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Valentine’s Day celebrates the life of St. Valentine of Rome, a priest who was martyred on February 14.

February 14 marks the popular holiday of Valentine’s Day, a day to show your love to someone special in your life.

The reason it is called Valentine’s Day is because the Church used to celebrate the life of St. Valentine on this date.

Who was St. Valentine?

February 14 honors the memory of St. Valentine of Rome, a priest who was martyred on this day in the year 270.

A brief biography of St. Valentine is featured in Butler’s Lives of the Saints.

Valentine was a holy priest in Rome, who, with Saint Marius and his family, assisted the martyrs in the persecution under Claudius II. He was apprehended, and sent by the emperor to the prefect of Rome; who, on finding all his promises to make him renounce his faith ineffectual, commanded him to be beaten with clubs, and afterwards to be beheaded, which was executed on the 14th of February, about the year 270. 

Generally speaking, this is most of what we know about the real St. Valentine with any certainty. After his death many legends were composed about him. One of the earliest legends about his life is featured in the Golden Legend.

When St. Valentine was brought in a house in prison, then he prayed to God, saying: “Lord Jesus Christ, very God, which art very light, illumine this house in such wise that they that dwell therein may know you to be very God.” And the provost said: “I marvel that you say that your God is very light, and nevertheless, if he may make my daughter to hear and see, which long time hath been blind, I shall do all that you command me, and shall believe in your God.” St. Valentine put him in prayers, and by his prayers the daughter of the provost received again her sight, and all they of the the house were converted. After, the emperor cut off the head of St. Valentine, the year of our Lord two hundred and eighty.

It wasn’t until much later that St. Valentine was associated with lovers, and the invention of the modern-day celebration of Valentine’s Day. Even the story of St. Valentine performing marriages comes at a later date.

Regardless of these later additions to this story, the early Christians venerated St. Valentine of Rome as a holy martyr, who stayed faithful to Christ despite persecution.

Sometimes, Valentine’s Day can feel a little.. cliche? We fall into it “feeling” the same every year — flowers, chocolates, or dinner. These are all beautiful things! But how can we make it feel really meaningful. 

Just like anniversaries have taught us, creating intentionality in your relationship takes time, effort, and sometimes, a little extra guidance. From guidance or structure can come really profound fruit. 

Occasionally, ‘guidance’ can take the form of leaning on a list.

Again, you may be thinking:
“My spouse won’t respond if I pull out a list of questions!”
“It’s just going to be me responding.”
“I don’t feel comfortable sharing these.”
“This isn’t how my spouse and I talk to one another!”
“This feels forced and too cheesy.” 

And while these thoughts are valid, it’s important to also acknowledge that sometimes, nurturing relationships requires utilizing some communication tools to make space for the kind of experiences you truly want. 

Structure can feel forced or disingenuous; however, authentic, genuine, deep connection often doesn’t come naturally—whether that’s because you are still figuring out your communication style as a new couple or you’ve spent years getting really comfortable with one another and have fallen into status quo. 

Whether you’re spending time with your spouse or partner over dinner, writing them a card, or simply spending a few minutes together connecting between bedtimes and cleaning up the house–the questions below are meant to bring a deeper layer of intentionality. This is a chance to check in on each person and continue to support one another in the ways needed.

So, we want to propose a few Valentines Day questions to ask your partner, whether you’re in year 1 or year 30. 

• What is something that has brought you a lot of joy lately? 
• What has been the most challenging thing for you lately? 
• Pick three words you would use to describe yourself right now.
• What was the last great book you read / podcast you listened to?
• What area of life do you want to grow in? 
• What ways are you growing spiritually? 
• What do you think God is doing in your life, or speaking to you right now? 
• What has been rewarding in your career lately? 
• What has been rewarding at home? 
• What is one goal you are currently working towards?
• What was something that you have grown in valuing of your partner recently?
• What is something you feel like we’ve done well as a couple? 
• What is something that you hope we can grow in? 
• What do you need me from me? How can I support you?

This might get lost in your inbox – so download these questions as cards and print them out, or swipe through on your phone!

“I already feel guilty enough about what I did. I don’t need a priest to make me feel more guilty.”

Prayer, fasting, and almsgiving are three spiritual practices we encourage during Lent. As part of those practices, we also encourage making a good confession. And yet, rather oddly, some people see feeling guilty as an obstacle to this sacrament.

