Reflection for February 14

St. Valentine's Day
Two Valentines are listed in the Roman Martyrology on 14 February: one a Roman priest martyred on the Flaminian Way, supposedly under Claudius, the other a bishop of Terni who was martyred at Rome, but whose relics were translated to Terni. The Acts of both are unreliable and the Bolandists assert that these two Valentines were in fact one and the same. Neither of them seems to have any clear connection with lovers or courting couples. The reason for this famous patronage is that birds are supposed to pair on 14 February, a belief at least as old as Chaucer... On the other hand, some authorities see the custom of choosing a partner on St. Valentine’s Day as the survival of elements of the Roman Lupercalia festival, which took place in the middle of February. Whatever the reason, the connection of lovers with St. Valentine, with all its consequences for the printing and retailing industries, is one of the less likely results of the cult of the Roman martyrs [The Oxford Dictionary of Saints].