You might not know, but Valentine
Was Abrahamic, in his way
He lived out Love in pagan Rome
And snubbed the fashion of the day:
Of Life For Self, of Pleasure King
He would not bow! He served the God
Who rises o’er the worldly sheen
(And men who follow Him are “odd”)
St. Valentine, in contrast to
The courtiers who were his peers
Was pious, man, and prayed and lived
Ignoring men’s insults and sneers
In finance, too, he parted ways
With Mammon-worshippers du jour:
Our Valentine, he used his cash
To bless the loveless, weak, and poor
When we remember Valentine
We think of paper lace and fluff
We do disservice to this braveheart
He was made of stouter stuff:
He gave his neck up to the sword
His love ran free when blood ran red
In this, a hero! So we note:
We too must love God live or dead
LORD on this day of Val, Your Saint
My home is Yours; God, I am Thine
May I be strange in Babylon
Like my old brother Valentine
From his apocryphal Insta account.
Thank you for this reminder. I share similar sentiments with St. Patrick’s Day too–whose story I didn’t hear until my mid-20s.
Faith of our Fathers is the song ringing in my head after reading this.
Here’s to being Strange in Babylon!
Your daughters spoke of your teaching on this at GR!