“When the wind blows, then a garden grows, and the fields are gold and fine... Then the love you’ve left behind is the fruit that turns to wine.” - lyrics from the song, “When the Wind Blows”
This Saturday we welcomed 54 engaged couples from our diocese and surrounding areas as they attended our Pre-Cana Day of Reflection. The day spent with them is always full of blessings as their love is a witness of God’s undying love for all of humanity and His covenant with us. They are at the beginning of what will be a journey of commitment, fidelity and love. They will start new traditions and strive to retain and celebrate those traditions brought with them from childhood.
We can mark milestones in our lives with visible signs that will last as a remembrance through the years. When John and I were married we planted 2 vines around our deck. The vines bloomed on our wedding day, and each year on our anniversary. They grow as a living symbol of our commitment and love as they continue to entwine their branches and expand as our family expands and grows. As God unites these couples on their wedding day, our prayer as a congregation is that their commitment to each other will last a lifetime as they plant seeds of love.
The Garden Saints - St. Valentine (February 14)
Martyred around the year A.D. 270 for refusing to renounce his Christian faith, “Valentinus,” or St. Valentine is widely recognized as the patron of lovers. He was arrested and imprisoned upon being caught marrying Christian couples and otherwise aiding Christians who were at the time being persecuted by Claudius in Rome. It is said that on the eve of his death, while imprisoned, he restored the sight of his jailor’s blind daughter and even wrote her a farewell note, signing it: “From your Valentine.”
