The story of St. Valentine has two
different versions - the Protestant and the Catholic one.
The Protestant
During the lifetime of
Valentine, the golden era of Roman Empire had almost come to an end. Lack of
quality administrators led to frequent civil strife. Education declined,
taxation increased and trade witnessed a very bad time.
More and more capable men were
required to be recruited as soldiers and officers to protect the nation from
takeover. When Claudius became the emperor, he felt that married men were more
emotionally attached to their families, and so, would not make good soldiers.
He believed that marriage made the men weak. So he issued an edict forbidding
marriage to assure quality soldiers.
St Valentine defied Emperor Claudius
by arranging secret marriages for soldiers.
The ban on marriage was great shock
for the Roman, but they dared not voice their protest against the emperor. The
bishop Valentine also realized the injustice of the decree. He saw the trauma
of young lovers who gave up all hopes of being united in marriage and he
planned to counter the monarch's orders in secrecy.
Whenever lovers thought of marrying,
they went to Valentine who met them afterwards in a secret place, and joined
them in the sacrament of matrimony. And so he secretly performed many marriages
for young lovers. But it was only a matter of time before Claudius came to know
of this "friend of lovers," and had him arrested.
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| St Valentine |
While awaiting his sentence in
prison, Valentine was approached by his jailor, Asterius. It was said that
Valentine had saintly abilities and one of them granted him the power to heal
people. Asterius had a blind daughter and knowing of the miraculous powers
of Valentine he requested the latter to restore the sight of his blind
daughter.
The Catholic
The Catholic legend has it that
Valentine did this through the vehicle of his strong faith, and in the process
fell in love with the jailor's daughter. Meanwhile Claudius II met Valentine,
and was said to have been impressed by his dignity and conviction of the
latter.
However, Valentine refused to agree
with the emperor and he was sentenced to death.
On February 14, the day of his
execution, he left his lost love a note signed "from your
Valentine."
And so the day has became a day for
all lovers to celebrate their hard won love in remembrance of St
Valentine, the patron saint of love.
Culled from the Internet
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