When I walk into grocery stores and the mall now during my usual shopping trips, I can already see the heart-shaped balloons, chocolate-covered cherries, and Saint Valentine’s Day cards on display. As a romantic, I get excited for the holiday but seem always to have to remind myself that love is not wrapped up in a pretty bow. Rather, love is found in the weary and the brokenhearted. After all, Saint Valentine was indeed a martyr. Even Sacred Scripture says, “Jesus said to them in reply, ‘Those who are healthy do not need a physician, but the sick do. I have not come to call the righteous to repentance but sinners.’” (Luke 5:31, 32). We should note that the greatest love of all, Jesus, is not on the shelf but on the cross. We all must carry a cross in this life if we are to be His followers. As is stated in Sacred Scripture, “Then Jesus said to his disciples, ‘Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. What profit would there be for one to gain the whole world and forfeit his life? Or what can one give in exchange for his life?’” (Matthew 16:24-26)
After first recognizing this truth, we should ponder Christ’s Love. Think of it. Jesus gave us the gifts of life, family, friends, our job, and a home. If we need any of those things, all He wants us to do is ask. In return, He will grant what we meed at the right time and in the right way. He desires a living and breathing relationship with you, and that is the gift He asks for this Saint Valentine’s Day and always. So, spend some time with Him and give Jesus your heart. He will transform it anew and make it like His own: more compassionate, loving, just, and merciful. Surrendering your heart to Jesus is the first step in the journey towards sainthood that we should all strive for in our lives.
Different methods certainly exist of spending time this Saint Valentine’s Day and of course every day with the one who loves us the most. Whether by going to daily Mass or Eucharistic Adoration, journaling to God, or spending time with Him in Sacred Scripture, the best way is to find a practice and stick to it. Whatever you feel most called to do by the Holy Spirit, trust in that calling and make the effort because our hearts long for Jesus. What Saint Augustine said is indeed true when he wrote in his book Confessions, “Our hearts are restless until they rest in Thee.”
Another point worth mentioning is that you should never feel alone any day because you have God rooting for you and wanting what is best for you. He has plans for you, even if you are in a waiting season. Everything will work out as God has planned if you trust in Him and are patient. If anything, we need to grow in His Love and grace before we venture out on new journeys of love, or parenting, or jobs. God is always with us.
So, let us have a great devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and be able to give Jesus our own hearts. In doing so, may we be able to wholeheartedly profess these words of Saint John Vianney who indeed loved Jesus very much.
“I love you, O my God. My only desire is to love you, until the last breath of my life. I love you, O infinitely loveable God, and I prefer to die loving you, rather than to live for an instant without you. I love you, O my God, and I desire only to go to heaven, to have the happiness of loving you perfectly. I love you, O my God, and my only fear is to go to hell, because one will never have the sweet solace of loving you there. O my God, if my tongue cannot say at all times that I love you, at least I want my heart to repeat it to you as many times as I breathe. Ah! Do me the grace: to suffer while loving you, to love you while suffering. And, that when I die: I not only will love you but experience it in my heart. I beg you that the closer I come to my final end, you will increase and perfect my love for you. Amen.”
