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A Letter From Our Pastor: February 14 Feast Day of Sts. Cyril and Methodius (and St. Valentine’s Day
Dear Friends in Christ,
Feb. 14 is the feast day of Sts. Cyril and Methodius, ninth-century missionaries. They were two brothers from a well-to-do senatorial family in Thessalonica, who became Christian missionaries to the region of present-day Czech Republic. Because of their tireless apostolic labors in that part of the world, they are now known as the Apostles to the Slavic peoples, serving as a spiritual bridge between the Eastern and Western liturgical traditions.
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However, most people are more familiar with another saint who shares this 14th day of February — and that is St. Valentine. He was a fourth-century bishop and Roman martyr, who was known for his heroic pastoral charity to the suffering, persecuted members of the Church. After his martyrdom, devotion to this saintly bishop grew. Pilgrims to Rome would venerate his relics in the churches of Santa Prassede and Santa Maria in Cosmedin. Other relics of St. Valentine were transported to a Carmelite church in Dublin, Ireland, and this too became a place of pilgrimage for many.
The romanticism associated with St. Valentine’s Day most likely came about in 14th-century England through the writings of the great medieval poet and author Geoffrey Chaucer, who famously penned The Canterbury Tales. He is credited with weaving legends surrounding St. Valentine and heroic chivalry. May our tokens of affection that we express to our loved ones on St. Valentine’s Day be ultimately caught up in our love for God and be a reminder of His everlasting love for us. May we imitate the heroic charity that animated the life of St. Valentine today and every day. Let us pray. O, St. Valentine, lover of Christ and of the Church, we ask your intercession that we may learn how to love God above all things, and to selflessly love one another. O glorious St. Valentine, pray for us, that we too may have the steadfast faith of the martyrs. Amen.
Sincerely yours in Christ,
Fr. John Blum, Pastor
Fr. John Blum, Pastor
