Posted on 02/14/2007 6:58:25 AM PST by kellynla
A quick quiz: St. Valentine was:
a) a priest in the Roman Empire who helped persecuted Christians during the reign of Claudius II, was thrown in jail and later beheaded on Feb. 14.
b) a Catholic bishop of Terni who was beheaded, also during the reign of Claudius II.
c) someone who secretly married couples when marriage was forbidden, or suffered in Africa, or wrote letters to his jailer's daughter, and was probably beheaded.
d) all, some, or possibly none of the above.
If you guessed d), give yourself a box of chocolates. Although the mid-February holiday celebrating love and lovers remains wildly popular, the confusion over its origins led the Catholic Church, in 1969, to drop St. Valentine's Day from the Roman calendar of official, worldwide Catholic feasts. (Those highly sought-after days are reserved for saints with more clear historical record. After all, the saints are real individuals for us to imitate.) Some parishes, however, observe the feast of St. Valentine.
The roots of St. Valentine's Day lie in the ancient Roman festival of Lupercalia, which was celebrated on Feb. 15. For 800 years the Romans had dedicated this day to the god Lupercus. On Lupercalia, a young man would draw the name of a young woman in a lottery and would then keep the woman as a sexual companion for the year.
Pope Gelasius I was, understandably, less than thrilled with this custom. So he changed the lottery to have both young men and women draw the names of saints whom they would then emulate for the year (a change that no doubt disappointed a few young men). Instead of Lupercus, the patron of the feast became Valentine. For Roman men, the day continued to be an occasion to seek the affections of women, and it became a tradition to give out handwritten messages of admiration that included Valentine's name.
There was also a conventional belief in Europe during the Middle Ages that birds chose their partners in the middle of February. Thus the day was dedicated to love, and people observed it by writing love letters and sending small gifts to their beloved. Legend has it that Charles, duke of Orleans, sent the first real Valentine card to his wife in 1415, when he was imprisoned in the Tower of London. (He, however, was not beheaded, and died a half-century later of old age.)
"Um, today is the feast of Sts. Cyril and Methodius. The Catholic Church doesn't celebrate St Valentine's Feast day."
uuuhhhhhhh did I say it did...
gezzzzzzzz
The Catholic Church doesn't celebrate St Valentine's Feast day.
&&
Golly, one would never have guessed that, unless, of course, one read this in the piece:
Although the mid-February holiday celebrating love and lovers remains wildly popular, the confusion over its origins led the Catholic Church, in 1969, to drop St. Valentine's Day from the Roman calendar of official, worldwide Catholic feasts.
/s
"Golly, one would never have guessed that, unless, of course, one read this in the piece:"
Thank you! LOL
Of course some of the "geniuses" on FR are so anxious to be contrary about anything posted; that they fail to actually READ the entire posts.
Happy SAINT VALENTINE'S DAY to you and yours!
It's a touching, romantic custom we have in today's Church. Liturgists sit around the fluorescent-lit meeting rooms of parish offices, giving each other cards that say, "Be my Cyril and Methodius!"
You're correct about the current calendar, and C & M rule, of course, especially if your alphabet is Cyrillic. But calendars change, and the "sense of the faithful," who have venerated these saints for centures, often has the last laugh.
It was a weird time in the 1960s and '70s, when lisping modernists mounted a campaign to kick out of heaven any saint with a popular devotion (because modernists hate saints). St. Catherine didn't exist, the liturgists announced. (Bzzzt! She did after all, oops. She was put back on the calendar in 2002.) They were aiming for St. Nick, too, but that didn't work out. He was a bishop at the council of Nicaea. St. Christopher didn't exist, they claimed. (Bzzzt! In fact, he lived around 400 A.D., but may not have carried Jesus across the stream. So what.)
Three St. Valentines instead of one? Why is that an impediment to holding a feast? These same liturgy makeover artists took the feasts of the archangels Gabriel, Raphael, and Michael and sequestered them onto one feast day—I suspect to tone down the popular enthusiasm for angels. To me, the simplest explanation for the post-mortem persecution of St. Valentine is that the self-anointed experts hate popular devotions by instinct.
Thanks to these clowns, the Church is so far missing out on the opportunity to take back the day from the sleazy radio advertisers selling pajamas and lubricants (sorry to mention them), and devote it to a celebration of honest courtship, the Gospel of Life, and holy matrimony.
Three St. Valentines instead of one? Why is that an impediment to holding a feast? These same liturgy makeover artists took the feasts of the archangels Gabriel, Raphael, and Michael and sequestered them onto one feast day—I suspect to tone down the popular enthusiasm for angels. To me, the simplest explanation for the post-mortem persecution of St. Valentine is that the self-anointed experts hate popular devotions by instinct.
Thanks to these clowns, the Church is so far missing out on the opportunity to take back the day from the sleazy radio advertisers selling pajamas and lubricants (sorry to mention them), and devote it to a celebration of honest courtship, the Gospel of Life, and holy matrimony.
Great post! Pinging my list.
Preach it, brother!!!!
As our parochial vicar shouts (I'm sure they brought him in to shake up this parish), "Let somebody say AMEN!"
Ahh... it's the Lupercalia. My boss and I were wondering what the backstory was. I had thought he was a martyr. I have to refresh my memory every year.
Ahh... the founder of the Methodist Church!
BTW, let me be the first to remind the Catholic Community, Ash Wednesday is NOT a Holy Day of Obligation. But we'll probably all go to mass anyway. We should get it as a credit for some other HDO.
We celebrate it because it's our wedding anniversary. The 37th. This year, Valentines cards. Next year will be Anniversay cards. LOL
Happy Hallmark Holiday.Another excuse to sell..
What a gracious response! Sometimes we forget, onthese foolish FReeping threads, that God is eternal Love, not eternal argument.
Give your sweetie a kiss~!
...when lisping modernists mounted a campaign to kick out of heaven any saint with a popular devotion (because modernists hate saints).
**
I did not realize that that was the real reason behind demoting so many of the saints. Thanks for the info, SS.
And thanks, Pyro, for pinging me to Scot's answer.
And HAPPY SAINT VALENTINE'S DAY to you, as well.
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