Teaching Love on Valentine’s Day: Catholic Valentines for Kids

[00:00:01 --> 00:00:03] These are beautiful, Dilly, did you get these for me?
[00:00:03 --> 00:00:08] I did, do you like them?
[00:00:08 --> 00:00:10] They're Lego.
[00:00:10 --> 00:00:11] I made them Lego because I see you don't water your plants.
[00:00:11 --> 00:00:17] That is painfully true, but very thoughtful.
[00:00:17 --> 00:00:19] You are welcome, friend.
[00:00:19 --> 00:00:20] Well friends, Happy Valentine's Day. I'm so excited that you're here. Today, we are celebrating love. Valentine's Day is named after a real life saint, Saint Valentine. Saint Valentine believed in choosing love, even when it was really hard because love comes from God. God is love. That's why on St. Valentine's Day, we do more than just say, I love you.
[00:00:20 --> 00:00:22] I love you.
[00:00:22 --> 00:02:51] We do things, we give each other gifts. We make each other cards, and we share what's on our hearts. So let's start off this beautiful holiday of love by making our own Valentine's Day card. Do you wanna help me? So this one starts off like a paper snowflake, but it ends up like a heart. Use whatever colors you want. I have purple and red, and then you wanna cut out a second heart that's a little bit smaller than that one. So you're gonna fold your paper again. And you're gonna take your heart, fold it back in half like it was. Fold it up once like this. Turn it over, take this edge and fold it up like this. And just like a snowflake, no two hearts are the same. Oh, that's beautiful. Okay, now we are going to glue or tape this smaller heart onto your bigger heart. I just love writing Valentine's for people. You can tell somebody you love them any day of the year, but there is something about Valentine's Day that just makes it a little bit more special. Okay, now that we have your beautiful heart snowflake taped to the outside, you can write a message on the inside. You can write it to somebody in your family. You could write it to a friend, or you can write one to God. There you go.
[00:02:53 --> 00:02:57] Where does one mail a Valentine's Day card to God? What's the address?
[00:02:57 --> 00:03:13] You know what, praying is kind of like writing a Valentine's to God. You're telling him what's on your heart. This reminds me of a great Juice Box episode that's all about love and what it means and where it comes from, and it even has the story of St. Valentine, there's even some really cute Lego builds. Let's go ahead and watch it.
[00:03:13 --> 00:03:35] Hi friends, today at Juice Box, we're talking all about love and we're building some really cute Valentine's Day Legos. God gave us many gifts, but love is the greatest gift of all. Let's get building and I'll tell you more about God's love for us.
[00:03:37 --> 00:03:38] Juice Box.
[00:03:41 --> 00:03:44] Did you know St. Valentine is the patron saint of marriage and also beekeepers? That's why I'm building this really cute little bee. You probably know Valentine's Day as a holiday where we give each other candy or flowers, but the day is also about a famous saint. Saint Valentine lived a really long time ago, and he would secretly help men and women get married, even though the Emperor, Claudius II, said it was illegal. The emperor thought that if young boys got married and had families, they would not want to go off to war. This made things really tricky for people trying to follow God. First, they knew that God wanted them to worship him, not the false gods of the emperor. Second, they knew that God wanted them to get married and to start families. St. Valentine had the special job of being God's helper. The emperor was very angry with St. Valentine. He even put him in jail. But St. Valentine knew that he was doing the right thing for God. One of Jesus's disciples, apostle Paul, also thought love was God's greatest gift. Without love, every other gift that God gives us is meaningless. Love lets you use other gifts. So what is love? Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous of what other people have. It does not brag or act proud. Love is not mean or selfish or quick to anger. Love doesn't keep a list of all the wrong or bad things other people have done. Love does not find happiness in evil things, but finds happiness in truth and goodness. Love is selfless and is supposed to be given to others. These descriptions of love describe Jesus. That means that Jesus is love. And because we want to be like Jesus, we should love like Jesus. What are some of the ways that we could love like Jesus loves? How do we know that God loves us? Well, God created the whole world and all people, not because he needs to, but because he loves the world and all people. He wants us to share this world with him and see how much he loves us. God also showed us how much he loves us by becoming a human, Jesus Christ. Jesus then died for us on the cross so that we can get to the greatest place ever, heaven. God does all of this 'cause he loves us. While it's really fun celebrating St. Valentine's with friends and chocolates, try to remember that this day of love is about giving out our love like St. Valentine did and how God does every day. Love is not as nice if you keep it all to yourself. Let's say a prayer for love. In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, oh God, I love you more than anything else. I want to love my friends and family with all the love that I have. Just like you give us all the love that you have. Help me to be patient and kind and selfless, just like love is, amen.
