Saint Valentine’s day is coming!
Something that surprises me is the way that we can know who the saints are without actually knowing their story and why the church honors them.
Saint Valentine is especially interesting to me. Being that he died in the year 269, it is tough for us to really know a lot about him… but there are stories and legends of his life. This one in particular stuck out to me.
Saint Valentine the Patron Saint of Marriage
Here’s his story in a simple way retold for our kids to understand.
Hi, I’m Saint Valentine. I lived a long long time ago when Claudius II was the ruler of Rome. There were two important things to know about this king. First, Claudius II did not like Christians. Second, he loved having lots of soldiers to fight in his wars!
Claudius II thought having soldiers for his wars was so important that he made a law that people couldn’t get married. Claudius II thought that if young boys got married and had families they would not want to go off and fight in his wars.
This made things really tricky for the Christians following God. First, they knew that God wanted them to worship Him, not the false gods of Claudius II. Second, they knew that God wanted them to get married and start families.
I, Saint Valentine, had the special job of being God’s helper during this time. I was a priest, so I would marry the men and women who wanted to get married. This is why I am called the patron saint of love and marriage.
The Beauty of Marriage today
Times have changed but not that much. It can be really tough teaching our children about the beauty of marriage in a world that is so very confused. Saint Valentine’s Day can be a perfect day to show and remind kids of the beautiful gift of marriage.
Free Coloring Sheet and Printable Valentines
We’ve got a free Saint Valentine coloring sheet for you today!
Free Saint Valentine valentines
In case you missed them last week you can download our free Saint Valentine, valentines!
I hope you have blessed Valentine’s Day!
In Christ,
Theresa
P.S. When my four year old son first heard the story of Saint Valentine, he burst out in a panic, “But my papa married my mama! Is that ok?”