By Jacqueline Kelly –
Valentine’s Day is celebrated all over the world on February 14 by enthusiastic lovers. Down the ages, lovers have been celebrating their union on this particular day. Saint Valentine is the Patron Saint of young couples who are engaged to be married. It is a custom that on his feast day Valentine greetings are sent out. This practice originated in the Middle Ages in connection with the then current belief that the birds began to mate on February 14 of each year. During the twelfth century the Puys d’Amour, a kind of song festival and competition for troubadours and romantic minstrels used to be held on February 14.
It is recognized as a significant cultural and religious celebration of romance and love around the world. Lovers of all ages and races celebrate Valentine’s Day by showing appreciation for the people they love. It is traditional for people to send greeting cards, chocolates, jewellery or flowers to their loved ones or admirers.
It is also a time to appreciate friends in some social circles and cultures. Some people take their loved ones for a romantic dinner while others may choose this day to propose or get married.
Is February 14, the only day in the year that we display and pledge our love, shower attention and affection on our loved ones. What about other days in the year? Do we celebrate this day blindly because of the media hype or has it become a fashion trend or the talk of the town because nearly every couple who is married or found a partner is celebrating it and looks forward to this day to proclaim his/her love or seal the union with the bond of marriage.
Shouldn’t this love be pledged throughout the year in good times and bad. Merely presenting each other with a box of chocolates, bouquet of flowers, dinner in a posh restaurant is not enough. No doubt this may be done to cover all the wrongs and faults that may have occurred in a relationship and he or she may feel that they can surpass all the sins they had committed in the past year of their relationship.
Once a Mother beat up her son and when he began crying, the Mother said, “Sorry”. The Smart Son said, “Take a piece of paper, Crumble it. Fold it. Now, Open it. Say “Sorry” to it. Are the scars on the paper gone? Nahinnaa…….. Relationships are like this.
The word “love” implies that you like or adore a person for a beautiful heart, mind or body. Since a person has a mind, body and soul it is love divine without any conditions.
It is a glaring reminder for us Christians to relook and remember what “love” truly means beyond the festivities of Valentine’s Day. Today, Valentine’s Day has very little religious significance. The festival celebrates love in all its form and it is not just restricted to romance.
Technology is making possible what was only a few decades ago a mere fantasy. Machines are able to produce more and do things faster. Robots are taking over from man. But, what these lack are values, beliefs and the ability to love and care for another.
In a way, the business world today is acknowledging what we Christians have always known and believed in -The Importance of love and the Power of forgiveness.
How can man live without love? We can only exist and existence without love is control, confusion and pain – and that is what most of us are creating. We organize for existence and we accept conflict as inevitable because our existence is a ceaseless demand for power.
With the world becoming more and more commercialised, on Valentine’s Day we are bombarded by an industry with information, illusions and hopes around the subject of love and always in connection with spending money. “I LOVE YOU” should not transform into “I HATE YOU” after Valentine’s Day. We are always searching and are hungering for more than life at present offers. We are born to love and be loved and we will never be satisfied until we last have discovered and entered pure love.
Some people think life itself is the ultimate good. So, life alone is not enough. Life without love can never satisfy. It is like an endless desert, burning sands without streams or rain showers. It is harder to believe in love than it is to believe in life.
Come and meet the person who made my life beautiful and worth living, and who can make your life even more beautiful. He is my Valentine. His name is JESUS CHRIST. Loving and being loved is what makes life worth living.
Many people have had times in their lives when they felt that nobody loved them or that they had no one to love. Dwelling constantly on those kinds of thoughts can cause extreme unhappiness and depression. In some cases, negative emotions can lead to suicidal tendencies.
Love is the energy of life and what motivates people to keep going.
Love gives life purpose and meaning. The world is looking for love, but in reality they are looking for God, because God is love.
The search for love begins with our relationship with God. If you are looking for true love, open yourself up to the one who loves you more than anyone else in the whole wide world.
As you grow in your faith, let God unfold His great love for you every day. Then reach out in practical ways to those around you – family, friends, co-workers, neighbours and thereby demonstrate the love you have received from God.
Sometimes, it is easy but so often we destroy love. The lies, the cutting remarks, the harsh judgements are so easily spoken. The bond of friendship is broken. The light of love is extinguished.
Love can be defined as fidelity that lasts but it also defies time. It is rightly said that those who recognize God’s patience can open upto patience with themselves and with others. In love, patience with one’s partner seems to be top-priority. When we pray, How many times do we have to ask God to forgive us for having “lost our patience”. Patience is a Divine quality together with God’s mercy. God is patient because He loves His people, because he is committed to being faithful to them inspite of everything.
Love has no laws and boundaries. Love has open spaces for creativity, fantasy and acceptance. Love accepts you in good times and bad and with all your flaws. Love is infact an intensification. I would like to share this lovely quote by Sam Keen. “You come to love not by finding the perfect person, but by seeing an imperfect person perfectly”.
Love is first of all, a decision – a decision that someone else is more important than I am, that someone else deserves the very best I can give. Love is doing what is right and best for the beloved. What is right and best for God. If He is our beloved, we must ask ourselves that question.
To live a life of love is not easy. It takes constant efforts, daily examination of conscience, confession, repentance and a strong decision to continue the struggle to live God’s life of love. Even with an understanding of love, we often find it difficult to overcome barriers to love. These barriers often arise from our experiences in the past: the hurts, wounds, rejections and disappointments that left us unable to give or receive true love.
The key to overcoming the barriers of the past can be summed up in one word: Forgiveness. By asking the forgiveness of those we have offended – beginning with God – and then forgiving those who have offended us, we move beyond the cycle of bitterness.
Love what is right – put on the mind and heart of God Do good – love as he loves and act on that love.
Valentine’s Day should not be the only day that lovers look forward to proclaim their love for each other but it should develop and nurture slowly and not result in burning their bridges but patiently build their relationships and let the relationship mature with the passage of time and season.
Love is beautiful. A world without lovers will be a dull and drab place to live in. Winning the heart of your love is the primary need before a relationship commences.
Valentine’s Day, breeds an atmosphere which spells romance and a day to win hearts – be it your love or your friend.
Romance is the heart of the universe and is the key to all existence.