¿Will you be my Valentine?

Saint Valentine - Patron of couples.

Emperor Claudius II “the Goth" was so cruel, he only wanted single men for his army, free from nuptial bonds,

to fight for his Empire wherever they were sent.

Valentine, Bishop of Terni in Umbria, Italy defended the couples right to marry and he married them in secret. He was captured, imprisoned and beheaded.

Human Love is one of the greatest gifts of God to mankind.

The bible tells us some of it’s secrets in - Genesis 2,18

Then the LORD God said, "It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper

as his partner." So out of the ground the LORD God formed

every animal of the field and every bird of the air, and brought them to the man to see what he would call them; and whatever the man

called every living creature, that was its name. The man gave

names to all cattle, and to the birds of the air, and to every animal of

the field; but for the man there was not found a helper as his partner.

So the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and he slept; then he took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh. And the rib that the LORD

God had taken from the man he made into a woman and brought her to the man.

Then the man said, "This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; this one shall be called Woman,

for out of Man this one was taken."

Therefore a man leaves his father and his mother and clings to his wife, and they become one flesh. And the man and his wife

were both naked, and were not ashamed.

Jesus Christ blessed the couples love and marriage – when he went to the wedding at Cana.

He changed the water into abundant wine for the feast.

Christ the Lord abundantly blessed this

many-faceted love, welling up as it does from the fountain of divine love and

structured as it is on the model of His union with

His Church.

He abides with them thereafter so that just as He loved the Church and handed Himself over on her behalf, the spouses may love each other

with perpetual fidelity through mutual self-giving.

Authentic married love is caught up into divine love and is governed and enriched by Christ's redeeming power and the saving activity of the Church, so that this love may lead the spouses to God with powerful effect and may aid and strengthen them

in sublime office of being a father or a mother.

For this reason Christian spouses have a special sacrament by which they are fortified and receive a kind of consecration in the duties and dignity of their state. By virtue of this

sacrament, as spouses fulfill their conjugal and family obligation, they are penetrated with the spirit of Christ, which suffuses their whole lives with faith, hope and charity.

Thus they increasingly advance the perfection of their own personalities, as well as their mutual sanctification, and hence

contribute jointly to the glory of God.. Gaudium et Spes 48

You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden.  Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand,

and it gives light to everyone in the house.  In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.. Mt 5,14 -16

Testimony of faithful couples

Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her… In the same way, husbands should love their wives as they do their own bodies.

He who loves his wife loves himself. For no one ever hates his own body, but he nourishes and tenderly cares for it, just as Christ does for the church,

because we are members of his body. Ephesians 5,25-

Man andwoman, created as unity of two, in their common humanity, are called to live in a communion of love. And thus reflect in the world that community of love we find in God,

by which the three persons love eacy other in the intimate mystery of one sole divine life.

Gender ideology, reduces the mystery of human sexuality

to a mere cultural phenomenon, which it uses as the basis for

undifferentiated sexual behaviour.

This ideological viewpoint despairs with regard to ability of a man and woman to live a lifelong conjugal union as persons.

The total physical self-giving would be a lie if it were not the sign and fruit of a total personal self-giving, in which the whole person, including the temporal dimension, is present: ; Familiaris Consortio 11

Marriage, then, is far from being the effect of chance or the result

of the blind evolution of natural forces.

It is in reality the wise and provident institution of God

the Creator, whose purpose was to effect in man

His loving design.

As a consequence, husband and wife, through that mutual gift of themselves, which is specific and exclusive to them alone, develop

that union of two persons in which they perfect one another,

cooperating with God in the generation and rearing

of new lives.

HUMANAE VITAE 8

The marriage of those who have been baptized is,

in addition, invested with

the dignity of a sacramental sign

of grace, for it represents the

union of Christ and His Church.  

This love is above all fully human,

a compound of sense and spirit. It is not, then,

merely a question of natural instinct or emotional drive.

It is also, and above all, an act of the free will,

whose trust is such that it is meant not only to survive the joys and

sorrows of daily life, but also to grow,

so that husband and wife become in a way

one heart and one soul, and together attain their

human fulfillment.HV 9

It is a love which is total —that very special form of personal friendship in which husband and wife generously share everything, allowing no unreasonable exceptions and not

thinking solely of their own convenience. Whoever really loves his partner loves not only for what he receives, but loves that partner for the partner's own sake,

content to be able to enrich the other with the gift of himself. HV 9

Married love is also faithful and exclusive of all other,

and this until death.

This is how husband and wife understood it on the day on which, fully aware of what they were doing, they freely

vowed themselves to one another in marriage.

Though this fidelity of husband and wife sometimes presents difficulties, no one

has the right to assert that it is impossible; it is, on the

contrary, always honorable and meritorious.

The example of countless married couples proves not

only that fidelity is in accord with the nature of marriage,

but also that it is the source of profound and enduring

happiness. HV 9

Finally, this love is fecund. It is not confined wholly to the loving interchange of husband and wife; it also contrives to go beyond this to bring new life into being. "Marriage and conjugal love are by

their nature ordained toward the procreation and education of children. Children are really the supreme gift of marriage and contribute in the highest degree to their parents' welfare.“ HV 9

Long live the couples, their complimentarity, their love. Thanks be to the Lord for this gift

and the vocation to love.

SOME LOVE SONGS

The first time ever I saw your face

The first time ever I saw your faceI thought the sun rose in your eyes

And the moon and stars were the gifts you gave

To the night and the empty skies, my love

To the night and the empty skies

The first time ever I kissed your mouth

I felt the earth turn in my handLike the trembling

heart of a captive birdThat was there at my command,

my loveThat was there at my command

The first time ever I lay with youAnd felt your heart beat close to mineI thought our joy

would fill the earthAnd last….

Song by Robert Flack

'Cause all of meLoves all of you

Love your curves and all your edges

All your perfect imperfections

Give your all to meI'll give my all to you

You're my end and my beginningEven when I lose

I'm winning'Cause I give you

all of meAnd you give me

all of you,

Lyrics of “All of me” by John Legend

Where do I begin To tell the story

Of how great a love can be The sweet love story

That is older than the sea The simple truth about the

love she brings to me Where do I start

With her first hello She gave new meaning

To this empty world of mine There'll never be

Another love, another time She came into my life

And made the living fine She fills my heart

She fills my heart With very special things

With angel songs With wild imaginings

She fills my soul With so much love

That anywhere I go I'm never lonely

With her along who could be lonely

I reach for her hand It's always there

How long does it last Can love be measured by

the hours in a day I have no answers now But this much I can say I know I'll need her 'till the stars all burn away

And she'll be thereHow long does it last

Can love be measured by

the hours in a day I have no answers now But this much I can say

I know I'll need her 'till the stars all burn

away And she'll be there