[00:03:44 --> 00:03:46] I love that one, love is something we choose, not just something we feel. And every time we love, we get a little glimpse of God because God is love. Isn't that incredible? Okay, next up, cookies. Because every good Valentine's Day needs something sweet and I just love cookies. These are heart shaped, come look.
[00:03:46 --> 00:03:49] I brought the sprinkles.
[00:03:54 --> 00:03:56] As we decorate, these hearts make me think about something special. In our faith, we talk a lot about hearts. It's not just what we feel. It's at the center of who we are. And that brings us to two very important hearts. We have another video that'll help explain what those hearts are. It's a craft all about Jesus and Mary and what it means to love with mercy. It's incredible. Let's go watch it while I finish up these cookies.
[00:03:56 --> 00:03:59] Happy St. Valentine's Day, Juice Boxers. Love comes in all kinds of forms besides just for sweethearts. You can show love to your parents, siblings, friends, or anyone you care about. The greatest love of all is the love Jesus Christ has for us. Today, we get to celebrate that love we feel for the people in our lives. And what better way to celebrate than to give others a Valentine? Today I'll show you how to make Valentine's in the shapes of the most merciful hearts. The merciful heart of Jesus and Mary.
[00:03:59 --> 00:04:02] Juice Box.
[00:04:03 --> 00:04:06] The merciful hearts became really important, a long time ago, during the Middle Ages. St. Margaret Mary had lots of visions about these hearts and how much Jesus and Mary Love us. She shared all her stories so that everyone could learn about God's love and mercy. The most famous of the hearts is a sacred heart of Jesus. It's a symbol of Jesus's amazing love and mercy for all of us. Mercy means that even when we mess up, Jesus forgives us and still loves us so much. The sacred heart of Jesus is shown with flames coming from it to show how his love burns for us. It also has thorns around it. Can you guess what that reminds us of? That's right, the crown of thorns that Jesus wore when he died for us, the thorns remind us of the pain he went through to take away our sins. This sacred heart reminds us of the never ending mercy and love Jesus has for us. Think about how much you love your mom and dad, it's a lot. That's how much Jesus loves you, even more. Next is the immaculate heart of Mary. This heart shows how much Mary loves Jesus and how much she loves all of us too. Mary's immaculate heart is also on fire with love. It's also depicted with roses or other flowers wrapped around it, representing the beauty God brings to our world. There's a sword piercing through the heart. That's because when she saw Jesus being tortured and hit and spit on and crucified, it felt like a sword going right into her heart, ow. So when we see Mary's heart, we think about how much she loves her family and how even though things can be hard sometimes, God's love will find a way to bring beauty and love to us. Those hearts look great. Wow, your Valentines are looking beautiful. Let's add some fun treats inside, maybe some chocolates or candy. And don't forget a sweet note. Who are you giving your Valentine to? I'm sure they'll love it. The most merciful hearts of Jesus and Mary help us to understand just how much God loves us and they inspire us to love and care for others just like they did.
[00:04:06 --> 00:04:09] Those are some really unique Valentines. I like the little candies that you could put inside and it really makes you think about the heart of Mary and Jesus, and a heart full of mercy. Those are some pretty perfect Valentines. So maybe today you could give somebody a Valentine. It could be something that you made, it can be a kind word. It can even be a special prayer for that person. However you celebrate, remember this, every time you love, God has already shown up. Thanks for being a part of this Valentine's Day Party with us. I had so much fun.
[00:04:09 --> 00:04:13] If you wanna keep celebrating with Juice Box, don't forget to subscribe.
[00:04:13 --> 00:04:16] And remember, friends, you are deeply loved.
[00:04:16 --> 00:04:20] Happy Valentine's Day, friends, bye.
[00:04:25 --> 00:04:27] Juice Box.