St. Valentine's Story

Let me introduce myself. My name is Valentine. I lived in Rome during the third century. At that time, Claudius ruled Rome. I didn't like Emperor Claudius, and I wasn't the only one! A lot of people shared my feelings.

Claudius wanted to have a big army. He expected men to volunteer to join. Many men did not want to leave their wives and families. This made Claudius furious. So what happened? He had a crazy idea. He thought that if men could not marry, they would not mind joining the army. So Claudius decided to ban marriage. Young people thought his new law was cruel. I thought it preposterous! I certainly wouldn’t support that law!

Did I mention that I was a priest? I loved to marry couples. Even after Emperor Claudius passed his law, I kept on performing marriage ceremonies -- secretly, of course. It was really quite exciting. Imagine a small candlelit room with only the bride and groom and myself. We would whisper the words of the ceremony, listening all the while for the steps of soldiers.

One night, we did hear footsteps. The couple escaped in time, but I was caught. (Not quite as light on my feet as I used to be, I guess.) They threw me in jail and said that my punishment was death. I tried to stay cheerful. And wonderful things happened. Many young people came to the jail to visit me. They threw flowers and notes up to my window. They wanted me to know that they, too, believed in love.

One of these young people was the daughter of a prison guard. Her father allowed her to visit me in the cell. Sometimes we would sit and talk for hours. She helped me to keep my spirits up. She agreed that I did the right thing by ignoring the Emperor and going ahead with the secret marriages. On the day I died, February 14, 269 A.D, I left my friend a little note thanking her for her friendship and loyalty. I signed it, "Love from your Valentine."

I believe that note started the custom of exchanging love messages on Valentine's Day. Now, every year on this day, people remember. But most importantly, they think about love and friendship. And when they think of Emperor Claudius, they remember how he tried to stand in the way of love, and they laugh -- because they know that love can't be beaten!

Love

Corinthians 13

St. Paul visited Athens and then established a Christian community in Corinth, a seaport in Greece, about the year 51 AD, While Paul was on his third journey, he learned that the community had become divided, as members began identifying themselves with different religious leaders. Thus this letter, written in about 56 AD, opens with a plea for unity, and is written in response to various issues raised by the Corinthians.

Love is patient, love is kind. 

It is not jealous, love is not pompous, it is not inflated, it is not rude, it does not seek its own interests, it is not quick-tempered, it does not brood  over injury, it does not rejoice over wrongdoing but rejoices with the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails.

If there are prophecies, they will  pass away; if tongues, they will cease; if knowledge, it will be brought to nothing.

So faith, hope, love remain, these three; but the greatest of these is Love.

February Birthdays

Since I’m in my ninth decade, I celebrate my birthday the entire month of February. I share this birthday month with others. Notables such as Presidents Washington, Lincoln and Reagan; but also with some dear friends, both past and present. So let me acknowledge those who share this February birthday with me. The older I get, the longer I celebrate. After all, many never make it this far, so let’s do it up grand.

Barbara           2/1
Wendy            2/6 
Fran                2/10
Catherine        2/11
Marion            2/13
Jim                 2/18
Mary(Missy)   2/21
Georgette       2/22
Ruth               2/23

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO EVERYONE

You have all touched my life in a positive way.

This is a Song for my Circle of Friends

This is a Song for my Circle of Friends
written by Carol  Hall
 sung by Chita Rivera

This is a song for my circle of friends

A song about time and the way that it bends

Like a twig on a tree or a light through a lens

This is a song for my circle of friends.

This is a song for that cycle of years

The loves and the laughs, the hurts and the tears

And the heat of the candle we burned at both ends

This is a song for my circle of friends.

It’s a song for the nights we went crazy

A song for the lessons we learned

A song for the dreams and the wild wacky schemes

And the heart breaking nights on the tides as they turn

This is a song for the trickle of time

A clock with no hands, a void with no rhyme

Just an old valentine one eternally sends

This is a song for my circle of friends

It’s a song for the friends who went sailing

And the ones who stayed closer to shore

The friends who took dares

And the friends without cares

And the friends who were dear

Who aren’t here anymore.

This is a song for the dice that we tossed

The talents we shared, the chances we lost

And the way it all finally settles and blends

This is a song for my circle of friends.