Today is the Feast Day of St Valentine. St Valentine was a 3rd-century Roman saint, commemorated in Western Christianity on February 14, who has long been associated with a tradition of courtly love. He is also a patron saint of Terni, epilepsy and beekeepers!
St Valentine was a priest in the Roman Empire who ministered to persecuted Christians. He was martyred and his body buried on the Via Flaminia on February 14, and his Feast Day has been observed since at least the eighth century.
Today is also Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent. Lent is the forty days leading up to Easter, a time of reflection and a chance for us to direct our focus on Jesus. A tradition of Lent for many people is the opportunity to give up various things during this time to better focus on Jesus. Some people fast, some people give up chocolate or alcohol, some people put a very modern slant on Lent and give up Social Media for 40 days.
At first glance there seems a world of difference between observing St Valentine’s Day and Lent. But let me suggest to you that perhaps St Valentine’s Day is a perfect time to start Lent, with its call to celebrate and focus on love. It reminds us to examine what and whom we love.
In the final book of the New Testament there are seven letters to the Churches, the first of which is addressed to Ephesus. You may remember how the church is praised for its works, toil and patient endurance. But in Revelation 2:4 it says: “Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love” (NKJV).
Love. It’s surprising how often the message of God’s Word returns to the simple lesson of love. St Valentine’s Day is about cherishing the love you have in your heart. Ash Wednesday is about one of the most passionate and powerful expressions of love — God’s love for us, and our love for God. If you attend an Ash Wednesday service at an Anglican Church you are most likely to hear the prayerful words: “We have not loved you with our whole heart, and mind, and strength. We have not loved our neighbours as ourselves” (1979 Book of Common Prayer, p. 267).
Ash Wednesday is a powerful call for us to return to our first love with all our heart, mind and strength. Lent, with its emphasis on a season of self-denial, enables us to push away all the distractions that keep us from enjoying our first love. In the coming days and weeks, leading through Holy Week and Easter Day to Pentecost, we will encounter a season of love. May it be refreshing, inspiring and encouraging for the journey you find yourself on.
O Lord, who hast mercy upon all, take away from me my sins,
and mercifully kindle in me the fire of thy Holy Spirit.
Take away from me the heart of stone, and give me a heart of flesh,
a heart to love and adore Thee, a heart to delight in Thee,
to follow and enjoy Thee, for Christ's sake, Amen
St. Ambrose of Milan (AD 339-397)
Neil Chappell
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