Animal blessing: Feast of St. Francis (Oct. 4).

Animal blessing: Feast of St. Fronds (Oct. 4)

   Gracious and generous God
     in the beginning you created every living creature;
     birds, cattle, creeping things,
     wild animals and sea monsters,
     and you called each one good.
   You asked us to care for them, as you care for us.
   We confess that we often fail to care for them, as you have asked.
   We have not treated them as your beloved creations.
   Forgive us, Lord,
     for putting our own wants and desires
     ahead of the needs of animals who have served and loved us;
     forgive us for considering them as objects to use
     instead of beings you made and love.
   Teach us to see the faces of our brothers and sisters
     in domestic animals,
     in those who live on the streets and in shelters,
     on the farm and in the wild.
     May we come to love them as fully as you do.
     Amen.

--Debra K. Farrington, All God's Creatures (Paraclete)