When my spouse Marcus asked my dad if he could propose, my dad said yes and offered one piece of advice: "Just do not get a dog before you get married." Five months before we said "I do," Marcus showed me a picture of a sweet-looking beagle-basset mix named Bowser. Bowser was locked in his crate for ~18 hours a day and his owner was looking for a new home. Marcus sent the link and said, "He needs us." So, four months before we got married, we adopted Bowser.
My dad loves dogs. When he suggested we avoid adopting one before marriage, it's because we a) lived separately b) my apartment didn't allow dogs, and c) they absorb your life when you love them. Gracious, we do love this meatloaf of a dog. We quickly learned this lap dog actually weighs 65 pounds, he doesn't like new people who make eye contact with him, and he lays down at least once while on a walk.
Pet owners like us consider our pets our family. When you combine the love of pets and the love of liturgy, you find St. Francis Day or "Blessing of the Animals."
"The Feast of St. Francis is celebrated on October 4. St. Francis is the patron saint of animals and the environment and worship inspired by this Feast typically include pet blessings, prayers for environmental protection and conservation, and a call to a lifestyle based in simplicity and service of others."
Many of us recognize this well-known prayer from St. Francis:
Lord, make me an instrument of your peace,
where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light; and
where there is sadness, joy.
O, God, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console;
to be understood as to understand;
to be loved as to love;
for it is in giving that we receive;
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life. Amen.
This upcoming Saturday, St. Paul's is hosting an outdoor blessing of the animals service at the Capitol (see details below). In preparation for this service, I invite you to learn more about St. Francis. Here is a video from "Franciscan Spirit" to watch. Some questions to consider:
St. Francis believed that Christians "accept God's mission to continually bring forth Christ in our world." What does it mean for the gospel to be a "way of life?"
What do you think of the assertion that the "Bible is not a book to be read, but a text to be performed?"
On Saturday, we hope that you join us for a blessing of the animals. We'll be coming with my brother-in-law's pup who's a little less "eye contact" averse as compared to our pup. Consider how we can remember St. Francis from his treatment of all living creatures to his way of life.
A prayer for this week:
Loving God, allow your Word to enter profoundly into every fiber of my being so that I too may respond, like St. Francis, and live a radically Gospel life. Amen.
