I read a story yesterday about St. Valentine and what happened to him, that resulted in celebration of Valentine’s day.

If the story is accurate, then his was not a Romeo and Juliet or romance tale.

Instead St. Valentine bravely died for what he believed.

A law had been passed barring marriage of young people, because the ruler at the time believed married men tended to be less courageous and commited at war, because thoughts of their wives and children made them want to play safe.

So the law aimed to keep young people from wedlock to ensure the right mindset in those recruited to go to the war front.

St. Valentine found himself sympathizing with many young lovers who desperately went around asking priests to marry them. The priests naturally declined, knowing the law forbade it.

One day Valentine began secretly conducting marriage ceremonies for those who came to him.

He knew it was dangerous but he felt convinced it was the right thing to do.

He was eventually found out and ultimately put to death for his actions.

The narrative ends by saying that on the day he was to die, he sent a note to a young lady (daughter of a top officer in government) who’d reportedly regained her eye sight when he prayed for her while he was in prison.

It was not a love letter though. But he signed it with his name thus: “Your Valentine”.

And that was apparently how the use of “Valentine” came to be.

I believe a quick Google search will bring up a more articulate narration of this story behind the Valentine’s day celebration.

However, in this article I’ve chosen to extract a lesson on courage from the story.

St. Valentine believed he had a duty to help people who loved one another fulfill their dreams of getting married.

He searched his heart and knew failing to perform that duty would be wrong.

So he bravely went ahead and acted on his convictions despite being aware of what could come of it.

Today, the whole world celebrates LOVE using his name!

I believe that in our personal and work lives, we can emulate St. Valentine by acting with courage on our convictions to do things right…AND to do the right things!

I also believe that we need to teach our kids, from as early as possible in their lives, to do the same.

If we do so consistently, the world is bound to become a better place over time.