The Blessing of the Animals

Oct 7

October 4, this past Friday, was the feast of St. Francis of Assisi, an Italian deacon who brought renewal to the Church through his decision to follow Jesus' words as literally as possible.

Saint Francis was born on an unknown date in the early 1180s. He was one of several children of a wealthy merchant, Pietro Bernardone, and his wife Pica. He originally received the name Giovanni (or John), but his father preferred to call him Francesco or Francis.

Unlike most mediaeval saints, St. Francis was neither studious nor pious. His father was wealthy and Francis enjoyed a lively social life with his upper class friends. He was known for his flashy clothes and his readiness to burst into song. Although he became a patron of peacemakers later in life, in his youth he aspired to great military feats and actually fought in a war with a rival Italian city-state.

He was captured and imprisoned during that war. While in prison, Francis began having a recurring dream that suggested his true “army” was not of this world. He became ill and had to return to Assisi in 1205, and there he began to consider a life of voluntary poverty.

Three major incidents confirmed Francis’ decision to journey on a sacred path:

In Assisi, he overcame his fear of disease by kissing the hand of a leper.
Then, he made a pilgrimage to Rome where he deposited his money at Saint Peter's tomb and exchanged clothes with a beggar.
After returning home, Francis had a vision and heard Christ telling him: “Go, Francis, and repair my house, which as you see is falling into ruin.”

Francis began to use his father's wealth to restore churches. This led to a public quarrel between Francis and his father which resulted in Francis declaring that he had no father except God. He regarded himself as the husband of “Lady Poverty,” and resolved to serve Christ as “a herald of the Great King.”

In 1208, Francis received the inspiration that would give rise to the Franciscan movement. At Mass one morning, he heard the Gospel reading in which Christ instructed the apostles to go forth without money, shoes, or extra clothing. This way of life soon became papally-approved and even before his death, the Franciscan monastic movement quickly attracted a huge number of followers.

In September of 1224, Francis received the miracle of the stigmata - the sharing of the Lord’s suffering by physically and visibly experiencing the wounds of the crucifixion. His health declined over the next two years as a result of the self-sacrifice of his vows and two decades of missionary preaching.

St. Francis of Assisi died on Oct. 3, 1226. Pope Gregory IX, his friend and devotee, canonized him in 1228, declaring Oct. 4th, the day after his death, as his feast day.

St. Francis saw the presence and spirit of God in all of life and nature and even referred to animals as his brothers and sisters. In this way he was seen as the perfect patron saint of all animals.

In 1912, the Peace Prayer first appeared in a small French Magazine called La Clochette, the little bell. It was entitled, “A Beautiful little prayer to say at Mass.” With no known author, rumour eventually attributed the prayer to St. Francis and it became his official prayer in 1927. That prayer was the Gradual Hymn we just sang - Make Me A Channel of Your Peace, also known as the Prayer of St. Francis.

The Feast of St. Francis is the conclusion of our focus on the Season of Creation but we must always be reminded of our responsibility to be good stewards of creation. We bless animals today, in commemoration of St. Francis, not because they need God’s favour but because we must be reminded of our responsibility to them and to all of the natural order. We bless them to acknowledge that all of creation, plants and trees, water and air, birds and fish and all animals are God’s gift to us and must be cherished, respected and cared for.

For far too long the human species has taken our creation for granted and it is now, finally, telling us that we must stop - for if we do not, all of Earth will perish. It’s overwhelming when we think of carbon emissions and the macro-issues of climate change. All I’m asking of you on this special day is simply to do your part - do the little things like reuse, minimize single use plastics, and intentionally reduce your carbon footprint.

In the end, all we can do is our small part - and, if we all do our small part, big change will happen.

On this day when we honour St. Francis and thank God for, and bless our furry, love-filled friends, we also reaffirm our commitment to this planet.