saint of the week

So today I was in Giant Eagle and stumbled into the "Valentine's Day" aisle.  It was quite "picked over".

I guess more people shop ahead for Valentine's day than they do for Christmas.  I decided that I would make my family brownies.  Surely homemade brownies with icing and sprinkles would show them how much I love them.

 

St. Valentine's Day was actually christianity's counter punch to the Roman feast of Lupercalia. Lupercalia was believed to be when the birds picked their mates.  So humans being so much more evolved, did the the same.  It became a Roman holiday in which the women would put their names into a "hat".  They guys picked a name and the woman was forced to be his "romantic" partner until next Lupercalia.

 

St. Valentine, was known to marry couples when such was forbidden by the Roman emperor Claudius.  Claudius thought that married men did not make good solidiers. Obviously Valentine thought that love was more important than war and continued to be a good priest and perform marriage ceremonies.  Claudius heard about it, had him arrested, beaten and when he would not renounce his faith, beheaded.

 

And so St. Valentine became the logical catholic choice for rivaling Lupercalia.  In the 1960's the church dropped St. Valentine's day from the church calendar and gave the day to St. Cyril.  The secular world continues to give hearts and candy.  It is a much better, I have to say, than picking names from a hat.

 

I think that we should use the day to remember people who love us as we are.  You know the ones, the ones who love us when we have bad hair days, have spinach in our teeth or spaghetti on our shirt.  The ones who we miss when we are away.  The ones who make us laugh, make us crazy, wake us cuz they are snoring (um, not to mention any names, scott), make us peanut butter crackers, run and get us diet pepsi's .  The ones that you say you're sorry to, and actually mean it.

 

So my friends, pass along a little love today.  Whether it is a hug, a smile, a paper heart or brownies with icing and sprinkles. The Lord knows, we all could use it.