Monthly Archives: February 2016

Valentine’s Day: Love is in the Air

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February 14th, what an exciting day! Of course it is the date we celebrate Valentine’s Day. There is more to this day than a simple marketing ploy by Hallmark to create a holiday in which a plethora of cards can be sold, along with roses, boxes of chocolates, and candle lit dinners for two. (Wow that sounds nice. I remember now what it was like before I had st-valentinekids). There is indeed a St. Valentine who is on the Roman Catholic list of saints. However, the details of his life are not entirely clear. He is believed to have lived in Rome and to have been martyred there for witnessing to the Faith in the third century. His feast day was celebrated on February 14th until the revision of the General Roman Calendar in 1969 under Blessed Paul VI (cf. catholic.org), and it is still celebrated in some places.

Valentine’s Day is typically thought of as a day to celebrate love. We as Catholics can be especially joyful when we celebrate the holiday as a day of love. First and foremost we call to mind our God who is love (1 John 4:8). God loved us so much that He incarnated His love in the person of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. And St. Paul explains that, “God proves his love for us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). So if we buy red roses or see others buying red roses on Valentine’s Day, we can reflect on the blood of Christ that flowed from His side on Calvary as a sign of His love for us. We can reflect on the martyrdom of St. Valentine who died because he refused to deny Jesus. If we see people buying chocolates in the shape of a heart, we can reflect on the Sacred Heart of Jesus which burns with love for each of us. And when two people enjoy a candle lit dinner, they can reflect on the sacred meal that is the Eucharist with Jesus who is the light of the world (cf. John 8:12).

February 14th is also the Feast Day of Ss. Cyril and Methodius. They’re two brothers who were bishops in the ninth century. St. John Paul II actually wrote an entire encyclical letter StsCyrilMethodiusabout the two, stating, “THE APOSTLES OF THE SLAVS, Saints Cyril and Methodius, are remembered by the Church together with the great work of evangelization which they carried out” (Slavorum Apostoli 1). Cyril and Methodius are known for playing a major role in bringing Christianity to the Slavic people. They’re co-patron saints of Europe (Ibid.). I am particularly drawn to their story since my ancestors first came to the United States from Poland. And the first Polish pope, St. John Paul II, explained that while the evangelization of Poland stemmed from a few historical events, “the fact remains that the beginnings of Christianity in Poland are in a way linked with the work of the Brothers…” (Slavorum Apostoli 24). As we reflect on how our Catholic Faith has been handed on from generation to generation, from one person to another under the guidance of the successors to the Apostles the bishops, I can reflect on how the Gospel first influenced those Slavic people in the ninth century. At some point, one of my ancestors heard and accepted the Gospel and would hand it on to his or her ancestors or family members.

February 14th is a special day for me indeed. It is a special day to celebrate God’s love and to recall St. Valentine’s courage in proclaiming the Gospel. It is a day to reflect on how the Gospel was effectively proclaimed to the Slavic people through the brothers Ss. Cyril and Methodius. These two set out to a foreign land trusting that the Holy Spirit would guide them to speak and live the truth in love (cf. Ephesians 4:15). And February 14th is also a special day for me because it happens to be my birthday… but I won’t share which one.

Ss. Valentine, Cyril, Methodius, and John Paul II, pray for us!

Edward Trendowski teaches family life ministry for Saint Joseph’s College Online.

The Three Questions – Being Present for Lent

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I have been pondering how to approach Lent in this Jubilee Year of Mercy given that Jesus calls us to be merciful like the Father (Lk 6:36) and that Pope Francis asked that we live this Lenten season “more intensely as a privileged moment to celebrate and experience God’s mercy” (Misericordiae Vultus). I recently read a profoundly poignant metaphor equating God’s mercy to the two reflection pools of the New York 9/11 Memorial where within each reflection pool a huge waterfall drops into the darkness of a lower pool whose bottom you cannot see:

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“It struck me deeply as a metaphor for God: mercy eternally pouring into darkness, always filling an empty space…water always falls and pools up in the very lowest and darkest places, just like mercy does” (Richard Rohr, OFM).

 

God’s mercy, thankfully, infiltrates into the darkest corners of our lives, and since mercy was first shown to us, each of us is called to spread, to the deepest levels, “the balm of mercy” to all others (MV 5).  As we begin our Lenten promises, many of us will treat “the Christ in others” through renewed efforts in living out the corporal and spiritual works of mercy. My contemplative practices have taught me, though, that to be successful at such efforts, to make this Lenten season assuredly transformational for ourselves and others, we need to become deeply present to all those we encounter – family, friends, and strangers.

Being genuinely present in body, mind, and heart, however, is not always so easy. Oftentimes, we hardly give our full attention to those with whom we are speaking, inescapably, it seems, distracted by the myriad of daily activities running through our minds. How often do we spend time with someone, but we are not really “there”? How regularly do we stop to reflect that the person we most dislike, or gets under our skin, is as equally loved by God as we are? How frequently do we ponder that God is amongst us and within us? Though we may not shun the sacramental presence of Christ, how often do we shun Christ’s presence through the people he places in our lives? Pope Francis engages all of us in stating, “It is time to return to the basics and to bear the weaknesses and struggles of our brothers and sisters” (MV 10). We all must attempt to go deeper than just the surface, to be undeniably present, to make possible the extension of mercy to others.

I was recently reintroduced to Jon Muth’s children’s book The Three Questions based on the short story of the same name by Leo Tolstoy. Rehearing that story after several years, reminded me of its profoundly simple message and its relevance to remaining present during this Lenten season. Striving to be the best person each can be, the king (in Tolstoy’s story) and Nikolai (the young boy in Muth’s rendition) ask three questions:

 

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When is the best time to do things?
Who is the most important one?
What is the right thing to do?

 

 

As we embrace and firmly put into action the corporal and spiritual works of mercy, the answers to these three questions supplies our needed framework to remain deeply present to those we encounter – reaching their dark corners and enabling them to experience God’s mercy. When is the best time to do things? There is only one important time – Now. Who is the most important one? The most important one is always the one next to us at that moment. What is the right thing to do? The right thing to do is to do good for the one you are with at that instant. As we embark on carrying out the works of mercy this Lent, if we truly concentrate on doing them now, truly focus on who we come upon, and truly center on her or his particular need at that moment, our practical compassion will dive below the surface to those darkened corners and will shine as the mercy of God operating through us.

My God, open my eyes to your presence around me this Lent, and allow me to be deeply present in each moment, present to my brothers and sisters, present to their needs, and through my presence allow them to experience your mercy.

Fawn Waranauskas teaches spirituality for Saint Joseph’s College Online.