Sweet Tweets for 2/14/14 — The Extra Sweet Valentine’s Day Edition

Call me unromantic, but I have never been a huge celebrator of Valentine’s Day. Several years into our marriage, Greg and I settled into a “no present pact” that is a gift all in its own way. It relinquishes me from trying to figure out something cute to buy my minimalist husband to share my love with him. Granted, the holiday is a wonderful reminder to express our love, but isn’t that something I should be doing all year long?

I’ll admit that my impression of the holiday has softened this year with Pope Francis’ wonderful use of today as a celebration of the vocation of marriage, employing the lovely theme, “The joy of ‘Yes’ forever”. How fantastic for the ten thousand engaged couples who gathered with our Holy Father today to pray and be taught! I would imagine that this encounter will be the perfect start to their lives together. For the rest of us, today’s teachings on marriage are the perfect reminder of the beauty of the vows we made and the life we share together.

Thank you to John Clem for making this weekly feature possible!

Sweet Tweets 02/14/2014:

• Papal Tweet: “What zest life acquires when we allow ourselves to be filled by the love of God!” (Pope Francis Feb. 7th)
• NEW app promotes Catholic social teaching :: Catholic News Agency (CNA) http://ow.ly/trE6W 
• Pope Francis faces church divided over doctrine, global poll of Catholics finds – The Washington Post (M. Boorstein) http://ow.ly/trFIN 
• Another Poll, Another Poor Understanding of the Nature and Purpose of the Church « Archdiocese of Washington http://ow.ly/tvmJ8 
• San Francisco project to promote beauty in music, liturgy :: Catholic News Agency (CNA) http://ow.ly/trG8l 
• Archeology of the early American Church in Georgia at 16th Century Franciscan Mission (CNS) http://youtu.be/UDsZZ2F7Vis 
• 50 People in the Bible Confirmed Archaeologically – Biblical Archaeology Society http://ow.ly/tBsh6 
• People power: Popular devotion is key factor in sainthood process (CNS) http://ow.ly/trNyN 
• Fr. Robert Barron’s Word On Fire – The Myth of the War Between Science and Religion http://ow.ly/tsIkl 
• Father Pavone Responds to UN Committee’s Attack on Holy See http://ow.ly/tsOzr  http://ow.ly/i/4yaTl 
• A volunteer explains the Pope how she helps the sick visit Holy Land – Hospitalidad Jesus de Nazaret (Rome Reports) http://ow.ly/tsQ9o 
• Comments on NCRonline: Be part of the solution – Comm Boxes take time, talent, and expense to maintain | (NCR) http://ow.ly/tt9WD 
• Pope Francis softening tone, not stance, Cardinal Sean O’Malley says (John Allen) The Boston Globe http://ow.ly/ttAf2 
• Pope Benedict Emeritus Has No Regrets Year After Resignation, Believes History Will Vindicate Papacy (Huff Post) http://ow.ly/ttAQ0 
• A turbulent year that strengthened the papacy (CNS) http://ow.ly/twpL2 
• The Hard Way of Pope Francis | http://CatholicVote.org  http://ow.ly/tuBOn 
• The Most Catholic States In The U.S., Roughly A Quarter Of The Country’s Population (Huff Post) http://ow.ly/tuBwq 
• Oil tanker strikes, knocks down, St. Anne statue in Thailand :: Catholic News Agency (CNA) http://ow.ly/tvmdH 
• Word On Fire – 10 Things to Know About Our Lady of Lourdes and St. Bernadette http://ow.ly/tvRXj 
• Diocese of Richmond just launched a great NEW website for their Office of Vocations http://ow.ly/tvYBE 
• Church workers rejoice as India declared polio-free – Catholic Courier http://ow.ly/twq1n 
• Theology of Food: Fr. Leo Patalinghug just released a NEW book – Epic Food Fight: A Bite-Sized History of Salvation http://ow.ly/twscf 
• Ascension Press – NEW Confirmation Preparation program for your parish (well produced with many good endorsements) http://ow.ly/tx9sR 
• Music Video: This A Cappella Arrangement of In Christ Alone is Awesome (http://godvine.com ) http://ow.ly/txevW 
• NEW Project from Fr. Robert Barron: Subscribe for Daily Lenten Reflections and Videos, plus giveaways ALL FREE http://www.lentreflections.com/ 
• Pope’s Audience: Three practical ways in which the Eucharist can improve daily life (Rome Reports) http://ow.ly/txPrK 
• The Olympic Games – By Sr. Joan L. Roccasalvo, C.S.J. (CNA) http://ow.ly/txSCo  http://ow.ly/i/4zEqm 
• Podcast: Among Women 173: Reflecting on Rwanda, with Lisa Hendey http://ow.ly/tzc9N 
• Street evangelization group finds success in personal encounters :: Catholic News Agency (CNA) http://ow.ly/tzsrX 
• Make Prayer a Habit with the Lift App (+ supportive community of prayer) | Jared Dees http://CatholicMom.com  http://ow.ly/tzwcl 
• Video: The Conditioned – Hope for the Homeless (Facebook Stories) http://vimeo.com/facebookstories/theconditioned …
• NEW Website: Gus Lloyd – Catholic Apologetics -of Seize the Day on Catholic Channel XM/Sirius http://ow.ly/tAFrt 
• NEW App: Tech Talk: A Multimedia Look at the Mass | (Barb Szyszkiewicz, OFS) http://CatholicMom.com  http://ow.ly/tAIOA 
• Support Fast4Families Bus Tour 2014 – lobby for Immigration Reform | Franciscan Action Network http://ow.ly/tALwh 
• Inviting Young Adults to Church this Lent – Busted Halo http://ow.ly/tAR8Z 
• Vatican Radio celebrates World Radio Day 2014 today – Vatican Radio Press Release http://ow.ly/tB6Kc 
• Video: Our Lady of the Highways in Maryland on I-95 (CNS) http://youtu.be/-jM-PpVnt7I 
• NEW website for The Open Door Ministry and Spiritual Direction Institute http://ow.ly/tBfee 
• An Anti-Photoshop Revolution? Verily’s Take on Real Beauty – Aleteia http://ow.ly/tByjg 
• 33rd Annual Chesterton Conference July 31-Aug. 2 at Mudelein Seminary (American Chesterton Society) http://ow.ly/tBF9B 
• Front Left Corner of Heaven | America Magazine http://ow.ly/tBLqu 
• Sad News: Belgium Legalizes Child Euthanasia (prayers needed) – Aleteia http://ow.ly/tBOHE 
• Video: Interview with Dr. Eugene Gan, Communications Professor at Steubenville (author – Infinate Bandwidth) Aleteia http://ow.ly/tC5Jg 
• Satire: Do You Approve Of How Pope Francis Is Leading The Catholic Church? (The Onion) http://ow.ly/tBL1R 
• Virginia Bishops issued statement, decrying a judge’s decision that redefines marriage: http://ow.ly/tD5tK 
• Professorship in Catholic Studies to be established at Virginia Tech | The Open Door http://ow.ly/tCZNK 

