Valentine's Day: fools rush in

Gensis 4:1-15, 25; Psalm 50 offer to God a sacrifcie of praise; Mark 8:11-13

Valentine's day is quite a magnifiscent day for folly. It is a day when fools rush in, as the song goes, rush forth to express their love, their longing; their hidden reserves become actual as the invisible and interior reality of love that had captivated and captured them now becomes visible and in some sense unleashed on the world.


The sweet taste of chocolates caresses the taste buds. The fragrant aroma of freshly blooming flowers, a garden of love, activates memory glands. Dinner reservations are filled. Soft music can be heard playing softly to the rhythm of hearts unaware of love's seduction.

On the lips, love's fresh scent lingers and longs for reunion when the clock strikes 5.

Valentine's Day where folly is unleashed on the world and the world has never been better for it.

Folly and love, in deed in order for one to give himself to love completely then the fool he must learn to play, for the risk involved kills softly the selfishness that hinders loves growth. It takes the genius of folly to truly love deeply.

Is this not what the Cross reveals daily, moment by moment. Folly triumphs so that love can stand victorious, stronger than death.

The folly of the cross, the foolishness of dying to self, carrying the cross, seeking the will of God has set the world a blaze with love flaming like fire. Is this not the sign the pharisees sought in today's gospel.

And what comes of this love between human hearts set ablaze with divine touch.

As the book of Genesis recounts for us today on this feast of love, "The man had relations with his wife Eve, and she conceived and bore Cain, saying "I have produced a man with the help of the Lord..."

True love longs to give birth, to bring forth a community. True love breeds that seed of immortality as a child is born into the world. The child stands forever, whether wanted or not, an immortal reality of love shared touched by the hand of God.

Love is meant to be forever. Human love with the help of God enters into eternity and brings eternity into time.

As is said in a latin proverb, "A man is not where he lives, but where he loves."

Again, Love is not just looking at each other, but looking in the same direction, a gaze set on eternity.

Today is the feast of St, Cyril and Methodius. These brothers were missioanries who brought the gospel to the Slavic people. They were the ones who carried love with them where ever they went.

It is fitting to celebrate their feast today. For as we recall from the Sound of Music, " a bell is not a bell until you ring it; a song is not a song until you sing it; and love in you heart was not put there to stay; love is not love until you give it away."