Missionaries of the Sacred

Although little is known about the life of the patron saint of Valentine’s Day (the day is named after a priest physician martyred in Rome in 269), Valentine’s Day is a wonderful opportunity to reflect on the greatest virtue: the virtue of love. Yet just because love is greatest virtue doesn’t mean that it is always well-understood. Sometimes we confuse love with something else, such as attraction to another person or enjoying a person’s company. So what exactly is love? St. Paul gives a wonderful description in his first letter to the Corinthians (1 Cor 13:4-7)

Love is patient, love is kind.
It is not jealous, it 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.

Are we treating others with love? Are we patient or easily frustrated? Are our relationships based on trust or are we prone to jealousy? Does forgiveness come easily to us or do we carry grudges? Do we apologize when we are wrong or wait until the other person apologizes first? Do we tell our spouse that we love him/her? How about our kids? Our parents?

This Valentine’s Day, let us make an effort to let the people we love know that we love them. Whether it is through a gift, a card, or a simple phone call, we can let our family members and friends know that we are thinking about them, that we care about them, that we are grateful they are in our lives, and above all, that we love them.  Valentine’s Day can be an opportunity to renew our commitment to form and maintain healthy and loving relationships based on honesty, trust, patience, kindness, and respect.  It can even be an invitation to practice the Spirituality of the Heart, which is based on healthy relationships with God, ourselves and others.