JUST at the moment we can hardly miss the many items in the shops marking St Valentine's Day, which is just two days away on Saturday.

Most people, I guess, are well aware of the day and that it gives an opportunity between people in love with each other to express that love. Greetings cards, gift items, balloons all adorned with a red heart are everywhere.

But who was St Valentine and how did his feast day become associated with this popular custom?

Not a great deal about the saint is certain. One story is that he was a priest in Rome in the time of the Claudius II (268-270). The Emperor was striving to increase the size of his army but only single young men were eligible, and serving soldiers were forbidden to marry. Valentine, the story goes, was secretly performing weddings for soldiers who simply wanted to exercise their right to be married. But that gave them a ticket out of the army which frustrated the Emperor and annoyed him intensely. Valentine was arrested and executed for his actions around the year 269.

The legend also goes that during his imprisonment many of the young couples whom Valentine had married sent messages to him asserting their belief that love is more important than war.

A Valentine's day gift or greeting is a beautiful custom. It is not a commitment, although the desire to make a stronger commitment often goes with it. The greatest commitment a couple in love make to each other is, of course, on the day of their wedding. They want to turn their love for each other into a stable relationship. That is exactly what St Valentine was making possible.

Revd Monsignor Anthony B Boylan

St Boniface, Bentham