Village Voice - March,
2005
VALENTINE’S
DAY: WHERE DID THIS
There are many varying opinions as to the
origin of VALENTINE’S DAY.
Gradually, Feb. 14 became the date for
exchanging love messages and St. Valentine became the patron saint of
lovers.
Commercial valentine cards were introduced in the
Valentine’s Day, 1958, is
very special to us. It was the day we chose to be
married, and every year since it has been a reminder of our mutual
commitment. Even though the world was in
black and white back then, the Valentine hearts were really RED!
Valentine’s Day brings to mind not only red cutouts of hearts, sentimental cards and gifts, but the deeper spiritual meaning of love and hearts found in many Bible verses. We consulted The Analytical Concordance to the New Revised Standard Version of the New Testament to see just how many references were listed. The word “Heart” had more than 150 references to New Testament scripture verses. “Love” cited three pages of scripture verses! Perhaps it was St. Valentine’s knowledge of these verses rich in expressions of love that has caused this age-old celebration to remain important to lovers of every time and place.
-- Angela and Maury Sweetin
God loves you and has chosen
you as his own special people. So be
gentle, kind, humble, meek, and patient.
Put up with each other, and forgive anyone who does you wrong,
just as
Christ has forgiven you. Love is more
important than anything else. It is what
ties everything completely together.
-- Colossians 3:12-14
Show love in everything you
do.
--1 Corinthians 16:14
We know what love is
because
Jesus gave his life for us. That’s why
we must give our lives for each other.
-- 1 John 3:16
FROM THE PASTOR
In the early years of the Second World War, a 25
year-old Christian
from
There in Taize Roger toiled alone, working the farm, studying the Bible, praying, and offering welcome to refugees, especially Jews fleeing from the Nazi occupation. After the War, Roger dreamed of founding a monastic community in Taize, which would be a place of reconciliation and prayer. Gradually others began to join him, and at Easter 1949 seven brothers committed themselves to a common life together. Roger was from a Protestant background, and the others who joined him were from various Protestant church traditions. But within twenty years a Roman Catholic brother had joined the community, followed by a Roman Catholic priest, with the encouragement and blessing from his bishop. Thus the first truly ecumenical monastic community came into being.
In the years that followed other brothers entered
the
community at Taize, coming from Protestant, Roman Catholic, and Eastern
Orthodox backgrounds. Today almost a
hundred brothers from twenty-five countries are a part of the Taize
community,
having made a life commitment to live together in joy, simplicity, and
mercy. Not all the brothers are at
Taize. Some of them live in small groups
in poor communities in Asia, Africa, North America, and
In the late 1950’s word about this unique
Christian
community in Taize spread, and pilgrims, especially youth and young
adults,
began to come from all over
In 1966, the Sisters of St. Andrew, an international Catholic community, established a base of operations in a neighboring village to assist the brothers in welcoming pilgrims to Taize. Today tens of thousands of people from many different countries come to Taize every year to spend a week or a day with the brothers in worship, prayer, Bible study, and fellowship. The three times of worship create the daily rhythm at Taize. Because the congregation is made up of people from many different cultures and traditions and languages, the style of worship is intentionally simple and ecumenical. Simple songs are sung repetitively in a style that has been described as “meditative singing.” Some of the songs are sung in Latin, as a kind of universal language of worship. Other songs are sung in various languages. These short songs, sung again and again, create a meditative mood. With only a few simple words, the songs sung repetitively become a way of listening to God. From the Eastern Orthodox tradition, worship at Taize includes candles, a cross, and icons around the altar. Passages of scripture are read aloud, and meditated upon silently. The whole focus is on prayer, both spoken and silent. In such a setting persons from different cultures and churches, speaking different languages, can worship God together.
As people have experienced this type of worship, they have returned to their own homes and churches with a desire to continue to worship God in the simple meditative style of Taize. Jenny Youngman, an editor for the United Methodist publishing house Abingdon Press, spent a week in Taize, to deepen her own walk with God and to learn about this style of worship. She wrote:
Time in
Taize is more like a melodic, holy rhythm than the frenzied pace of
everyday
life. Three times a day visitors
are called to
prayer by the chiming of bells. Instead
of
coming together
to talk to God, the community gathers to listen. Instead
of talking about
the
Scripture, the Scripture is read and left to speak for itself in
silence. By singing
simple
songs of prayer over and over again, the mind calms and the soul opens
up;
God speaks
and the heart hears.