Amore.

St. Valentines Day

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'Tomorrow is Saint Valentine's Day...."

William Shakespeare, Hamlet

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Ah, the celebrated day that brings in money for Hall

mark..sometimes known as "Singles Awareness Day"...or somtimes, "Hopeless Romantics Day". Either way, what's the big deal about this day? This holiday comes and goes getting much attention, or none at all. It's supposed to be the "day of celebrated love"; but how do you know how to celebrate love if you don't even know what it is?

Several years ago, I was apart of a Christian fans

ite called 'The Dancing Lawn'. Anything could be posted there, or anything brought up. When Val

entines Day rolled around, I asked everyone what they thought love was; what their perfect definition of love was. Here's some of them:

1. "Love is the unfathomable essence of God"

2. "Love is caring for and praying for those who persecute you"

3. "Love is the passion that keeps us going"

4. "Love is what makes you smile when you're tired"

5. "Love is when you look at someone and can't help the urge to hug them and tell them you love them"

6. "Love is when you are willing to die for someone

7. "Love is when you want to spend all your time with the person you love"

8. "Love is what's in the room with you at Chris

tmas when you stop and listen" (as quoted from a six year old)

9. "Love is the feeling that makes you laugh and cry; when you feel you could soar, when you feel nothing bad"

10. "Love is what makes life worth living for"

11. "Love is when you feel like you're one per

son when you with someone else..even if you're

apart"

12. "Love is all the wonderful things wrapped up in one..the "amen" to a prayer...the ribbon on a present...the seal on the letter...keeping everything together and connecting it"

13. "Love is what keeps married couple from killing eachother"

14. "Love is thinking of others before yourself"

15. "Love is wishing the best for your beloved, no matter what the cost to yourself"

16. "Love is when you look at your parents"

What is your thought of love? Many people today have a shallow idea of love, often mistaking it as lust. I think it's because our cultures have lost touch with the Creator of love. We have no way to obverse love, so we have a hard time projecting it. The media has made love into lust. Sin has made love into lust. Valentines Day is not a day of love anymore...it is now a day of lust. Derived from several Christian 'Valentine' martyrs in Rome who died because of their undying passion for Christ, that means "love" has come quite far, and evolved into something 'not lovely'.

I laugh now because Marmie loves decorating for every special occasion and holiday(maybe it's because of her home-ec major) and has every single decoration you can think of. For Valentines Day we have red and white hearts than stick to the windows, a red and white hearted table cloth, red and white candle sticks, normally a dinner of spaghetti(keeping the theme of red in there), and, fortunately, no baby cherubs. Not once has cupid been invited to dine with us, thank goodness. Pops normally brings home stunning roses(that's right, you guessed it, red AND white ones), and that's our extent.

How can this holiday be worthy of celebrating though? Just something to think about....

If you've ever seen Captain Corelli's Mandolin, then this quote might be something you associate with 'Amore'.

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"Love is a temporary madness. It erupts like an earthquake and then subsides. And when it subsides you have to make a decision. You have to work out whether your roots have become so entwined together than it is inconceivable that you should ever part. Because that is what love it. Love is not breathlessness, it is not excitement, it is not the promulgation of promises of eternal passion. That is just being in love...which an of us can convince ourselves we are. Love itself is what is left over when being in love has burned away, and this is both an art and a fortunate accident. Your mother and I had it, we had roots that grew towards eachother underground, and when all the pretty blossom had fallen from our branches we found that we were one tree and not two."

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