BLESSING OF THE ANIMALS
Trinity Episcopal Church
September 30, 2007
BLESSING OF THE ANIMALS |
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Trinity Episcopal Church is an open and diverse Christian family dedicated to serving God and all creation. We foster spiritual growth through worship, prayer, education, service, stewardship and celebration. As a historic and landmark parish in a thriving and changing community we seek, welcome and nurture all who wish to share our journey. |
On September 30, the congregation of trinity Episcopal Church and the community of Hattiesburg, MS celebrated the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi. There is information about St. Francis here as well as excerpts from our services.
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Who was St. Francis? "Francis, the son of a prosperous merchant of Assisi, was born in 1182. His early youth was spent in harmless revelry and fruitless attempts to win military glory. Various encounters with beggars and lepers pricked the young man's conscience, and he decided to embrace a life devoted to Lady Poverty. Despite his father's intense opposition, Francis totally renounced all material values, and devoted himself to serve the poor. In 1210 Pope Innocent the Third confirmed the simple Rule for the Order of Friars Minor, a name Francis chose to emphasize his desire to be numbered among the "least" of God's servants. The order grew rapidly all over Europe. But by 1221 Francis had lost control of it, since his ideal of strict and absolute poverty, both for the individual friars and for the order as a whole, was found to be too difficult to maintain. His last years were spent in much suffering of body and spirit, but his unconquerable joy never failed. Not long before his death, during a retreat on Mount La Verna, Francis received, on September 14, Holy Cross Day, the marks of the Lord's wounds, the stigmata, in his own hands and feet and side. Pope Gregory the Ninth, a former patron of the Franciscans, canonized Francis in 1228, and began the erection of the great basilica in Assisi where Francis is buried. "Of all the saints, Francis is the most popular and admired, but probably the least imitated; few have attained to his total identification with the poverty and suffering of Christ. Francis left few writings; but, of these, his spirit of joyous faith comes through most truly in the "Canticle of the Sun," which he composed at Clare's convent of St. Damian's. The Hymnal version begins: "Most High,
omnipotent, good Lord, Reprinted from Lesser Feasts and Fasts. (New York: Church Hymnal Corporation, 2002), 1025-1026.
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Excerpts from the Celebration of the Feast of St. Francis
September 30, 2007
Presider: We do not bless animals to make them holy. We bless them because they are holy and worthy of blessing. St. Francis believed that all nature reflected God, that you could seethe beauty of God in all creation. He called the sun, moon, wind and earth his brothers and sisters. He loved all creatures great and small and treated them like family, just as we do our own pets. That is why we bring our brother and sister animals here today.
Prayers and Thanksgivings
Prayer Leader: O God, we thank you for making the animals to brighten our lives. Help us to save them from danger as Noah did. Help us to love them and care for them as St. Francis did. And when we see the animals that you have made, help us to remember that you are holy and worthy of praise. Help us, to treat with compassion all living creatures entrusted to our care, that they may not suffer from our neglect nor become the victims of any cruelty; and grant that in caring for them we may find a deeper understanding of your love for all creation; In the name of the Father (who thought up the giraffe and the zebra) and of the Son (who was named after the beautiful white Lamb) and the Holy Spirit (who came to us as a Dove). Amen.
Prayer Leader: Blessed are you, Lord God, for all living creatures you have made. You keep them in your care and not one of them is lost without you knowing. They glorify you, each in its own way, and speak to us of your beauty and love. Bless them and keep them from harm. They unquestionably accept their place in the rhythm of your creation. May we respect them and cherish them for they are your gift to us; through them may we come to know you better and praise you, their Creator. Blessed be the love and joy that they bring to us. Amen.
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Prayer Leader: O God, you are infinite, unbounded Love, and will not allow the love which exists between your creatures to perish: We pray for those animals who have died. Comfort all those who mourn, especially those who have lost a beloved pet. Amen.
Prayer Leader: O merciful Creator, your hand is open wide to satisfy the needs of every living creature: Make us always thankful for your loving providence; and grant that we, remembering the account that we must one day give, may be faithful stewards of your good gifts; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Prayer Leader: O God, who made everything good, teach us to love what you have made. Help us to see you in the stars and planets, the trees and flowers, the rocks and the rivers, and especially in these pets of ours you have entrusted to our care. How great is your name, O Lord our God, through all the earth. Amen.
