Having Valentine's Day at the very start of Lent this year can be about more than just us feeling guilty about indulging during Lent, it can remind us that sacrificing ourselves for the sake of love is the greatest sacrifice of all.

Today, imperially minded politicians, egged on by religious conservatives, are denying American citizens their basic right to marriage. Although claiming to be informed by God, they are simply using God as a patsy to support their own agenda of discrimination and prejudice.

It is ironic that one of the more popular holidays in America is named for a saint about whom very little is known -- who, in fact, is of questionable historical provenance.