"If you have men who will exclude any of God's creatures from the shelter of compassion and pity, you will have men who deal likewise with their fellow men."
-St. Francis of Assisi
As much as I like to make fun of women who drive around town with their dressed dogs on their laps and people who push their dogs around in doggy strollers (as if dogs had such contraptions before some person invented the “dog stroller”) and people who write pets into their wills, animals are God’s creatures too. And while at times, my mockery of pet people who go to extremes may get the best of my writing, I will acknowledge on a serious note that animals are truly a gift from God.
Animals are companions to people. A bond between a person and a pet in its simplicity, is like no other relationship, as we communicate through a universal language of eye contact and touch . Pets have provided companionship to single households, families and elderly, as well as lead the blind and work as healers to the terminally ill. It is important to acknowledge the roles that pets play in our lives as well as being here on earth. It is truly hard to imagine a world without animals.
In order to honor my own pet, a Sulcata tortoise, my boys, Jack and Sam, and I brought “Junior Soprano” to the “Blessing of the Animals” service at our church, St. Clement’s by-the -Sea, Saturday morning. “The Blessing of the Animals” ceremony is a customary service held on or around October 4 in remembrance of Saint Francis of Assisi, the Patron Saint of animals, birds and the environment. The service is centered around prayers for animals and blessing them with “Holy Water”. Even I, the often sarcastic pet writer, was moved by the prayers for the twenty-one dogs, three kittens, one beta fish and tortoise in attendance.
The Reverend Canon Diane Jardine Bruce led the service with eloquence as she kept a sense of humor while blessing each pet. As she sprinkled “Holy Water” on our tortoise, she spoke, “Junior Soprano, may you be blessed in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. May you and the Marchant’s enjoy life together, even if you out live them, and find joy with the God who created you.” She blessed all twenty-one dogs, the three kittens and the beta fish wishing them healthy lives as well as reminding them to not get into “trouble”, be “obedient” and “to get along”. After all the animals were blessed the service concluded with “The Blessing of the People.”
As God has blessed you with these pets,
So may they be blessed by your love and care.
People of God here gathered,
Blessed [+] are you, who serve the living God as stewards of creation,
Who care for the weak and the innocent,
Who delight in the glories of this good earth!
Amen! Thanks be to God!
In the end, I held my temptation to find the humor in a service honoring pets, because in my heart, I know how important animals are to our environment. We would not exist without them. We could not exist without them and to say special prayers for the animals in our lives is a small way to pay tribute to something greater, God.
2 comments:
Too funny!
I love our pets and I guess I could probably do this but my first reaction to the animal blessing was "What? you have got to be kidding me?" Not to mention, now I'm totally confused because one of my kids told my husband that only warm blooded animals go to heaven? Well I hope some of that's true because I hate the serpent and I don't want to be stuck in eternity with them.
This story really hit home. I am Liza's mother and an animal lover. We have 3 dogs and two horses. My mother and father, however were not pet people and after my father died my mother, who was in her mid-eighties, came to live next door to us here in Maine. At the time we had an aging Springer Spaniel, Holly, who would wander over to my mother's, Liza's grandmother's, house everyday, to spend the day. They would take short walks, enjoy snacks, and naps together. Holly became a constant companion to my mother. It really struck me how close they had become when my mother said one day, "What will I do if Holly goes before I do?" Well, we never found out because my mother went first, and Holly mourned her for a long time. I hope they are together in a better place today.
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