Feast of St. Valentine 2012

Pardon the lack of cute photos of my kids pouring over St. Valentine's day crafts (which they somehow worked out to do four different occasions!) or of their resulting paper masterpieces of pink Valentine's cards.

I was able to read Robert Sabuda's "Saint Valentine" to the children at a friend's home and I liked the book so much, I've added it to my Wish List. The artwork is sophisticated and messaging is Catholic. Scholars are not entirely clear about the history of the real Fr. Valentine, and there are three versions of biographies that are common: this children's book presents him as a physician-priest.

Meanwhile, this year I bought for our children "St. Valentine: More than Cards and Candied Hearts"  by the very interesting Voice of the Martyrs, which is "a non-profit, inter-denominational Christian organization dedicated to assisting the persecuted church worldwide. VOM was founded in 1967 by Pastor Richard Wurmbrand, who was imprisoned 14 years in Communist Romania for his faith in Christ. His wife, Sabina, was imprisoned for three years. In the 1960s, Richard, Sabina, and their son, Mihai, were ransomed out of Romania and came to the United States. Through their travels, the Wurmbrands spread the message of the atrocities that Christians face in restricted nations, while establishing a network of offices dedicated to assisting the persecuted church."

I bought this book at my favorite and orthodox Catholic bookstore east of the Mississippi, so did not realize it was inter-denominational Christian till I had read it a few times, frankly. So, I believe this book would be acceptable to many of the Protestant denominations as well as to Catholics. The title "saint" is used only in the title, but throughout the book he is called "Valentinus." He is referred to as a "leader of the church" (instead of a priest, and note the lower-case 'c'). The book notes that "almost 200 years after Valentinus died, a leader in the church declared February 14th to be the day Christians honor and remember the courageous life of Valentinus." Yes, that "leader in the church" was Gelasius, pope of the Catholic Church. The text refers to "Jesus' free gift of salvation," which is Protestant phrasing, but also accurate Catholic theology. But nothing in this book goes against the Catholic faith.

Something I appreciated about this book is that it emphasizes the brutal persecution of Christians, that Valentinus was executed by government decree, and that persecution of Christians continues worldwide today--all of this in a way that was truthful but not at all fear-causing among children ages three to eleven to whom I read the book.

And my personal reviewers (my kids) apparently love this book, as they've asked for it to be read about eight times in 24 hours.

In addition to making paper Valentines and baking cookies to share with loved ones, I found these wonderful holy card Valentines, which are Catholic holy cards but also little Valentines on which one could write "to" and "from".

Reality Check: I was almost too stuck in the mud to post about St. Valentine's Day, but I did so because the blog serves for me as a record of liturgical celebrations so I can remember what to do next year. But, mamas, don't think glimpses of happy mothers and crafting children on a blog is overall reality: these are just moments in time. I've been struggling with a husband traveling much of the time, being extremely busy with obligations these two months in particular, a sick son, and, for the last four days, a baby who is screaming all the time unless being held and walked and who will only sleep for 30 minutes at a stretch, night or day. I'm battling self-pity and having more opportunities than I want in which I should (but fail to) choose practicing Christian cheerfulness despite the circumstances.