Valentine’s Day: Not Just For Couples

Not many single people appreciate Valentine’s Day. And why should they? Nobody likes reminders of the fact that they don’t have someone to love. Sure, maybe they do have people they love in one way or another, but Valentine’s Day specifically celebrates romantic love. In that respect, single people don’t have very much to celebrate… or do they?

First, I take issue with the English word “love.” We use it to mean many different things, and often get confused in our terms. The ancient Greeks had four different words which can all translate as “love,” but their word “eros” most accurately represents the romantic love that Valentine’s Day celebrates. Ok, so we have a fancy word, but why should single people celebrate “eros”?

Eros draws us to what we refer to in Catholicism as the “Three Transcendentals”.  Quoting Plato, Pope Saint John Paul II says, “‘Eros’ represents the inner power that draws man toward all that is good, true, and beautiful.” (TOB 47:2) When I marvel at the beauty of a Rembrandt painting, when I seek knowledge in learning about history, and when I appreciate the usefulness and craftsmanship of my truck, I am drawn in by at least one of these transcendentals. This bodily sensation that draws me towards those things expresses eros in different ways.