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The Catholic Church has dropped St. Valentine's Day from the Roman calendar of official, worldwide feasts. But the holiday has both Roman and Catholic roots.

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St. Valentine’s Day

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A Valentine From St. Thomas Aquinas




The Origins of St. Valentine’s Day
From AmericanCatholic.org
The day dedicated to love, which has its roots in ancient Rome and on which the Church recalls a martyred saint.


Who Was St. Valentine?
From St. Anthony Messenger magazine
How did the holiday of love and romance originate and, more importantly, how did St. Valentine become involved? The answers to those questions are not easy ones. Valentine’s Day is a holiday shrouded in mystery and legend.


God Is Love: Pope Benedict’s First Encyclical
From Catholic Update, St. Anthony Messenger Press
A condensed version of Pope Benedict XVI's first encyclical, God Is Love. In it, Pope Benedict speaks of the love that God provides, which we must turn around and share with others.


Making Marriages Stronger
From St. Anthony Messenger magazine
For more than 30 years, the Marriage Enrichment Weekend Program has been helping couples strengthen their marriages. A similar program for engaged couples starts them off right.


Sacrament of Marriage
From AmericanCatholic.org
For Catholics, the sacrament of marriage is a public sign that one gives oneself totally to this other person. It is also a public statement about God: The loving union of husband and wife speaks of family values and also God's values.


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Jerome Emiliani: A careless and irreligious soldier for the city-state of Venice, Jerome was captured in a skirmish at an outpost town and chained in a dungeon. In prison Jerome had a lot of time to think, and he gradually learned how to pray. When he escaped, he returned to Venice where he took charge of the education of his nephews—and began his own studies for the priesthood. 
<p>In the years after his ordination, events again called Jerome to a decision and a new lifestyle. Plague and famine swept northern Italy. Jerome began caring for the sick and feeding the hungry at his own expense. While serving the sick and the poor, he soon resolved to devote himself and his property solely to others, particularly to abandoned children. He founded three orphanages, a shelter for penitent prostitutes and a hospital. </p><p>Around 1532 Jerome and two other priests established a congregation, the Clerks Regular of Somasca, dedicated to the care of orphans and the education of youth. Jerome died in 1537 from a disease he caught while tending the sick. He was canonized in 1767. In 1928 Pius Xl named him the patron of orphans and abandoned children.</p> Can I Be Redeemed? The practice of prayer develops into a habit, and out of this habitual prayer God forms in us and with us the Christian virtues, especially humility and courage.

 
PICK OF THE DAY
Audio! Gift of the Red Bird
A remarkable spiritual adventure!

 
CATHOLIC GREETINGS
St. Valentine's Day
Candy and flowers can be expensive but Catholic Greetings e-cards are free!



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