Hello All,

Today is the feast day of St. Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of all animals. In honor of this day, and in honor of all of the beloved animals who have shared our lives, past and present, I'd like to share this Franciscan Animal Blessing. I plan to hold a little candle-lighting ceremony at my house tonight in memory of our dearly departed animal friends and as a reminder to love and care for the ones still here with us as they deserve!

Franciscan Animal Blessing

Blessed are you, Lord God,
maker of all living creatures.
On the fifth and sixth days of creation,
you called forth fish in the sea,
birds in the air and animals on the land.
You inspired St. Francis to call all animals
his brothers and sisters.
We ask you to bless this animal.
By the power of your love,
enable it to live according to your plan.
May we always praise you
for all your beauty in creation.
Blessed are you, Lord our God, in all your creatures! Amen.

Whether you are Catholic or not (I'm not), I think that today is a good day to honor our beloved furbabies' memories and to remind ourselves of the love and beauty they have brought into our lives. If there is anything we can do here on Earth to honor their memories, it is to treat all creatures as our brothers and sisters.

At the very least, I wanted to share the thought behind this prayer and encourage all of us to honor the memories of our dear animal friends and to celebrate the ones who are with us still in the way that means the most to us!

Love and hugs,
Eliza

Thanks Eliza for that. I'll go light a candle for my beloved Theodore and give my 16 year old Emily a cuddle.

Luna

Thanks for reminding us of the significance of this day. Tomorrow I am buying a St. Francis statue to put in the garden of my new home I am moving into at the end of the month. The joy of a new house right now is replaced by the sadness I feel upon losing my best friend Bailey last week. Hopefully as I look upon this statue in my garden it will help me remember the good times and not dwell on the sad ones. And I am not Catholic either! Bless all of our furry friends, those that have gone before us and those who are still with us.

Eliza,
I feel that all of our departed furbaby loved ones are in the care of Blessed Saint Francis. I also plan to place a statue of him in the garden where our babies rest. I wear a St Francis medal every day. As a Catholic and pet lover I feel a special devotion to this servant of God. One of my life's goals is to emulate the kindness of St Francis as best I can. It makes me feel better believing that our friends are in his loving care. I love the prayer. I plan to say it for our babies reguarly.
Steve

Dear Eliza:

Thank you so very much Eliza for reminding me of such a special & significant day...though I am a little late....

It has ALWAYS been my thought that as soon as our sweet, beloved "pets" (encompassing all of God's beautiful creatures), leave this earth......that they are immediately placed into the very loving and caring arms of St. Francis
of Assisi. At a very sad time in our lives, I find great comfort in knowing that they are with St. Francis.

I just lit a candle for all of our precious and beautiful departed animal children, and also as a reminder to give special love and hugs to our kids that are with us at present..

Thank you for posting the prayer, "Franciscan Animal Blessing" -- It is very beautiful!!

God Bless You All!!!

Love, Peace, Good Health & Happiness,

Denise

Dear Eliza,

I just read your prayer and how beautiful. Thank you for sharing. No matter what religion we are or not... this is what it's all about. Caring, love , sharing. I know I am a better person today all because of my animals. I know they are angels sent to us from our heaven (everybody's heaven) and they have taught me more things than I can list.

My girl Ayla passed Dec. 9, 2004. I miss her!

Hugs, Kimi