Ashes of Roses - Celebrating Valentine’s Day on Ash Wednesday
By Alice Matisz
While it may seem bizarre and contradictory to celebrate Valentine’s Day on Ash Wednesday, a deeper look into the life and martyrdom of St. Valentine reveals a few parallels.
St. Valentine was a third century priest in Italy who incurred the wrath of Emperor Claudius because of his persistent evangelizing. In addition, he is said to have secretly married couples to prevent the men from being conscripted into military service. At a time when recruits were scarce, this irked the emperor still more. When called to account St. Valentine is said to have made a favourable impression on the emperor. That is until he offered the emperor an opportunity to change his ways and become baptized. St. Valentine was martyred on February 14 and has since been remembered in the context of romantic love. His true love though was Christ, as evidenced by his radical and unflinching commitment to Christianity.
At its core, Ash Wednesday is also about commitment. We are asked to re-convert, or re-dedicate, ourselves to God through penance and prayer. Ash Wednesday provides an opportunity to be reminded of how deeply we are loved (unto death) and to respond by turning back to God. This focus on re-committing to God finds common ground in personal relationships. It can be argued that no amount of times is too frequent to say “I love you”. However, occasions like Valentine’s Day are convenient opportunities to remind our loved ones of how deeply we care, and to feel their love in return.
On Ash Wednesday and throughout Lent we will also recall Jesus’s crucifixion which won us our salvation. While admittedly not on the same scale, intimate relationships also involve self-sacrifice. It is this continuous preference for the other before oneself which sustains the bond between couples. As we honour and thank our significant-others this Valentine’s Day, we can extend those sentiments to the merciful and gracious God who loved us first.
Alternatively, if you find you cannot reconcile the concepts of ‘ashes’ and ‘roses’ you can simply celebrate Valentine’s Day on the previous day - Shrove Tuesday – and enjoy heart-shaped pancakes instead.
St. Valentine was a third century priest in Italy who incurred the wrath of Emperor Claudius because of his persistent evangelizing. In addition, he is said to have secretly married couples to prevent the men from being conscripted into military service. At a time when recruits were scarce, this irked the emperor still more. When called to account St. Valentine is said to have made a favourable impression on the emperor. That is until he offered the emperor an opportunity to change his ways and become baptized. St. Valentine was martyred on February 14 and has since been remembered in the context of romantic love. His true love though was Christ, as evidenced by his radical and unflinching commitment to Christianity.
At its core, Ash Wednesday is also about commitment. We are asked to re-convert, or re-dedicate, ourselves to God through penance and prayer. Ash Wednesday provides an opportunity to be reminded of how deeply we are loved (unto death) and to respond by turning back to God. This focus on re-committing to God finds common ground in personal relationships. It can be argued that no amount of times is too frequent to say “I love you”. However, occasions like Valentine’s Day are convenient opportunities to remind our loved ones of how deeply we care, and to feel their love in return.
On Ash Wednesday and throughout Lent we will also recall Jesus’s crucifixion which won us our salvation. While admittedly not on the same scale, intimate relationships also involve self-sacrifice. It is this continuous preference for the other before oneself which sustains the bond between couples. As we honour and thank our significant-others this Valentine’s Day, we can extend those sentiments to the merciful and gracious God who loved us first.
Alternatively, if you find you cannot reconcile the concepts of ‘ashes’ and ‘roses’ you can simply celebrate Valentine’s Day on the previous day - Shrove Tuesday – and enjoy heart-shaped pancakes instead.