If you already feel guilty about something you have said or done, that means you recognize it as wrong. And, that’s not bad. Folks who couldn’t care less if they hurt someone are the worrisome ones. They have the bigger problem. But, back to you.

The priest isn’t there to make you feel more guilty, but to help you move through your sense of guilt to being freed to live the life that God wants you to live. God wants to unburden you from an ego that is focused only on yourself.

6 points for going to Confession without feeling more guilty

It’s been a while since I’ve gone to confession.

That’s okay. Just tell that to the priest, and he will help you. The priest understands that people forget, or even never learned, how to go to confession. So, when you go into the reconciliation room (sometimes still called the confessional), just tell him:

“Father, it’s been a while since I’ve made a confession, and I don’t remember how it’s done. Can you help me?” (or) “I haven’t done this before. I don’t know how to begin.”

Remember this ONE thing above all else.

The priest is not there to judge you, but to be a minister of God’s love and forgiveness. He is there to serve you and your relationship with God.

Before you see the priest.

Consider the following two questions in preparation for confession:

1. How long has it been since your last confession?
2. What is it that you would like God to forgive you for? If you’re not sure, then ask yourself what prompts you to go to confession. Perhaps …

• You do not pray every day.
• You intentionally hurt someone.
• You did something that is contrary to the Christian life.
• You are unable let go of a grudge against someone who hurt you or someone you love.

Remember this, too.

A confession is not a trial by a judge or jury, but part of the Sacrament of God’s forgiveness — God’s loving embrace of you. God knows that you are not perfect, which is why he gives you Jesus. Jesus died on the cross and rose from the dead. With Jesus, you move through death to life. With Jesus, you can move from feeling guilty to living life as Jesus wants you to live.

On the sixth Sunday of Ordinary Time, we reflect on St. Luke’s version of the Beatitudes. I have always appreciated the juxtaposition of the lessons in Jesus’ words: negative situations will result in joy; comfortable situations may eventually result in misery.

Quoting Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, Luke writes, “Blessed are you who are poor, for the kingdom of God is yours. Blessed are you who are now hungry, for you will be satisfied. Blessed are you who are now weeping, for you will laugh. Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude and insult you, and denounce your name as evil on account of the Son of Man. Rejoice and leap for joy on that day! Behold, your reward will be great in heaven” (Lk 6:20–22).

I find these words particularly impactful during this Jubilee Year in which we are called to be “Pilgrims of Hope.” In our day and age, it seems that many people are unable to face suffering with an attitude of hope. As a person of faith, I know that I am not called to seek out suffering—and I’m certainly not called to enjoy it—but I am aware that suffering is part of life. Jesus’ words remind me that, in faith, we can endure. Our Jubilee Year reminds us that we must hold on to hope and be witnesses of this hope in a world so desperately in need of it.

I recently watched Chris Stefanick’s interview with Monsignor James Shea entitled, “What if Depression and Anxiety Are the Only Logical Response to a World Without God?” In this interview, Monsignor Shea acknowledged the very real existence of clinical depression and anxiety in some people; however, he also noted a correlation between an increase in anxiety and a decrease in the number of people who proclaim to have faith.

He stated, “I think what’s happened is that, in part at least, we’ve pathologized negative emotions. Some people feel that if they have negative feelings … that there is something wrong with them fundamentally because no one is ever ‘supposed’ to feel bad about anything.” Monsignor went on to say that these reactions don’t actually “respond to reality according to any measure.” Life is full of challenges, and “the fact of the matter is that feeling bad, being afraid or anxious or concerned is sometimes the exact right response to a set of circumstances.” Furthermore, he adds, “The emotions are one of the four powers of the soul which God put in us.”

It would seem that, rather than relying on Scripture messages, such as the Beatitudes quoted above, or developing personal relationships with God, people confronted with challenging situations feel desperate, as if they have nowhere to turn.

Our recent columns on the future of AM radio (“Streaming technologies are bypassing old-school radio”: Jan. 14, and “Is this the end of the line for AM radio?”: Oct. 31) sparked reader interest.

A local development is also providing fodder for the contentious topic. That would be the somewhat surprising announcement from Corus Entertainment concerning longtime AM ratings powerhouse radio station CKNW and its move down the dial from 980 to 730.

