Valentine’s Day originally in the ancient history of the Romans focused on the festival of Lupercalia, a pre-Christian festival in mid-February, the day was associated with a fertility and springtime
As Christianity spread, the festival merged with the feast of Saint Valentine, a Christian martyr who was famous for deeds of love and kindness, one of which was marrying couples secretly in an age when such was forbidden.
Pix: Saint Valentine, Patron of Lovers
In today’s modern world, the day has become increasingly a global celebration of love and affection and is marked by the exchange of cards, flowers, and gifts, showing the continued popularity of showing love and appreciation.
Pix: Pope Francis
In this year’s (2025) celebration, Pope Francis as he had always ,sent Valentine message to the world. He dedicated words of advice and teaching to engaged couples and married couples
Here are Pope Francis’ ten phrases that can help you to stand firm in love.
1.- Do not burn stages before marriage!
During the General Audience on May 27, 2015 , Pope Francis invited the couple to live this time before marriage as “a journey that progresses slowly, but it is a journey of maturation. The stages of the path must not be burned. Maturation is done like this, step by step”.
“The time of engagement can truly become a time of initiation into the surprise of the spiritual gifts with which the Lord, through the Church, enriches the horizon of the new family that is preparing to live in his blessing.”
2.- If it is not forever, better not get married
At the General Audience on June 21, 2017 , the Holy Father affirmed that “he who truly loves has the desire and the courage to say ‘forever’; but he knows that he needs the grace of Christ and the help of the saints to be able to live the married life forever.
3.- Marriage is not improvised
“It is not enough for Christian couples to prepare for marriage by achieving a good psychological, affective, relational and project integration, which is also necessary for the stability of their future union. They must also nurture and progressively increase in themselves that specific call to model themselves as Christian spouses” (Course on the guardianship of marriage and the pastoral care of wounded couples , November 30, 2019).
4.- Without giving up
In the apostolic exhortation Amoris laetitia , Pope Francis explains that marriage is not the end of the road, since marriage is “a vocation that propels you forward, with the firm and realistic decision to go through all the trials and difficult moments together.” .
5. Love is built like a house
“What do we understand by ‘love’? Just a feeling, a psychophysical state? True, if it is this, you can’t build something solid on it. But if, on the other hand, love is a relationship, then it is a reality that grows, and we can even say, by way of example, that it is built like a house. And the house is built together, not alone (…). You do not want to find it on the sand of feelings that come and go, but on the rock of authentic love, the love that comes from God” (Plaza de San Pedro, February 14, 2014 ).
6. Love is a surprise between the one who loves and the one who is loved
“Love opens you to surprises, love is always a surprise, because it supposes a dialogue between two: between the one who loves and the one who is loved. And we say of God that he is the God of surprises, because He always loved us first and awaits us with a surprise” ( Meeting with young people in Manila, January 18, 2015 ).
7. True love leads you to “burn” life
“True love leads you to burn your life, even at the risk of leaving empty-handed. Let’s think of Saint Francis: he left everything, he died empty-handed, but with a full heart” (Meeting with young people, Manila, 18 January 2015 ).
8. Never stop being boyfriends!
“How many difficulties in the life of marriage are solved if we take a space of sleep. If we stop and think of the spouse, of the spouse. And we dream of the benefits that it has, the good things that it has. That is why it is very important to recover love through the illusion of every day. Never stop being boyfriends!” ( Meeting with the families, Manila, January 16, 2015 ).
9. Don’t end the day without making up
“The secret is that love is stronger than the moment in which there is a fight, and for this reason I advise married couples: do not end the day in which they fought without making peace, always” (General Audience in Plaza San Pedro , 2 April 2014).
10. Excuse me, thank you and sorry
“To lead a family it is necessary to use three words. I want to repeat it, three words: permission, thank you, and forgiveness” ( Words to the families during the pilgrimage to the tomb of Saint Peter, October 26, 2013.
As we celebrate the feast of St. Valentine today, may the love of God fill our hearts . May we live and make the world a better place, a place where every human being is respected and cared for, a better world.
Author: Maureen Ikpeama