Why do we bless animals?
by the Rev. Erin Morey
And God said, “Let the earth bring forth living creatures of every kind: cattle and creeping things and wild animals of the earth of every kind.” And it was so. God made the wild animals of the earth of every kind and the cattle of every kind and everything that creeps upon the ground of every kind. And God saw that it was good.
Then the Lord God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper as his partner.” So out of the ground the Lord God formed every animal of the field and every bird of the air and brought them to the man to see what he would call them, and whatever the man called every living creature, that was its name.
It is a longstanding custom to bless animals in conjunction with the Feast of St. Francis. This makes sense (in addition to being a LOT of fun). In our Scriptures, we have two stories about how God created the world. In the first story, God created animals even before God created people. And then, as God looked upon that world, God called it good.
In the second story, God created a human being, Adam, and felt compassion for Adam’s loneliness. So, God created animals, and allowed Adam to give them names. What I find most interesting is that Adam and God were in the garden together, spending time face to face; and yet, God created even more companions for humanity’s journey in this world. God recognized that the presence of animals in our lives meets a tremendous human need. And at the conclusion of the story of Noah and the flood in the book of Genesis, we are reminded that God made a covenant with every living thing, not just people. God has a relationship with all of Creation, not just humanity.
Stories about closeness to God and closeness to animals have a rich legacy in Christian traditions, such as: folklore about farm animals given speech at Jesus’s birth; St. Jerome healing and befriending an injured lion; and St. Januarius, whose execution in the Roman arena, it is said, was thwarted by the animals refusing to attack him. But perhaps no Saint is as closely linked to animals as St. Francis of Assisi, an influential 13th century monk who wrote poems glorifying God in nature, which he addressed as his sisters and brothers. There are stories associated with Francis preaching to birds, and rescuing Gubbio, a small town, from a killer wolf – not by hurting the wolf, but by brokering an agreement between the town and the wolf, in which the town would care for the wolf. A 1872 renovation of the Church of Saint Francis of the Peace, on the site where tradition says this agreement was made, turned up the centuries-old remains of a wolf, suggesting the intriguing possibility that there really was a wolf lovingly cared for by the town!
As Christians, we believe God’s Creation is good. Like St. Francis, we can use the beauty of the world around us to experience a glimpse of God’s compassion and beauty. Animal companions have long been a part of our experience as humans, and so we have the opportunity to see how God is working even through our beloved pets. Our cats, dogs, rabbits, fish, hamsters, geckos, and parakeets are not only precious to us, they are precious to the God that brought them into being so that we might have the joy of caring for them, and know their love and companionship.
Of course, much like the wolf that was dear to the people of Gubbio, we lose our beloved animal companions to death. The beautiful images in the book of Isaiah, which describes what eternity with God looks like, prominently features animals:
The wolf will live with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the goat, the calf and the lion and the yearling together; and a little child will lead them. The cow will feed with the bear, their young will lie down together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox. The infant will play near the cobra’s den, and the young child will put its hand into the viper’s nest. They will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain, for the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.
It is my hope that, in the timeline of eternity, when we live in the New Heaven and New Earth that scripture tells us about, we will continue to experience the beauty of the natural world in an even more magnificent way than we do now. In my experience, losing a pet can cause tremendous grief. I also know that in the gospel of Matthew, Jesus tells his disciples that not a single sparrow falls to the ground without God knowing. I am comforted that God cares for us, and our pets, and has given us the ability to care for one another. And so, in addition to honoring our living pets, the Blessing of the Animals service gives us a chance to remember our pets who have died with a special memorial table.
I hope you will join us in celebrating the many ways God’s love breaks through in our lives, and join us for the Blessing of the Animals this Sunday!
Peace,
The Rev. Erin Morey, Assistant Rector
English