st. valentine's day

tomorrow is st. valentine's day.
most people i know either love or hate the holiday.
so i decided to do a little research about the origins of the holiday to try to figure out what i think about it. what i found was that there is not even close to a consensus on who st. valentine was or how the holiday came into existence. so, rather than writing a really convoluted post, i decided i'll just share a reading about love that is meaningful to me with you instead. (for those of you who are interested, here are some pages on st. valentine's day from american catholic, wikipedia , and history.com.)

If our common vocation is to be lovers, perhaps we can be more conscious of what justice is in our own lives and in the world; conscious of our own passion with and for each other. True Love is a most revolutionary act. It is exactly the opposite of romantic love. To really love is to topple unjust structures, bringing down the prinicipalities and powers of domination and control at all levels of social relation. To say I love you is to say that you are not mine, but rather your own. To love is to advocate your rights, your space, your self, and to struggle with you, rather than against you, in our learning to claim our power in the world. To love you is to create love with you, whether in the exchange of glances heavy with existence, in the "passing of the peace" we mean, in our common work or play, in our struggle for social justice, or in the ecstasy and tenderness of intimate embrace that we believe is just and right for us -- and for others in the world.
From __Our Passion for Justice__ by Carter Heyward

ps the image of the heart is from mars. seriously.