St. Valentine is famous for his love of love, but did you also know about his steadfast love of God? He is the patron saint of love, engaged couples, happy marriages and more!
If you’re like me, you celebrated St. Valentine’s Feast Day before you could even pronounce his name. His love of love is world-renowned, but how much do you know about the real Valentine?
What We Know and Don’t Know about St. Valentine
The true story of Valentine is known only by God and Valentine himself, as the stories of his life are varied and may have been lost over the centuries. What we do know is that he was a servant of God (either a priest or a bishop) who was martyred for his faith around the year 269, and he is celebrated as a saint in heaven on February 14.
The Judge’s Daughter: A Healing Miracle of St. Valentine
In the city of Terni (in Italy), in the 3rd century, when it was illegal to be a Christian under Roman rule, Valentine was placed under house arrest in Judge Asterius’s house (for being a Christian, obviously).
Valentine attempted to evangelize the judge, who was not convinced. As a test, he brought his blind daughter to Valentine and asked him to cure her. By God’s grace, Valentine was able to cure the girl.
The judge was astonished and asked what to do after this miracle. Valentine told him to destroy all idols in the house and be baptized. Asterius went through the house smashing the false gods and had his entire household baptized.
As punishment for his Christianity, Valentine was martyred on February 14, but before his death, he wrote a note of consolation to the judge’s daughter, signing it “Your Valentine”.
(In a similar story, Valentine healed the blind daughter of the jailer while he was awaiting execution. Either someone forgot whom he healed, or Valentine was a man who healed many blind children.)
St. Valentine Fights for the Vocation of Marriage
In the 3rd century under Roman rule, Emperor Claudius needed more young men to enroll in his army. The usual length of service was 25 years.
Few men were willing to give up the best years of their lives. Years when they should be marrying and having children.
In order to draw men to the army, Emperor Claudius outlawed marriage. If you can’t get married, what else could you do but join the army? Or so he thought.
Valentine, knowing that marriage is a vocation and a calling from God, married many couples in secret. These married men were thus saved from being drafted into the Roman army.
Valentine’s actions were eventually found out, and he was thrown in jail. He was sentenced and died a martyr’s death, being beaten and beheaded.
We remember his love of God and dedication to the vocation of marriage each year on February 14.
Recipe to Celebrate St. Valentine’s Day
Celebrating saints should be simple enough to incorporate into your everyday life. Small things can help us focus on God.
If you’re a from-scratch baker like me, you can make Heart-Shaped Cinnamon Rolls to share with those you love! (Follow this link to get to the recipe page.)
If you aren’t much of a baker, or you just don’t have the time, you can buy pre-made rolled-up cinnamon rolls and reshape them into hearts, using the directions on my Heart-Shaped Cinnamon Rolls post. (Follow this link to get straight to the “shaping” directions.)
If you’re buying canned cinnamon rolls, be sure to buy “Pillsbury Grand’s Cinnamon Rolls”, or a similar “rolled-up” kind.
Prayer to St. Valentine
O Saint Valentine, lover of Christ and of the Church, we ask for you intersession that we may learn how to love God above all things, and to selflessly love one another. O glorious St. Valentine, pray for us, that we too may have the steadfast faith of the martyrs.
Happy St. Valentine’s Day!
Head over to the recipe for Overnight Heart-Shaped Cinnamon Rolls and get ready to celebrate!
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