a Christian as a result.

In the year 269 AD, Valentine was sentenced to execution all because of his stand for Christian marriage. The last words he wrote were in a note to Asterius' daughter. He inspired today's romantic missives by signing it, "from your Valentine."

So what does it REALLY mean to be a “Valentine”? Simply this: that there comes a time when you have to lay your life on the line for what you believe. And with the power of the Holy Spirit we can do that – just like Saint Valentine.

[aquila48]

[Beowulf9]

I don’t know if “Polygamy was the norm in pagan Rome” ?

[unlearner]

“Father Valentine answered God’s call to the priesthood at a time when it wasn’t easy to be a Catholic”

It was even harder to be a Protestant back then.

;-)

Seriously, the Church was always the catholic/universal spiritual body of Christ on earth. But the label “The Catholic Church” came about hundreds of years later.

However, today the name is contradictory because it excludes multitudes of Christian denominations and autonomous local churches worldwide.

The true Church is known only to God and is made up of the people who are believers indwelled by the Holy Spirit. These are the “called out ones”, aka The Church. The Church is not land, buildings, steeples, stained glass, books, hymnals, pulpits, pews, benches, baptistries, altars, or a separate class of believers commonly called the “clergy”. The Church is people.

Peter was never a “Pope”. There was never any singular Head over the Church other than Jesus Christ. When the disciples debated who would have the preeminate position Jesus corrected them and made it very clear that the authority structure of the Church would NOT be in the manner of the world:

Matthew 20:25-26 NKJV
But Jesus called them to Himself and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those who are great exercise authority over them. Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you, let him be your servant.”

It is clear from the context of the above passage that the disciples were quarreling over who would have the highest authority and be able to tell others what to do. We see this demonstrated next as Christ washes the disciples’ feet (the job of a lowly servant).

The apostles, including Peter, were chosen by Christ to lay the foundation of the Church. They trained “faithful men” to continue their work of building the Church after their departure, but subsequent generations of leaders were not apostles and only conveyed apostolic authority to the extent they preserved and taught the writings of the apostles which were the completion of the Holy Scriptures and general revelation.

The Catholic Church teaches that “unity of doctrine” is a key marker of the true church, meaning that a consistent and unified set of beliefs across all members, based on the teachings of the Apostles, is a necessary characteristic of the one true Church established by Christ, and serves as a way to identify it.

If this is true, it should not be hard to believe that Apostles were able to settle disputes and disagreements, establish traditions, and clarify Biblical doctrines in full agreement with one another and without any single apostle needing to have the final say. This is what they practiced, and it is the example they set for future leaders and members of the Church.