Jan 30, 2012
St. Valentine’s Day is approaching and men are beginning to think about what to do for their wives. Some will send flowers, others will go out to dinner and most will give Valentine cards.
While many men see this as an opportunity to show their love for their wives through romantic remembrances, I want to challenge them to do more. True love extends beyond romance. It means standing by your wife through thick and thin, the good times and the bad, in sickness and in health, as you promised. I propose we use St. Valentine’s Day to show our true commitment to our wives and our marriages. Here are some ways we can do this based on Pope John Paul II’s writings.
In Theology of the Body and Love and Responsibility, John Paul II writes about three kinds of love in a marriage: Romantic, Friendship, and Spousal. I believe we can show our true love and commitment through them.
Romantic Love: This is the most common type of love we feel for our wives. It’s the warm feeling we get inside when we think or talk about our wives. It’s the excitement we feel coming home to her after a hard day at work; the gratitude we feel for all the things she does for us and our children. Showing this type of love is pretty easy. We can do this through cards, gifts, flowers, dinners out, poems, spa treatments, etc. We can also show this type of love through acts of kindness, such as helping her with household chores and thanking her for all she does. She will appreciate this.