Reason to Be Happy #96:
The Blessing of the Animals
Many churches will have "the blessing of the pets" or "the blessing of the animals" in honor of the Feast of St. Francis in October. I was once lucky enough to attend one of the most well-known of these ceremonies at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in Manhattan.
When I first heard of this as a kid, I was offended because I thought we needed to be blessed by the animals, not the other way around! In any case, it's usually a very moving (and humorous) ceremony.
"Creatures minister to our needs every day. Without them, we could not live, and through them the human race greatly offends the Creator every time we fail to appreciate so great a blessing."
—St. Francis
That would be interesting...funny I grew up Catholic and never knew of this one. We had the Blessing of the Fleet on the river, but animals are far, far better than boats.
ReplyDeleteAs an aside, here are some words from Wifefish..."I have the best "how I got my new Katrina Kittle book" story...
Awesome Carrie T asked me if I had it yet and I didn't.
About 30 minutes later I received a text saying, "You should check your boots."
It took me awhile to realize she meant my muddy farm boots that were sitting on the front porch! The book phantom strikes again!!! I ♥ Carrie!"
That is an absolutely beautiful quote from St. Francis!
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