Not only flowers for St. Valentine: over a thousand people participated in the “Mass for the blessing of lovers” in St. Stephen’s Cathedral in Vienna on 14 February. The evening Mass was celebrated by the parish priest of the cathedral, Father Anton Faber, together with three other priests and three deacons and ended with the blessing of those present. Interviewed by the Austrian Catholic press agency Kathpress, Faber said he was impressed by the success of the event. Most of the participants in the Mass consisted of couples married for many years, in some cases for as many as 30, 40 or even 55 years. But “also present were a large number of engaged couples who aim to get married and who received strength and blessing” on the day traditionally dedicated to lovers. “But the task of Christians is also not to cast out or banish those who live their own relationships in a way that does not correspond to the ideals of the Church”, since “we must surpass each other in love”. Another great St. Valentine’s Day success was the initiative “Love letters from God”, organized (this year too) by the archdiocese of Vienna: it entailed the distribution of 100,000 letters that invite us to reflect on the presence of God. “Many people – including also some who normally have a critical attitude to the Church – reacted positively to this idea”, said Michael Scharf, in charge of the pastoral office of the archdiocese. The initiative will be repeated next year and replicated in other dioceses. It was possible to reply to “the love letter from God”: on the evening of St. Valentine’s Day itself many replies were brought to the altar to present intercessions and intentions.
