We know as Christians we are called to live our faith, to not be ashamed, and to spread God's word to all nations. But it seems that as the years go by, more and more is being taken from us.

Let us reclaim Saint Valentine's Day. First, let's put "Saint" back in the name. (On the same note, let's put "God" back in "God Bless You" when you hear a sneeze).

Tell others the story of Saint Valentine. He was a priest in Rome who was imprisoned for giving aid to martyrs in prison. He even is said to have cured his jailer's daughter who was blind. Her family then converted to Christianity. He was also said to have passed a note to the jailer's daughter and it read "from your Valentine". He was later beaten and beheaded for his faith.

There are many stories about Saint Valentine, but no matter what you hear, you will be pointed to Christ.

So what has Saint Valentine's Day become?

Men and women in our country are both pressured into the new meaning of this holiday. A man's worth is judged by how romantic he is on this day and what he bought his Valentine. A woman, well we don't want to say what she would be pressured to do on Valentine's day.

If a man or woman doesn't have a date on this day, he/she is looked down upon. Does God choose us all for married life? No, so why should we feel pressured into this?

A day that was a feast day in the Church, a day to celebrate the Patron Saint of Love has become a day of sin. Premarital sex, lust, drunkenness, greed, envy, must I go on? And let's not even delve into the topic of this being the "Cheater's Holiday", a time when the most men are caught cheating on their wives and girlfriends.

If this is a day for lovers, the best way that we can show someone that we love them, is to be the light of Christ. We are to lead our spouse to heaven, not drag them down. This should be a day that we thank God for the love he has helped us share, not a day that we disgrace his plans for us.

Saint Valentine, pray for us.

P.S. Yes, I am married, and yes I am celebrating with my wife. :-)

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We all need role models and the world needs heroes, but we must be careful where we place our trust.

If we place all of our trust in humans, then we are bound to be let down. In an age where everyone has a cell phone, a camera, a computer, word travels fast. We place the famous under microscopes and then cry once we find out they have cracks.

And why is it that we constantly look to athletes and movie stars as our guides? Why does being able to swim fast, or being able to act in front of a camera, make them people to look up to for matters of right and wrong? What happened to the days of using morality and character to be our guides?

We are only setting ourselves up for failure. We need to focus on the One who is perfect. All others will fail. Nobody is perfect and we shouldn't expect them to be.

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to figure out why our economy is plummeting. Well ok, maybe it does...but have you wondered about this?

If our country and our government are in such bad financial times, then why is our government giving out $40 coupons for people to watch tv?

Did you know that they are planning to give out 33.5 million coupons? *Catholic Nerd doing quick math* That is $1,340,000,000. $1.34 billion?We are falling in the midst of a recession and our government is worried about us watching tv?

Should we not be worried about ending the war, saving and creating jobs, educating our young, caring for our elderly...

I don't even know what to say.

UPDATE: Just found out that $650 million more will be allocated for coupons in the proposed stimulus package. Oh man...

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you get excited to receive a free Pope Benedict XVI pen and personalized notepad in the mail.

Yes, I am a Catholic Nerd.

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This is how nerdy I am...I was excited when I got "celebrity" status on 4marks.com Catholic website for my band Seven Sorrows. And worse yet, took a screenshot of it and put it on my blog.

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I teach catechism classes for 1st year pre sacrament students (1st grade).
Today of course is Superbowl Sunday. Our leader was nice enough to have classes get out an hour early today (by 3pm). This way people could still get back home to their beloved game.
But sad to say, 1/2 of my class was absent today. What are we teaching our children?
Are we teaching them football over God, parties over prayer? We are teaching them that if something seems important, it is ok to put our faith on the back burner.
I don't even want to think any further about the drunkeness, gluttony, foul language, hosility, and gambling that our children may also have been exposed to today.
I am glad I am a nerd.

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