Celebrate Valentine’s Day FROM OUR FAITH

February 14th is a holiday in which we celebrate Love and Friendship. On that day, traditionally, boyfriends or spouses express their love with gifts and it seems that as bigger or more expensive the gift is, greater is the love. However, it is worth rescuing the true meaning of a date like this to reinforce the commitment we have to fulfill every day the commandment of authentic and committed love that Jesus left us.

Saint Valentine was an Italian priest who exercised his ministry in Rome during the third century, when Emperor Claudius II ruled, who prohibited the celebration of marriages between young people. The ruler said that: "Singles without families are better soldiers, since they have no ties." Valentin considered the decree unfair and defied the emperor by secretly celebrating marriages for young lovers. For this reason, the emperor ordered him to be arrested. Valentin was tortured and beheaded on February 14th, 270. They killed him at night and in secret to avoid the reaction of the people.

Today, then, is a day to remember that love is not measured by the price of the gift we make to the loved one, but by the commitment we show in fidelity, dedication, humility, dedication... Following the beautiful description that Saint Paul wrote in his first letter to the Corinthians (1Cor 13 1-7).