The profound and enjoyable (and well sourced) classic 12th century poem, posted below by my colleague this morning, is clearly not in keeping with Christian teaching. The modern English translation from the Latin original (not by us at this blog) raises more questions that it answers.
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So is (or was) St. Valentine a myth, a very British festival or a commercial money spinner or perhaps all three?
Valentine was, probably, one of the early Christian martyrs. While he was in prison, in a Roman (in pre Christian conversion times) occupied territory, he healed the jailer's daughter of blindness. Just before he was put to death, on the fourteenth of February, for this and other miracles (talk about ingratitude) he sent a letter to the girl he had cured signed `from your Valentine.' In this way he is believed to have sent the first Valentine. This Valentine was also doing what many would seem to be God's will as he was giving sight to the blind, as Jesus did and duely reported in Matthew 9:29-30 "Then He touched their eyes and said `According to your faith will it be done to you; and their sight was restored." Valentine after due process was some time later pronouced a Saint.
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It is probable that the Roman feast of Juno and festival of Lupercalia were replaced by a celebration in honour of the Valentine described above. Perhaps this is what St Valentine's Day is: a celebration of Christian love derived from ancient Pagan origins, which has over time become a series of quite quaint customs now much masked in modern commercialism which in turn is fuelled by modern Britain's cuddly feely, fluffy bunny, quality management systems, risk adverse, lessons learnt, liberal, offenders are not understood, police service (not force), pro republican, corporately dominated, superficial, vastly over regulated, materialistic, increasingly rude, politically correct, over taxed (42.4 per cent of GDP), EU controlled, society in which we all now are forced to live.
It is probable that the Roman feast of Juno and festival of Lupercalia were replaced by a celebration in honour of the Valentine described above. Perhaps this is what St Valentine's Day is: a celebration of Christian love derived from ancient Pagan origins, which has over time become a series of quite quaint customs now much masked in modern commercialism which in turn is fuelled by modern Britain's cuddly feely, fluffy bunny, quality management systems, risk adverse, lessons learnt, liberal, offenders are not understood, police service (not force), pro republican, corporately dominated, superficial, vastly over regulated, materialistic, increasingly rude, politically correct, over taxed (42.4 per cent of GDP), EU controlled, society in which we all now are forced to live.
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Gosh, I am feeling better now.
Gosh, I am feeling better now.
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