Without Cards and Flowers

It’s Valentines Day, and I feel that it somehow deserves a comment or two. I did a little research, and Saint Valentine is thought to be a compendium of saints from the dusty, dark reaches of time. A miracle or two are attributed to him, but like most of the miracles attributed to the saints, they are questionable. Well, to me they are questionable.

 

Too many of the saints seem to be more political than miracle. I’m not saying that the saints weren’t wonderful people who dedicated their lives to helping others, but being a dedicated Christian doesn’t a saint make. The trouble that I have with the miracles is that most of them are written about a century or two after the saint has passed to his eternal glory. I’m pretty sure that if a true miracle were to happen, there would be no question that it happened. You couldn’t get people to shut up about it.

Can you imagine if a true miracle happened in this day and age? Suppose someone (a saint to be) walked into a hospital and began to lay on hands, curing everyone in the hospital. I don’t know how long it takes to channel the healing power of God, but I would assume the speed would meet the need. A guy should be able to burn through everyone in the hospital in less than a day. By the time he was finished, there would be tweets, emails and photos flying around the Ethernet. The news people would be out in force and there would be film at 11 PM.

 

To think that this saint to be would shun the notoriety makes me wonder why. If he didn’t want to be recognized, I would think that a part of that divine power would go to shut the internet and phone system down. Perhaps that explains our infrequent blackouts. There is a wonderful book by Richard Bach called “Illusions: The Adventures of a Reluctant Messiah” which talks about a person who performs modern day miracles. You should read it, it is fun.

 

Valentines Day has gone past the religious aspect and is now a day to declare your love. It is a day when new lovers can stare into each others eyes and dream of all that could be. Old lovers are comfortable being together and know that love is just a small part of life.

In our western society, Valentines Day has become a big day for the candy and card makers, the florists and jewellers. We give our love material indications of that love and reaffirm that we will still be in love this time next year.

I’ve never been very romantic, but I’m still here and that should count for something. Right? I gave Louise a full moon last night and I let her watch whatever she wanted on the TV tonight. Tomorrow and for the next 364 days I will just love her, quietly and more than likely without cards or flowers.