Commemoration of Saint Valentine, Priest and Martyr


   There is a commemoration today of Saint Valentine. The story of Valentine's Day begins in the third century with an oppressive Roman emperor and a humble Christian Martyr. The emperor was Claudius II, and the Christian was Valentinus, priest and martyr.

    Claudius had ordered all Romans to worship twelve gods and had made it a crime punishable by death to associate with Christians. But Valentinus was dedicated to the ideals of Christ; not even the threat of death could keep him from practicing his beliefs. He was arrested and imprisoned.

    During the last weeks of Valentinus's life a remarkable thing happened. Seeing that he was a man of learning, the jailer asked whether his daughter, Julia, might be brought to Valentinus for lessons. She had been blind since birth. Julia was a pretty young girl with a quick mind. Valentinus read stories of Rome's history to her. He described the world of nature to her. He taught her arithmetic and told her about God. She saw the world through his eyes, trusted his wisdom, and found comfort in his quiet strength.

    "Valentinus, does God really hear our prayers?" Julia asked one day.

    "Yes, my child, He hears each one."

    "Do you know what I pray for every morning and every night? I pray that I might see. I want so much to see everything you've told me about!"

    "God does what is best for us if we will only believe in Him," Valentinus said.

    "Oh, Valentinus, I do believe! I do!" She knelt and grasped his hand. They sat quietly together, each praying. Suddenly there was a brilliant light in the prison cell. Radiant, Julia screamed, "Valentinus, I can see! I can see!"

    "Praise be to God!" Valentinus exclaimed, and he knelt in prayer. On the eve of his death Valentinus wrote a last note to Julia, urging her to stay close to God. He signed it, "From your Valentine." His sentence was carried out the next day, February 14, 270 A.D., near a gate that was later named Porta Valentini in his memory. He was buried at what is now the Church of Praxedes in Rome. On each February 14, Saint Valentine's Day, messages of affection, love, and devotion are exchanged around the world.

    "O glorious advocate and protector, St Valentine, look with pity upon our wants, hear our requests, attend to our prayers, relieve by your intercession the miseries under which we labor, and obtain for us the divine blessing, that we may be found worthy to join you in praising the Almighty for all eternity: through the merits of Our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen."

      The above was submitted by Don Shortridge.

    Resources: We are grateful to Friends of Our Lady of Fatima for providing the Propers for the faithful. Sources: Saint Andrew Daily Missal and the Marian Missal , 1945

COLLECT
Oremus. Praesta, quaesumus, Omnipotens Deus : ut, qui beati Valentini Martyris tui natalitia colimus, a cunctis malis imminentibus, ejus intercessione, liberemur. Per Dóminum nostrum Jesum Christum Fílium tuum, qui tecum vivit et regnat in unitáte Spíritus Sancti, Deus,
Per omnia saecula saeculorum.
R. Amen.
Let us pray. Grant, we beseech Thee, O almighty God, that we who keep the festival of Thy holy martyr Valentine, may be delivered by his intercession from all dangers that threaten us. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Son, Who livest and reignest with Thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost, one God
Forever and ever.
R.Amen.


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SECRET
Suscipe, quaesumus, Domine, Munera dignanter oblate : et beati Valentini Maartyris rui suffragantibus meritis, ad nostrae salutis auxillium provenire concede. Per Dominum nostrum Jesum Christum, Filium Tuum, Qui Tecum vivit et regnat in unitate Spiritus Sancti, Deus, Per omnia saecula saeculorum.
R. Amen.
Accept, we beseech Thee, O Lord, these gifts we worthily offer, and by the intercession of blessed Valentine, Thy martyr, defend us from all dangers. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Son, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost, one God Forever and ever.
R.Amen.


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POSTCOMMUNION
Dominus vobiscum.
R. Et cum spiritu tuo.
Oremus. Sit nobis, Domine, reparation mentis et Corporis caeleste mysterium : ut, cjus exsequimur actionem, intercedente beato Valentino Martyre tuo, sentiamus effectum. Per Dominum nostrum Jesum Christum, Filium Tuum, Qui Tecum vivit et regnat in unitate Spiritus Sancti, Deus,
Per omnia saecula saeculorum.
R. Amen.
The Lord be with you.
R. And with thy spirit.
Let us pray. May this heavenly mystery be to us, O Lord, a reparation of soul and body, that by the intercession of blessed Valentine, Thy martyr, we may perceive the effect of what we celebrate. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Son, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost, one God
Forever and ever.
R. Amen.
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Commemoration of Saint Valentine, Priest and Martyr