Blessing of the Animals
Posted by Weblord on 2006-10-02. Filed under Events
On Sunday afternoon, October 1st, 2006, the annual Blessing of the Animals service took place at St. John's Anglican Church on Brock Street, here in Peterborough. Many of our therapy dogs and their handlers attended the service taking their places in the pews, alongside rabbits, cats, even a rat, while a horse grazed on the front lawn of the church! During the service, the animals were invited to the front of the church to be greeted and blessed individually by Archdeacon Gordon Finney.
The Blessing of the Animals has it's origins with St. Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of animals, who lived in the late 12th and early 13th century. St. Francis believed all people were equal, be they beggar or pope, and all God's creation, including the animals, were part of his brotherhood. In one famous story, Francis preached to a flock of birds to be thankful to God for their wonderful clothes, their independence and God's care. The birds remained still as he walked among them, only flying away when he dismissed them. The Blessing of the Animals is celebrated in cities all over the world on the Sunday nearest to the Feast of St. Francis which falls on October 4th. Today's service reminded us that animals can teach us much about love, loyalty and peace. To quote St. Francis, “If you have men who will exclude any of God's creatures from the shelter of compassion and pity, you will have men who will deal likewise with their fellow men.” Many years later, his sentiments were echoed by Gandhi who said: “The greatness of a nation and it's moral progress can be judged by the way it's animals are treated.”
On this occasion of special significance to the animal kingdom, let's be thankful for the wonderful gift that our dogs bring to us and to our community, their unconditional love, communicated by a cold nose and a wagging tail! Truly something to celebrate!
