Do you ever wonder why we celebrate Valentine's Day?
The Feast of Saint Valentine has been celebrated on 14 February since 496 AD. Valentine, the patron saint of marital love, was a third-century bishop who ministered to persecuted Christians. Through the years his name became associated with noble and marital love. The stories about him from history are not very reliable, but still paint a picture of a kind priest and compassionate bishop who performed marriages among the persecuted Christians and helped them in other ways, which led to his own death.
By the way, we protestants do not venerate or "pray" to saints the same as some Roman Catholics do, but we do recognize the devotion and example of many of those historic Christians called saints. According to the Bible, all believers are considered "saints" (Colossians 1:2, for example.) A "patron saint" in the Catholic Church is a saint who they believe has a special association with some people or situation. We use the term "patron saint" more informally.
Yet it can be a very good thing to celebrate Valentine's Day as a Christian couple. The love that Valentine represents is not the selfish, erotic, emotional lust of the world, but the kind, considerate, sacrificial, protecting, uplifting love of Jesus Christ. The Teutonic Knights called this "courtly love" ("Minne" auf Deutsch). So as we celebrate Valentine's Day, let's keep the true Christ-like love in mind. That is a good reason to celebrate.