While the Corus/CKNW spin on the story is a technical one, about a better and clearer signal, especially in the downtown core, there is no sugar-coating the fact this represents attrition in the AM radio space. It makes for one fewer station on a dial where stations began disappearing several years ago (think Bloomberg 1410, which was once one of Canada’s top radio stations as 1410 CFUN, and Team1040 Sports Radio at 1040) with frequencies going silent.

In the case of the CKNW move from 980 to 730, the latter having been a popular all-traffic station (and in an earlier life, as CKLG, the home of Top 40 radio in Vancouver), the 980 frequency will go dark and the station will rebrand as 730 CKNW. Yes, in a technical sense the move is a good one. The 980 frequency was very poor in much of the downtown peninsula, mainly because the transmitter and antenna are off Highway 15 in Cloverdale, whereas the 730 site is substantially closer.

This move also acknowledges that Canada’s experiment with so-called HD Radio is mostly a failure. HD Radio allows companies to piggyback AM stations on the signals of their FM stations. CKNW, for instance, can be found on HD-capable radios as a sub-station on the signal from CFMI Rock 101. While most modern cars have HD-capable radios, the use of such feeds simply hasn’t resonated with the public.

A reader wanted to know why AM radio still existed, adding that surely FM is much better. Here’s how I answered him.

Such a good question. Answering it, however, is somewhat technical.

AM signals have a greater reach for a given power, especially at night. The saying is that a dozen or so AM stations could cover all or much of North America.

However, your real question may be why the AM band stations aren’t using FM. The answer lies in bandwidth. An FM station has quite a wide bandwidth, measured in megahertz. An AM station has a bandwidth measured in kilohertz. The current AM band would be too narrow to accommodate many stations in FM mode.

You are right, FM is much better, precisely because of the extra bandwidth available—about 200 kHz (0.2 MHz).

Don’t we all love a good apocalypse?

In our conversations, our movies, our news, and our shopping, so many of us are captivated by doomsdays. During the 2020 pandemic, how many of us shuttered ourselves in our homes, purchased far more toilet paper and canned goods than we could reasonably consume, and talked about little else?

Canadian psychologist Jordan Peterson recently interviewed a historian about “world-ending narratives” and the “global doomsday ethos.” The historian, Niall Ferguson, said anticipating an impending end of the world as we know it “is part of a long tradition” and “exciting to people.”

Peterson called it an adventure, terrifying but thrilling like a science fiction film.

The latest “incarnation” of this doomsday narrative, said Ferguson, is the “catastrophic climate scenario” – in which activists and politicians are trying to convince us the world will end if we don’t all recycle, drive electric cars, and stop eating meat.

In recent years I’ve sensed an increase in people talking about the end of the world. I’ve never before heard so much talk about dumpster fires and seen so many cartoon images of the earth falling apart. Politics. Pandemics. Crime. War. Economics. Climate. It’s all bad news.

The common story we are telling ourselves is that things are world-endingly awful right now. But are they?

Before COVID-19 hit, before firearms were invented, and before Russia or the Middle East were drawn on maps – sin existed. Before any animal went extinct, before double homicides left children orphaned, before drug addiction marred Vancouver streets – human life had been plodding through the mud.

Thanks to Adam and Eve, we have inherited a planet that is already broken. Already on fire. Already populated by sinful people and good people who will all die one day.

Imagine reading the news in Noah’s time. Genesis tells us “the earth was corrupt in God’s sight and was full of violence. So God said to Noah, ‘I am going to put an end to all people, for the earth is filled with violence because of them.’” 

Literally only a handful of good people – just Noah and his immediate family – lived on earth. So God told Noah to build a boat, then flooded the planet.

Thankfully, God promised he would never do that again, and as we admire rainbows we can be grateful there is likely more than just one boatful of good people on earth today!

We lament the prevalence of euthanasia, abortion, and the other ways our society justifies throwing away vulnerable people.

“We must not tolerate the shameful exploitation of so many of our sisters and brothers,” Pope Francis told a delegation from Talitha Kum, a Catholic network of religious sisters who combat human trafficking through prevention, advocacy, and survivor support.

The Pope also met with organizers of the World Day of Prayer and Awareness against Human Trafficking on Friday. 

“Trafficking in human bodies, the sexual exploitation even of small children and forced labour are a disgrace and a very serious violation of fundamental human rights,” he said.

