So Ash Wednesday falls on Valentine’s Day this year, and people seem to be losing their minds. I get it, we all love chocolate covered strawberries and fancy restaurants, but something greater is happening on this day this year. We are beginning our Lenten Journey. We kick start this journey on Ash Wednesday through fasting (two small meals and one regular meal), and by abstaining from the meat of warm-blooded animals. St. Valentines would most definitely want you to follow the obligations that we have on this day… After all he is a Saint. So here are some tips for Valentine’s Day.

1. Take your Significant Other to Mass.

They don’t have to be Catholic to receive ashes on their forehead. The ashes are a reminder that we are sinners, but we have a savior. That we are dust and to dust we shall return.
 

2. Hunger for God (Fast)

In the US our idea of Fasting, is eating more food than many of the people, in other areas of the World, eat in a day. So skip the first two meals of the day, and eat one regular meal together. Cook the food yourself, and sit down at a table and eat it together. Not only is fasting from the first two meals good for your soul, but it’s also good for your body!
 

3. Serve Each Other

No greater love is there than to lay down one’s life for one's friends. So serve your love. Die to your own needs or desires for Valentines day, and spend your time loving your significant other. Do this by cooking dinner, and just being present. This means leaving the phone in another room. Your emails can wait until tomorrow, and you don’t really care about what others are doing on their social media anyway.

4. Share a Meal Together

Cook some fish or shrimp, and pray before you eat the meal. Thank God for all that he has done for you, and ask him to keep you and your better half vigilant during the great fast. Then take turns praying for each other.


 

5. Skip the Movie

A person who was created in the image and likeness of God is in your midst. Talk to them. People who are truly loving one another do not need to go see films that are degrading, and about lust for Valentine’s Day… Looking at you Fifty Shades Freed. These films aren’t about Love. You have something that is so much greater than these films depict.

6. Opt out of the Chocolate, Go for the Flowers

This may be a hard one, but you could eat chocolate on any other day of the year. Offer up the suffering you experience not having chocolate (#firstworldprobs) to the sufferings of Christ. Also think about all of those people in the world who do not have as much food as us, even those within our communities.
 

7. Dance in the Kitchen

It sounds Cliché, and may be a little awkward, but do it anyway.