Does Valentine's Day Foster love or Ignite passion?
Valentine's Day, a day that is generally celebrated by young people, is once again on February 14. Along with it, Kiss Day, Breakup Day, Propose Day, and Missing Day are all celebrated during this month .
It would be appropriate to know the origin of Valentine's Day, which is widely believed to have been created to exchange flowers, gifts , and greetings between lovers and to express love to each other. Although history testifies that there have been many Christian martyrs named Valentine in history, the fact is that Valentine's Day began to be celebrated in the name of a bishop named Valentine, who was imprisoned for helping to arrange the marriage of men and women who loved each other and was killed by Emperor Claudius in AD 270. At that time, Claudius, who found that married men were less interested in war, banned marriage in Rome through a strange law. Bishop Valentine, who firmly believed that the law of the living God should be followed in life, not the emperor's atheism, but the emperor's atheism, found lovers and secretly married them, and the emperor was furious and imprisoned him. It is believed that Valentine's holy friendship with the jailer's blind daughter gave her sight. Upon learning of their friendship, Emperor Claudius ordered the bishop to be beheaded, and shortly before his death, Valentine wrote a note to the girl, "From Your Valentine." Legend has it that this day is celebrated on the anniversary of the death of this Catholic priest.
Even though it is such a holy day, it would be good to analyze whether our celebrations today are crossing the boundaries of morality and purity. It is extremely sad to use the sexuality that God has given us as a gift only in the intensity of feelings and age-related emotions, and to degrade the human body, which should be respected, as an object of consumption or a means of display.
It is a fact that should open our eyes that love, which should be considered sacred, is leading our young generation to animalistic antics, love traps, and alcohol and drug mafias. The extremely sad Neyyattinkara Sharon murder case that brought tears to the human conscience of Kerala, the cruel developments that took place in connection with it, the complex case investigations, and the decisive verdict that came at the end of it all, are still very much discussed in our memories. Isn't this incident just an indication of how much sacred love can degrade? Similarly, another proof that consumer culture and selfish thinking are eating away at our families and societies is the group of young people who are deciding not to get married at all, as well as societies that prioritize profit and loss over human values. It is a stark truth that family relationships and marriage, which should be considered sacred, have become like markets catering to selfish interests.
What is the message of this Valentine's Day to today's generation, which is looking forward to the second generation of artificial intelligence (AI), which values delicious food over good food, clothes that pay attention to the body over decent clothes, feelings over convictions, external desires over sincere love, and physical pleasure over morality? Give importance to innocent unconditional love over feelings or desires; Do not sacrifice humanity in the excess of feelings; Do not cross the boundaries of decency under any circumstances; Grow to the depth of the great openness of the heart that others are created by God just like me. Learn to find, enjoy, and celebrate the goodness of others; Give priority to human relationships over things. Above all, let the great message of Valentine's Day be to reflect God, who is love, in this world through our lives. Let us not forget the truth that our lives should not fall in love; but raise in love. May this Valentine's Day of 2025 enable us to become promoters of unadulterated love.
With lots of love,
✍️ Fr. Jomon Chavarpuzhayil C.M.I
Comments