Chapy's Corner
My Funny Valentine
Dr. Eric Anthony Joseph
Issue date: 2/14/07 Section: Opinion
During the days that Bishop Valentine was imprisoned, he fell in love with the blind daughter of his jailer. His love for her, and his great faith, managed to miraculously heal her from her blindness before his death. Before he was taken to his death, he signed a farewell message to her, "From Your Valentine." The phrase has been used on his "hallmark" day forever since.
Although the lottery for women had been banned by the Roman Catholic Church, the mid-February holiday in commemoration of Saint Valentine was still used by Roman men to seek the affection of women. It became a tradition for the men to give the ones they admired handwritten messages of affection, containing Valentine's name.
The first Valentine Card grew out of this practice. The first true Valentine card was sent in 1415 by Charles, duke of Orleans, to his wife. He was imprisoned in the Tower of London at the time.
Cupid, another symbol of the holiday, became associated with it because he was the son of Venus (Aphrodites in the Greek, the Mesopotamian goddess Ishtar and Egypt's goddess Inanna), the Roman god of love and beauty. Cupid often appears on Valentine cards.
My dear Langstonites, let me please conclude this Valentine's 2007 Day message by stressing loves absolute permanency. God's love never fails, it is deathless, never defeated, not disillusioned. You can not keep God from loving you.
We can put up an umbrella to keep ourselves out of the rain, but we cannot stop the rain from falling. Neither can we stop God from loving us, regardless of the umbrella of sin or unbelief that we may be under. If you are feeling unloved, your chaplain, and more importantly God, desires you to be His personal Valentine everyday for He loves you (John 3:16)!
Dr. Eric Anthony Joseph is a professor at Langston and chaplain of the Annie Laurie Coleman Heritage Center. You may contact him at 405-466-2901 or by e-mail at eajoseph1906@hotmail.com
Although the lottery for women had been banned by the Roman Catholic Church, the mid-February holiday in commemoration of Saint Valentine was still used by Roman men to seek the affection of women. It became a tradition for the men to give the ones they admired handwritten messages of affection, containing Valentine's name.
The first Valentine Card grew out of this practice. The first true Valentine card was sent in 1415 by Charles, duke of Orleans, to his wife. He was imprisoned in the Tower of London at the time.
Cupid, another symbol of the holiday, became associated with it because he was the son of Venus (Aphrodites in the Greek, the Mesopotamian goddess Ishtar and Egypt's goddess Inanna), the Roman god of love and beauty. Cupid often appears on Valentine cards.
My dear Langstonites, let me please conclude this Valentine's 2007 Day message by stressing loves absolute permanency. God's love never fails, it is deathless, never defeated, not disillusioned. You can not keep God from loving you.
We can put up an umbrella to keep ourselves out of the rain, but we cannot stop the rain from falling. Neither can we stop God from loving us, regardless of the umbrella of sin or unbelief that we may be under. If you are feeling unloved, your chaplain, and more importantly God, desires you to be His personal Valentine everyday for He loves you (John 3:16)!
Dr. Eric Anthony Joseph is a professor at Langston and chaplain of the Annie Laurie Coleman Heritage Center. You may contact him at 405-466-2901 or by e-mail at eajoseph1906@hotmail.com
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