St. Valentine At least three different Saint Valentines, all of them martyrs, are mentioned in the early martyrologies under date of 14 February. One is described as a priest at Rome, another as bishop of Interamna (modern Terni), and these two seem both to have suffered in the second half of the third century and to have been buried on the Flaminian Way, but at different distances from the city. In William of Malmesbury's time what was known to the ancients as the Flaminian Gate of Rome and is now the Porta del Popolo, was called the Gate of St. Valentine. The name seems to have been taken from a small church dedicated to the saint which was in the immediate neighborhood. Of both these St. Valentines some sort of Acta are preserved but they are of relatively late date and of no historical value. Of the third Saint Valentine, who suffered in Africa with a number of companions, nothing further is known.
PATRONAGE: affianced couples, bee keepers, betrothed couples, engaged couples, epilepsy, fainting, greetings, happy marriages, love, lovers, plague, travellers, young people Saint Valentine's Day The popular customs associated with Saint Valentine's Day undoubtedly had their origin in a conventional belief generally received in England and France during the Middle Ages, that on 14 February, i.e. half way through the second month of the year, the birds began to pair. Thus in Chaucer's Parliament of Foules we read: For this was sent on Seynt Valentyne's day Whan every foul cometh ther to choose his mate. For this reason the day was looked upon as specially consecrated to lovers and as a proper occasion for writing love letters and sending lovers' tokens. Both the French and English literatures of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries contain allusions to the practice. Perhaps the earliest to be found is in the 34th and 35th Ballades of the bilingual poet, John Gower, written in French; but Lydgate and Clauvowe supply other examples. Those who chose each other under these circumstances seem to have been called by each other their Valentines. ANOTHER STORY: Saint Valentine the Patron of Love According to a legend, born in Anglo - Saxon countries, St Valentine used to give the young girls and boys going and seeing him a flower of his garden. Two of these young people fell in love with each other and got married. St Valentine blessed their marriage and their union was so happy and serene that many other couples wanted the Saint Bishop to bless their marriage. In order to satisfy the numerous demands, he fixed a day of the year in which he gave all couples his general wedding blessing. For this reason he began to be called protector of engaged people. Moreover the popular tradition hands down the legend of SABINO and SERAPIA. It enphasizes that love is much stronger than death, when it binds two people in God's name. Sabino, a pagan roman, centurion and a Christian girl, Serapia, fell in love with each other, but their parents impeded their union because of the persecution of the christians. However they went in loving each other and Serapia's words and behavious won Sabino who began to be interested inthe Christian religion so that at last he asked to become a member of the Christian community. St Valentine explained the mysteres of christian religion to him, took care of them and prepared them for a christian marriage. Everything was ready for the baptism and marriage, when Serapia got phthisis. It was the end of a dream. Sabino didn't want to leave his loved Serapia. So he asked the Saint Bishop to baptize him, marry them and pray God to let them die together. And it happened. --------------------------------- --------------------------------- With Yahoo! Mail you can get a bigger mailbox -- choose a size that fits your needs =============================================================================== This mail is generated from JOYnet, a Jesus Youth mailing list. For more info on the list visit http://www.jesusyouth.org/joynet To unsubscribe from the list send a mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] To subscribe to the list visit http://www.jesusyouth.org/joynet/join In case of any issue related to the mailing list contact [EMAIL PROTECTED] ===============================================================================