February 14 + Saint Valentine

Born in Terni, Italy, Valentine was a Catholic priest, a bishop of Terni and a martyr who lived at the time when the emperor Claudias ruled Rome and persecuted the Church. Claudias made a law that prohibited the marriage of young people. This was based on the hypothesis that unmarried soldiers fought better than married soldiers because married soldiers might be afraid of what might happen to them or their wives or families if they died. The Church encouraged and supported the sacrament of marriage and so, Valentine would secretly marry young couples.

Valentine was eventually caught, imprisoned and tortured for performing marriage ceremonies against the command of the emperor. One of the men, who was to judge him in line with the Roman law at the time, named Asterius had a daughter who was blind. Valentine prayed with and healed the young girl with such an astonishing effect that Asterius himself became a Christian as a result.

Valentine was sentenced to a three part execution of a beating, stoning, and finally decapitation all because of his stand for the Church and Christian marriage. He died on February 14, 270 AD at the age of 43. The last words Valentine wrote were in a note to Asterius' daughter. He inspired today's romantic letters by signing it, "from your Valentine."