Church of the
Annunciation

January 31, 2023 

Friends in Christ:

Saturday February 11th is the Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes and World Day of the Sick. Lourdes is the town in Southern France where Our Lady appeared to Bernadette. It has become an international place of pilgrimage for countless people who come to the shrine to bathe in the spring water, to celebrate the Eucharist, to process in candle light vigils, and to experience solidarity, hope and healing.  Pope Francis explains: "World Day of the Sick calls for prayer and closeness towards those who suffer. Yet it also aims to raise the awareness of God’s people, healthcare institutions and civil society with regard to a new way of moving forward together...These past years of the pandemic have increased our sense of gratitude for those who work each day in the fields of healthcare and research. Yet it is not enough to emerge from such an immense collective tragedy simply by honoring heroes. Covid-19 has strained the great networks of expertise and solidarity, and has exposed the structural limits of existing public welfare systems. Gratitude, then, needs to be matched by actively seeking, in every country, strategies and resources in order to guarantee each person’s fundamental right to basic and decent healthcare...Let us turn our thoughts to the Shrine of Lourdes, a prophetic lesson entrusted to the Church for our modern times. It is not only what functions well or those who are productive that matter. Sick people, in fact, are at the center of God’s people, and the Church advances together with them as a sign of a humanity in which everyone is precious and no one should be discarded or left behind." 

Tuesday February 14th is Valentine’s Day. On this day in 270 Valentine, a priest and martyr, died during the persecution of Claudius II. The commemoration of his death from the earliest times was associated with the traditional custom of boys and girls declaring their love or choosing a steady partner for the following twelve months. The selection was often done, especially in France and England, by a game of chance, the boys drawing names of girls as their respective "Valentines." Giving Valentine Cards is a modern form of this ancient practice. We are not sure how the saint became associated with this practice. A medieval legend tells how the saint, shortly before his execution, wrote a note to the kind daughter of his jailer with the salutation "from your Valentine." More likely the historical origin of the association of Valentine and courtship is based on the coincidence of dates. Pagan Romans celebrated "Lupercalia" on February 15th. As part of it, on the evening before, young people held their own celebration by declaring their love, proposing marriage or choosing girl and boy friends for the coming year. In the Roman Republic the New Year began on March 1st.  When the Roman Empire became Christian the youth festival was no longer under the patronage of a goddess but inspired by Saint Valentine. ("Handbook of Christian Feasts and Customs" by Francis X. Weiser, S.J. pages 318-319)  

While we still have the custom of Valentine Cards and February 14th has become a very popular day to express love with cards, flowers and romantic dinners, there is a scarcity of events in the Church for single Catholics and of ministry to and with them. I call your attention to an online dating retreat and study series for single Catholics. Starting the week of February 6th, the National Conference for Single Catholics (NCSC) is hosting a 6-week study series entitled "Relationship Ready: A Single Catholic's Roadmap to Marriage" that will cover topics such as meaning of love, communication, conflict resolution, and male/female complementarity. To learn more or to sign up, visit NationalCatholicSingles.com. The director is Anastasia Northrop, a long-time promoter of the work and message of Saint Pope John Paul II. She has taken to heart the Church's call to a New Evangelization advocated by JPII. 

Fr. Gene Ulrich