1. The Story of St. Valentine (Legend Two)

The Roman government did not like the Christian religion, so Christians were persecuted and were not allowed to worship as they pleased. The Roman government thought they could get rid of the Christian faith by persecuting Christians.

A priest named Valentine continued to practice faith in spite of the persecution. He refused to worship the Roman gods.  This made the Emperor Claudius II very angry.  Claudius II had Valentine arrested and put into prison.

Valentine spent one year in prison. The prison was very uncomfortable. He had to sleep on a cold, hard floor, and he had very little food. But Valentine was not sad. He had always been kind to children, and they remembered his kindness.  The children threw flowers and kind notes to him through the prison bars.  Valentine had made friends with the jailer's blind daughter. She would bring these notes and flowers to him. Whenever he could, Valentine sent notes back out to the children.

The Emperor Claudius II was impressed by Valentine's kindness. He said that Valentine could go free if he would worship the Roman gods.  Valentine refused.  Instead, he did a very bold thing and tried to convert Claudius II to Christianity. This made Claudius II very angry.  He said that Valentine would be put to death.

During the days before his execution, Claudius prayed for the jailer's blind daughter, and she regained her sight. Valentine was beheaded on February 14. Before he died, he wrote a farewell message to the jailer's daughter and signed it "From Your Valentine." Some people say we remember his death by sending kind messages to our friends.

1. Did the Roman government like Christians?
2. What does "persecute" mean?
3. Why was Valentine thrown in prison?
4. Who were Valentine's friends?
5. What bold thing did Valentine do?
6. How did the Emperor respond?
7. How do we remember Valentine's death?