Valentines Day Tweets

• Catholic Roots of Valentine’s Day – St. Valentine History (http://AmericanCatholic.org ) http://ow.ly/trjkI 
• 10 Commandments for Falling in Love – Busted Halo http://ow.ly/tARwP 
• Happy Valentine’s Day — The Love Collection from National Geographic http://ow.ly/tBWDf 
• Happy Feast of Saint Valentine of Rome (http://Saints.SQPN.com ) http://ow.ly/tBYPB 
• Video: Missed Connections: Love, Lost & Found (artist Sophie Blackall) http://youtu.be/-nKHXyvsR-U 
• Papal Tweet:  “Dear young people, don’t be afraid to marry. A faithful and fruitful marriage will bring you happiness.” (Pope Francis, Feb. 14th)
• Show Me Real Love: Romantic Movies Worth Watching – (Sr. Helena Burns, DSP) http://LifeTeen.com  for Catholic Youth http://ow.ly/tCISu 
• St. Valentine is loved and venerated in Dublin at the shrine that retains a reliquary with some of his remains. (CNS) http://youtu.be/3UJmq-loaZ4 

John Clem is the Director and Media Minister at Catholic Web Services (http://catholicws.com/). John is currently in formation to join the Secular Franciscan Order, and loves to share his talents in faith, technology, and journalism in service to the church.  John also writes a blog entitled Call To Holiness  (http://www.calltoholiness.us/). Follow John on Twitter at @Catholicwebs, on Facebook and at Google+.