Tonight we celebrate the love that is in our lives. Valentine reminds us to take time out to think about how wonderful it is to be loved and to love others. We gather around the heart, a sign of our love for one another. Let us begin by learning a little more about the saint behind this feast day:

Link to Video: https://youtu.be/9kDRh3U0tcU

Link to Video: https://youtu.be/CaRgHQjC1WE

The Bible tells us many things about love.

Reader: 1 John 4:7-10

Let us pray: Thank you God for loving us. Thank you for sending your Son. And thank you Jesus for showing us how to love.

Reader: John 13:34-35

Let us think and pray about the meaning of this reading in our own lives. Sometimes it's hard to wish the best for someone else.

Help us, O Lord, to be glad for others' successes...

Help us to have an open heart and love as Jesus loved...

When we show that we care for others, people can recognize a little of Jesus in us. Help us, O Lord, to care for others even when we don't feel like it.

Let us listen one more time to what the Bible teaches us about love...

Let us pray:
Dear Lord, help me to recognize the people in my life who share their love with me as you call me to do. Please help me to grow in the understanding of the fullness of love so that I may express this love to my family and friends, and most especially to those whom I often find most difficult to love.

With the spirit, may we all go forth, as Valentine did, to love God, ourselves and others.

Amen