When we think of the martyrs like Saint Valentine, what do we imagine? Probably the cruel scene of his death or the torture that he endured. This is an important part no doubt. It’s a sign of what he was willing to endure for his beliefs. But there’s a danger here: we might be forgetting what happened first.
You see, behind every martyrdom, there is a love story. Like our friend in this video, we all tend to be blind to God’s love. A martyr, however, is the one that stopped abruptly, and God happened to bump into the back of him. For the man who is suddenly struck in this way, nothing in his life will ever be the same. Once one’s eyes are opened to God’s love, nothing, absolutely nothing, seems too great a sacrifice if it allows us to give back just one drop of love.
Blind Devotion
Now, what about our day-to-day relationships with those around us? As the title says, love is best when it is blind. Perhaps one of the greatest challenges in our day is the fact that our culture as a whole seems to say the contrary: love needs to be seen, touched, photographed, shared, etc. And this isn’t completely false!
There’s a hint of something authentic here! How can we ever forget that first love poem in history when Adam saw for the first time Eve: “This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh!”
Check out this link:
The problem with seeing though is that sometimes we forget that we have eyelids for a reason. Some things aren’t meant to be seen. Rather, let’s put that a different way: some things can only be seen with the eyelids closed. Sounds a bit paradoxical, I know, but that’s just the way it is.
So, let’s get to the point: we’ve lost touch with true intimacy. Intimacy comes from “intimare” (a wee bit of Latin never hurts) and originally meant: to allow something to enter inside. Today’s mentality insists that to get in, you’ve just got to knock the door down. This works excellently for robbing banks, but not so well when it comes to authentic relationships.
When it comes to people, the only way to “intimare” is to close your eyes. Overcome your egoistic curiosity and your desire to control. Learn to wait, to knock, and to trust. Break free of the illusion: tearing the veil back doesn’t get you what you are looking for! The veil simply invites you to discover a different kind of seeing, a seeing of the heart, which is the only kind that will ever show you what you most desire!
- Praying With Michelangelo’s The Last Judgment: The Trumpet Shall Sound
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Facebook Pinterest Gmail LinkedIn Print Friendly When we think of the saints, it can be easy to picture them as distant figures from another time…people whose holiness feels almost impossible to relate to. But visiting the National Shrine of St. Maximilian Kolbe in Libertyville, Illinois, reminded me yet again that the saints were real people… Read more: What St. Maximilian Kolbe Teaches Us About Sacrificial Love - A Vocation And A Mission In The World: The Salesian Cooperator
Facebook Pinterest Gmail LinkedIn Print Friendly The Association of Salesian Cooperators (ASC) celebrated its 150th founding anniversary on May 9, 2026. With such a milestone achievement, it is the perfect time to share about this organization with a wider audience. The Salesian Cooperator The ASC is one of the groups that belong to the Salesian… Read more: A Vocation And A Mission In The World: The Salesian Cooperator - 7 Eucharistic Miracles Every Skeptic Should Know
Facebook Pinterest Gmail LinkedIn Print Friendly For many people, Eucharistic miracles are fascinating stories. For others, they are little more than legends passed down through centuries of Catholic tradition. Skeptics often wonder whether there is any credible reason to take these accounts seriously, while believers may not know where to begin when asked why the… Read more: 7 Eucharistic Miracles Every Skeptic Should Know - DO NOT BE AFRAID! Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A
Facebook Pinterest Gmail LinkedIn Print Friendly In this Sunday’s Gospel account, Jesus sends his disciples into a storm! We sometimes have these beautiful experiences of God—times of great consolation: perhaps that one time we had a really good time during Adoration, or that one Mass where we really felt like we were in Heaven, or… Read more: DO NOT BE AFRAID! Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A