The 11th International Day of Prayer and Awareness Against Human Trafficking takes place on Saturday, Feb. 8, the feast of Saint Josephine Bakhita, “a victim of this terrible social scourge.” 

St. Bakhita’s story, the Pope underscored in his discourse, “gives us strength and shows us that with the Lord’s grace, it is possible for those who suffered injustice and violence to shatter their chains, to go free and to become messengers of hope to others in difficult situations.”

Addressing those present, the Holy Father decried human trafficking as “a global phenomenon that claims millions of victims and continues unabated.” 

“It continually finds new ways,” he lamented, “to infiltrate our societies the world over.”

In the face of this tragedy, the Pope appealed, “we must not remain indifferent. Like yourselves, we need to unite our forces and our voices, calling upon everyone to accept responsibility for combating this form of crime that profits from the most vulnerable.”

Thanking Talitha Kum for its service in particular, Pope Francis said, “I am pleased to meet you and to join you in your daily commitment to put an end to human trafficking.” 

“I know,” he acknowledged, “that you are an international group, and some of you have traveled very far for this week of prayer and awareness against human trafficking.”

In a special way, the Pope expressed his appreciation to the youth ambassadors, who, he acknowledged, continue to find new ways of raising awareness of, and providing information about, “the evil” of human trafficking.

In this context, he called on organizations and individuals in this network to continue to work together, making victims and survivors their “primary concern, listening to their stories, caring for their wounds, and enabling them to make their voices heard in society at large.” 

“That,” he underscored, “is what it means to be ambassadors of hope, and it is my hope that during this Jubilee Year many others will follow your example.”

Pope Francis concluded by imparting his Apostolic Blessing, reassuring them of his prayers, and asking them to pray for him.

Your voice matters! Join the conversation by submitting a Letter to the Editor here.

Cardinal Michael Czerny and sculptor Timothy P. Schmalz, both Canadian, were in Rome to speak about evangelization through art as part of festivities linked to the Jan. 24–26 Jubilee of the World of Communications, emphasizing that words are not necessary to share the Catholic faith with others.

Cardinal Czerny, prefect of the Vatican’s Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, said Schmalz’s statue Angels Unawares, which was installed in St. Peter’s Square in 2019 to commemorate the World Day of Migrants and Refugees, observed on the last Sunday of September, silently yet eloquently depicts the experience of millions of people throughout history.

“More often than not, you have the impression that people are looking for themselves — they’re looking for their ancestors, they’re looking for their people, and they find them,” Cardinal Czerny shared with some 350 conference participants.

“I think in this way this sculpture communicates something which, as we know now, is also highly political if not violent [at times], without words and without labels,” the cardinal said.

Speaking about the 140 figures of Angels Unawares, Schmalz said Cardinal Czerny’s request for the sculpture had given him the opportunity to depict the “mosaic of emotions” experienced by migrants and refugees from different times and places. 

“I have joy, I have happiness, but I also have despair represented,” he said. “Hopefully some of those faces, some of those expressions, will touch the people that see it.”  

The biblical verse “Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares” (Heb 13:2) was what inspired Schmalz to place an angel at the center of his artwork. 

“You can only see the wings because of the crowd of people,” he explained. “I thought that’s a discreet, subtle way of giving a visual translation to that beautiful passage of Scripture — because it is discreet.”

Cardinal Czerny described the angel in the middle of Schmalz’s sculpture as a symbol of the “beautiful truth” experienced by those who have welcomed migrants and refugees.

“They will always tell you that they received more than they gave,” he shared. “That this person or this family who would have somehow come into their lives is a gift from God.”

“At the same time, if you talk with a migrant or refugee who has had the good fortune of bumping into someone inspired by the Gospel, or at least by human motivations, they will say they were saved by an angel — that an angel came into our life,” he continued.  

Toward the end of the meeting on evangelization through art, the Canadian cardinal reiterated the pope’s call to uphold the dignity of those who have left their homelands.

On Super Bowl Sunday, players for the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles are vying for a championship, a ring, money ($178,000 for winners versus $103,000 for losers), and a lifetime achievement.

The Catholic bishops of their respective dioceses have more modest things at stake: food, a $500 donation, and bragging rights. 

Even so, the bishops are talking some clerical smack over their purportedly friendly wager. 

