BVM on Sat / Comm of St Valentine, 4th Class, with the color of White. In this episode: the meditation: “The Good Fruits”, today’s news from the Church: “Treasures At Your Fingertips”, a preview of this week’s episode of Sacred Restorations: “Restoring St. Isidore's”, and today’s thought from the Archbishop.
Saint Valentine is one of the most widely recognized yet historically elusive saints in the calendar, a martyr whose memory survived even when the details of his life grew indistinct. What the Church preserves with certainty is that Valentine lived in the third century and died for Christ during the reign of Emperor Claudius II. Beyond that, tradition speaks of at least two Valentines associated with Rome and Terni, both priests or bishops who suffered martyrdom around the same period. Over time, their stories merged, but the heart of their witness remains the same: fidelity to Christ above imperial command.
According to ancient accounts, Valentine was a priest in Rome who ministered to Christians during persecution. When Claudius II reportedly attempted to restrict marriages among soldiers, believing unmarried men made better fighters, Valentine continued to assist couples in Christian marriage. Whether this specific detail is historically precise or later tradition, it captures the deeper truth associated with his name. Valentine defended the dignity of Christian love at personal cost. He was arrested, interrogated, and eventually executed for refusing to renounce his faith.
Another tradition describes Valentine as a bishop who healed the blind daughter of his jailer, leading to the conversion of the household. On the eve of his execution, he is said to have left her a note signed “from your Valentine,” a detail that later generations...
