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A Valentine's Day (history) Lesson

Posted by Barbara Lynn Cantone on February 13, 2011 5 Comments

I received a message this morning from an old friend who had an amazing experience last night: He went to his local drive-through restaurant and ordered a milkshake. When he pulled out his debit card to pay, the cashier said, "That's ok, the guy ahead of you paid for your order, too!"

Isn't that awesome?

It reminded me that tomorrow is Valentine's Day and it's all about the Love. And it got me thinking about St. Valentine. You say you don't know much about Valentine? Well, let my inner geek enlighten your inner geek:

According to The Nuremberg Chronicle and The Legenda Aurea (thank you, Wikipedia), Valentine was a Roman priest caught performing marriages between Christian couples during the reign of Claudius II. Claudius was an emperor known for his terrific attempts to torture and exterminate Christians. When put on trial for his life, Valentine refused to deny his faith and in doing so was sentenced to death. The night before his beheading, in a miraculous act of mercy, Valentine restored sight and hearing to the jailer's daughter.

Valentine's true identity remains a bit of a mystery: The documentation surrounding these acts of faith have not been historically verified and may in reality be attributed to one of several men named Valentine. (The religious holiday was actually deleted from the Roman Catholic calendar back in the 1960s for these very reasons.) Regardless, I think about his story and I am struck with humble admiration by his courage. What's even more intriguing to me is that when faced with inevitable death, Valentine still went on to bless those who cursed him by healing the jailer's daughter.

Maybe Valentine's martyrdom was fabricated. But we know all too well that such atrocities have occurred. That they still occur. Have you read the paper lately? But we also know that tremendous acts of mercy have occurred. That they, too, still occur - they just don't appear in the headlines. And that is what makes Valentine's story so moving for me: Humans are capable of showing great courage. Humans are capable of dispensing great mercy. They have done so in the past. They do so now. Very often, without public praise or fanfare.

I suspect that any of you reading this is blessed enough to be living in a place where you don't have to worry about showing great courage in the day-to-day. Martyrdom may not be in your immediate future. So how does Valentine's story translate for you?

I suspect it translates into the little things.

Like having the courage to tell someone you love him.
Or the courage to say "no" when your boss asks you to do something unethical.
Or the courage to talk to your loved ones about something difficult.
By being merciful to someone who needs a seat on the subway.

By texting a message to a friend who is going through a difficult time.
Or helping your neighbor shovel out the driveway.
Or making dinner for your elderly grandmother.
Or playing Chutes n Ladders with your children.

Or by buying a milkshake for a stranger at the Chik-fil-A.
 
However that translates for you, I would encourage you to be mindful of Valentine this year. Use your time and resources as a way of honorably remembering his story. Use your time and resources as a way of honoring all those people out there who still need to show great courage and dispense great mercy. Share the Love.

Happy Valentine's Day
Barbara Lynn 

Image above: Saint Valentine of Terni oversees the construction of his basilica at Terni, from a 14th century French manuscript