Comments on: Animal Blessing – St Francis

By: Rev. Dn. Richard Jeffcoat

Rev. Dn. Richard Jeffcoat — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 16:34:06 +0000

Sorry I’m so late with my follow up of 10/2. We made the Sign of the Cross, afterwards the Priest led us in a versicle and we responded. A reading from Isaiah 11:6-9 was read. After this a time of silence, and then those present offered prayers of intercession for their animals. The Celebrant invited all to hold or place their hands on their animals in blessing.Holy water was then sprinked on the animals, and once again we made the Sign of the Cross. A blessing was then said by the priest and then we processed in the church for a service of healing.

By: Karen Gray

Karen Gray — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 14:43:37 +0000

I am an Interfaith Minister in Washington, DC. I will officiate on Saturday for a Blessing of the Animals at a neighborhood market (Broad Branch Market) that offers wonderful community events.

I plan to invite the human friends to bless their animals alongside me. Holding open hands upward to represent being open to God’s blessing. Then placing open hands either toward or on the animal, to signify sending God’s grace their way. I want to encourage the adult and younger owners to keep a steady consciousness of being channels of God’s love, returning the love that our animals friends bring to us.

By: Rev. Kurt Huber

Rev. Kurt Huber — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 00:55:03 +0000

We do ours on the green at 4 PM – invite the town – it is not only a blessing of animals but we celebrate St. Francis too.

It is quite a fun liturgy. Before he died, a local RC deacon used to help me with it.

By: Eva Ulian

Eva Ulian — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 10:41:54 +0000

I know there are parts of Italy where a blessing in the square outside the church takes place but not so much in the country where I live. I guess that’s because country folks are more rugged-minded and don’t keep animals as pets as much as town folks do. For them the blessing of farm animals is done when the priest goes round to bless the homes after the Easter period. However, I’m convinced even dogs go to heaven!!!

By: Mozart

Mozart — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 01:36:54 +0000

Please don’t forget us http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kTkKwelX1RI

By: Kathleen Duffy

Kathleen Duffy — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 17:48:17 +0000

I used to work in a circus in the 1960s and I never forgot the day when we got all the animals in the cirus ring, somewhere in Italy, (forgotten where now) and a priest came and blessed them. Never forgot it. I wasn’t a catholic then, but I thought it was lovely. Unfortunately some of the humans weren’t too kind to the animals – those animals really needed a blessing….

By: Sue

Sue — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 22:02:37 +0000

My (Episcopal) church will be doing an afternoon blessing of the animals. Our priest, who has cats, told me that it is her practice to use holy water on dogs but not cats. She has cats and knows how most cats are about water–so that’s a good thing.

I plan to bring the majority of my cats pictorially rather than physically.

My own view of blessing is that it is an acknowledgement of God’s grace. Our beloved creature companions are already the created and beloved of God, and I believe they are our teachers in many respects–about love, about forgiveness, about patience… Giving them a blessing is an opportunity for us to acknowledge their special place in our lives publicly before God.

By: Frugal Dougal

Frugal Dougal — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 18:48:40 +0000

We brought our cat to the recent Pet Blessing Service and it was lovely – but at the end of it the cat, in his cage, was hissing like a good’un!

By: Rev. Dn. Richard Jeffcoat

Rev. Dn. Richard Jeffcoat — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 16:42:45 +0000

The Church that I attend is having a blessing of the animals this Sunday Evening (Oct.4). I serve as a Deacon in this Charismatic Episcopal Church. I know our Priest does the sign of the cross over the animals. I don’t know if he sprinkes them with Holy Water or not. Don’t know what prayer he uses. Will comment more later after attending the service. We are to have a Healing Eucharist after the Blessing of the Animals. I am to preach in that service.

By: Joel

Joel — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 13:12:37 +0000

I grew up in a “very-low-Protestant-Church” in which blessing was not part of the congregation’s vocabulary. One year the church held a blessing of the animals on a fall Sunday.

It felt a bit odd celebrating the day within the context of a church that generally doesn’t bless anything. I wasn’t sure what to make of it. Was it an “All dogs go to heaven” sort of thing? Bring your animal to church day? Show and tell? The point seemed to be missing – because I don’t think that community quite understood blessing/berrakah.