Happy Birthday

Young and sweet, only 17

Valentine's Day History

The story of St. Valentine has two different versions - the Protestant and the Catholic one. Both versions agree upon Saint Valentine being a bishop who held secret marriage ceremonies of soldiers in opposition to Claudius II who had prohibited marriage for young men and was executed by the latter. During the lifetime of Valentine, the golden era of Roman empire had almost come to an end. Lack of quality administrators led to frequent civil strife. Education declined, taxation increased and trade witnessed a very bad time. The Roman empire faced crisis from all sides, from the Gauls, Slavs, Huns, Turks and Mongolians from Northern Europe and Asia. The empire had grown too large to be shielded from external aggression and internal chaos with existing forces. Naturally, more and more capable men were required to to be recruited as soldiers and officers to protect the nation from takeover. When Claudius became the emperor, he felt that married men were more emotionally attached to their families, and thus, will not make good soldiers. He believed that marriage made the men weak. So he issued an edict forbidding marriage to assure quality soldiers.

The ban on marriage was a great shock for the Romans. But they dared not voice their protest against the mighty emperor. The kindly bishop Valentine also realized the injustice of the decree. He saw the trauma of young lovers who gave up all hopes of being united in marriage. He planned to counter the monarch's orders in secrecy. Whenever lovers thought of marrying, they went to Valentine who met them afterwards in a secret place, and joined them in the sacrament of matrimony. And thus he secretly performed many marriages for young lovers. But such things cannot remain hidden for long. It was only a matter of time before Claudius came to know of this "friend of lovers," and had him arrested.

While awaiting his sentence in prison, Valentine was approached by his jailor, Asterius. It was said that Valentine had some saintly abilities and one of them granted him the power to heal people. Asterius had a blind daughter and knowing of the miraculous powers of Valentine he requested the latter to restore the sight of his blind daughter. The Catholic legend has it that Valentine did this through the vehicle of his strong faith, a phenomenon refuted by the Protestant version which agrees otherwise with the Catholic one. Whatever the fact, it appears that Valentine in some way did succeed to help Asterius' blind daughter.

When Claudius II met Valentine, he was said to have been impressed by the dignity and conviction of the latter. However, Valentine refused to agree with the emperor regarding the ban on marriage. It is also said that the emperor tried to convert Valentine to the Roman gods but was unsuccesful in his efforts. Valentine refused to recognize Roman Gods and even attempted to convert the emperor, knowing the consequences fully. This angered Claudius II who gave the order of execution of Valentine.

Meanwhile, a deep friendship had been formed between Valentine and Asterius' daughter. It caused great grief to the young girl to hear of his friend's imminent death. It is said that just before his execution, Valentine asked for a pen and paper from his jailor, and signed a farewell message to her "From Your Valentine," a phrase that lived ever after.  The most plausible story surrounding St. Valentine is one not centered on Eros (passionate love) but on agape (Christian love): he was martyred for refusing to renounce his religion. Valentine is believed to have been executed on February 14, 270 AD

Read more at http://www.theholidayspot.com/valentine/history_of_valentine.htm

Ash Wednesday

Farewells and new starts

Yesterday our parish celebrated the life of Mona Manning, parish organist for over 40 years.  She was a dear soul who reminded me so much of Alma.  Both former nuns, both spinster women, both deeply religious.  Mona was sent off with a funeral, which included 9 priests and a monsignor.  Because she was the organist, a spray of flowers and a picture was placed on the organ.

Ash Wednesday starts today and with it a Lenten Journey for all. 

O Lord, who hast mercy upon all,
take away from me my sins,
and mercifully kindle in me
the fire of thy Holy Spirit.
Take away from me the heart of stone,
and give me a heart of flesh,
a heart to love and adore Thee,
a heart to delight in Thee,
to follow and enjoy Thee, for Christ's sake, Amen
St. Ambrose of Milan (AD 339-397)

Random thoughts

Glad the Ravens won the Super Bowl, loved the Blind Side and Michael Oher is still on the team.

Marian is missing an adult tooth, according to the orthodontist.  She still has hopes that it is lurking somewhere and will show its face.  The orthodontist (named Dr. Hurt!) doesn't think so.  She is getting braces at the end of this month.

Girl Scout cookie orders have been tallied and my little troop of 13 girls have sold about 1700 boxes of cookies.  YAHOO!!  (Marian is the top seller again!)

Week in Review

Already February!!  And I hear that spring is just around the corner, according to the Groundhog!

Although, it snowed here for most of the day, weird TN weather.  It is already mostly melted and we are expecting rain in the forecast.

Anna is off to a retreat for Confirmation, and then tomorrow she will need to work on homework.  She will be at play rehearsal almost every day until the end of the month.  The Sound of Music is the beginning of March.  See the poster below!

Gabriel went snowboarding again with the Ski Club at school.  He was supposed to do his BIG indoor erg competition (indoor rowing on machines).  But, they cancelled it because of weather.  Remember, in TN, they cancel just if someone talks about snow, not it it's actually snowing...

Marian only has a couple more days to sell Girl Scout cookies, we are heading out tomorrow before the Super Bowl, she is hoping it will be warmer and that people will be home!