St. Valentine, a Roman, was martyred for refusing to give up Christianity and for marrying couples in defiance of the Emperor Claudius. He died on February 14, 269 A.D., the same day that had been devoted to an ancient Roman holiday of love lotteries. According to "The Legenda Aurea", St. Valentine healed the daughter of his jailer of blindness. Another legend has it that he left her a note before he was beheaded and signed it "From your Valentine".

Does this original message about St Valentine inspire you? Is your dedication to the Heart as strong as St Valentine's is to Christianity? Is your Valentine's Day an expression of candy, sweets and flowers, or would you like to pick up the original intention of St. Valentine who was in pain and suffering but still transpired the power of love, the message of Christianity and the Heart in such powerful and romantic ways that we are still celebrating it today.

When I tune into the spirit of St Valentine I experience the spirit of a noble heart who gave his life for his belief while maintaining his love for others, as we see in his last note, "From your Valentine".

Valentine's Day 2006

Don't just give sweets, hallmark cards,
Diamonds and roses.
It is Valentine's Day 2006.
Don't repeat year by year the same gesture
And make the original meaning of this saint's life
More meaningless.

This saint died for what he believed in.
And left a note "from your Valentine"
To the daughter of his jailer.
Live for what you believe in!
Change the world and do it with love,
Not by buying meaning.

The sweetness is in the tears of your heart;
The roses are the beauty created through change;
The diamonds are the rock where your truth will be shattered;
The words are what carries you from here to there.
Let Valentine come to life again,
Through your own heart.

with love, Susanna