It’s a rematch for Kansas City Bishop James Johnston and Philadelphia Archbishop Nelson Pérez, whose city’s teams played each other in the big game two years ago. (Kansas City won, 38-35, the first of two Super Bowl victories in a row. Philadelphia won the title in 2017, its only championship in the Super Bowl era.) 

For years, the bishops of dioceses whose teams make it to the Super Bowl have been placing a public bet on the outcome. This year, if the Eagles win, Johnston is supposed to provide Jack Stack barbecue (famous in the Kansas City area) for Pérez. If the Chiefs win, Pérez will provide Philadelphia cheesesteak for Johnston. 

Each bishop is also promising a $500 contribution to the other diocese’s Catholic Charities if his team loses. 

The two bishops made a joint Feb. 7 appearance on “EWTN News In Depth.”

Johnston, whose Chiefs are looking for an unprecedented third Super Bowl victory in a row, expressed confidence in coach Andy Reid and quarterback Patrick Mahomes. 

Pérez sounded hungrier, though, in support of the Eagles, affectionately called “the Birds” by their loyal fans. 

“Well, I think the bishop and his Chiefs … are in for it. Because the Birds are hunting,” Pérez said. 

Pérez made two things clear during the interview: 

1.  He’s totally confident the Eagles will win. 

2.  He wants the benefit of a point spread. 

“Bishop Johnston, the bishops that I’m in retreat with asked me to ask you for two points since we’re the underdog,” Pérez said. 

(In such a case, if the Chiefs won by one point, Pérez would still win the bet. If the Chiefs won by two points, it would be what’s known as a “push,” and neither side would win. The Chiefs would have to win by three or more for Johnston to collect.) 

Johnston was having none of the retreat bishops’ suggestion. 

“You tell them to go back to their prayer,” Johnston said. 

Neither bishop can claim as much team spirit as Bishop Michael Burbidge, a Philadelphia native who had an Eagles emblem put into stained glass during a recent renovation of the Cathedral of St. Thomas More in his Diocese of Arlington, Virginia. 

Even so, the rival dioceses on Sunday have heavy-duty patron saints, as the bishops pointed out.

As Catholics around the world embark on the Jubilee of Hope, Archbishop J. Michael Miller, CSB, has shared a Pastoral Letter encouraging us to embrace this sacred time as a season of renewal, grace, and spiritual growth. Drawing from the rich traditions of the Church, he outlines five meaningful ways to fully participate in the Jubilee Year of 2025.

Here are his five practices to help you along the way:

1. Welcome Christ into Your Heart

On the Feast of the Holy Family, we opened the Jubilee in the Archdiocese of Vancouver. With the Church throughout the world, we  proclaimed: “For everyone, may the Jubilee be a moment of genuine, personal encounter with the Lord Jesus, the ‘door’ (cf. John 10:7,9) of our salvation, whom the Church is charged to proclaim always, everywhere, and to all as ‘our hope’ (1 Timothy 1:1).”

This year of Jubilee – as in any other year! – is a time to welcome Christ more profoundly into our hearts. For some, this may mean welcoming Him to be the Lord of their lives for the first time. The Jubilee urges others to deepen the relationship begun at Baptism and re-centre themselves in Him. 

Conversion and ongoing conversion are always available to us as a grace of the Holy Spirit. St. Ambrose spoke succinctly of these two conversions, “there are water and tears: the water of Baptism and the tears of repentance.”  May these words of St Ambrose lead us this year to seek more profound encounters with Christ, our “hope of glory” (Colossians 1:27)!

Indeed, the Jubilee of Hope can inspire a new beginning in our spiritual life, the possibility to starting again from Christ and the Gospel.

2. Sow Hope

Christian hope differs from the wishful thinking that everything will align with what we want. Optimism is fleeting; it always has an expiration date. On the other hand, Christian hope is an enduring gift of the Holy Spirit. It remains steadfast because it’s rooted in God’s unwavering fidelity. This hope strengthens us, allowing us to navigate even the most challenging times with confidence. 

As the Apostle Paul reminds us, “If God is for us [and He is!], who can be against us?” (Romans 8:31). We should also share the profound insight of the medieval mystic Julian of Norwich: “All will be well, and all manner of things will be well.”

True hope doesn’t lead to passivity but to action. “The one who has hope lives differently; the one who hopes has been granted the gift of a new life.”  In this Jubilee year, let’s combat pessimism by fanning the spark of hope into a flame and helping others look to the future with confidence.