YOUTHS & VALENTINE'S D

Celebration of Valentine's day comes every 14th of febuary annually. The orign of the feast of Valentine dates back to the 14th century, in the hey days of Roman Empire.The church had named St Valentine the patron saint of young lovers in holy courtship and consecrated love. St Valentine a Roman Priest was murdered in 269 AD for disobeying the emperor's order of not wedding soldiers. Valentine saw it as offensive and an aberration of God's purpose, the promiscuity, irresponsible parenthood and abuse of sexual love that was engendered by the empero's policy.

God created that overwhelming attraction to enable creatures participate in creation and only in the permanent union of man and woman can procreation be morally achieved. The feast of Valentine is a healthy christian celebration that looks at love and friendship as caring for each other, having positive thoughts about others and wishing each other well.

Indeed, it has become necessary to return to the orignal concept of the feast because, when one talks of love these days, people's mind go to romance and sex, while most youths misconstrue valentine day to be a day the larger society gives tacit approval or turns the other way in the face of pre-marital and extra marital sexual relation. we must not forget that apart from the many evil consequences of this vice, including the spread of the globally ravaging Hiv, it also leads to moral ruin and national decadence. This is far from what St Valentine stood for.

The society at large should join in the outright condemnation of the media campaigns which tend to reduce valentine day to mere celebration of lust. All hands must be on deck to hep children grow up as children of God because it is a segment of society to experience some emotion towards the opposite sex, which is the crisis of growing up. married partners should be made part of the activities on valentine day. let that remind them of the love that binds them together. Let them renew that love and keep it aglow to enable them overcome the difficulties of married life.Finally, our advice to young lovers is that holy courtship and consecrated love of the type St Valentine encouraged and died for can only be achieved throug a life of holiness.'Leader Vol xlv'.