Americans love their pets. Last year, according to the American Pet Products Association, pet owners spent more than $58 billion on their pets, from buying food and supplies to paying for veterinary care and grooming. So it's no surprise that those furry, feathered and scaly friends that are lavished with such attention have a special day at church each year -- St. Francis Day.
Francis, who died in 1226, is known for many things, including starting what is known today as the Franciscan religious order. But for pet lovers, he's best known as the patron saint of animals. Legend has it that Francis, whose feast day is celebrated on Oct. 4, had a special kinship with animals and blessing animals on or around that day is an old tradition in the Catholic Church, and more recently in many other denominations.
Monsignor David LeSieur, pastor at St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Church in Rogers, said there are many legends about St. Francis and animals, the most famous of which is a tale of the wolf of Gubbio, Italy. The story is that a wolf was terrorizing the town, killing farm animals and people alike. Francis went into the woods to find the wolf and it lunged at him, but stopped when Francis made the sign of the cross. He called the wolf forward and spoke to him, telling the animal that he had scared the townspeople and must promise to not kill again. In return Francis said the people of the town would care for him and feed him, which they did until he died.
"That's one of my favorite stories," LeSieur said. "Francis was a very poor man. He gave up his riches and I think being poor kept him close to nature. He and his followers would sleep under the stars and maybe some of those legends arose from that."
A basilica built in Francis' name is located in Assisi, Italy, and LeSieur said frescoes there depict the saint with animals. Somewhere along the way the tradition of blessing animals on his feast day arose and it's a yearly custom at St. Vincent de Paul. This year's pet blessings will be at 4:30 p.m. on Friday and LeSieur expects to bless pets of all kinds.
"I've blessed a horse, hermit crabs, lots of dogs and cats," he said. "Some bring birds in cages. It's fun."
Dogs must be on a leash and cats in a pet carrier or cage to keep the peace.
"I've never seen a dogfight yet," LeSieur said. "Dogs are very interested in one another and they get acquainted and rub noses. It's kind of a controlled, chaotic thing and people love to bring their pets and we love to see the kids bring their pets."
LeSieur said the blessings can be done anew each year.
"I think it's a way of saying that we as Christians believe that nature is a creation from God and we are part of nature, and pets and animals are part of our lives -- a very important part of
our lives -- and we want to ask God to bless them," he said. "We look on domestic animals, wild animals and particularly our pets as something God has blessed us with."
Pet blessings are also an annual tradition at First United Methodist Church in downtown Little Rock. The blessings this year will be at 3 p.m. Oct. 4 at MacArthur Park.
"Pets are an integral part of our individual lives and it goes deeper than that," said the church's senior pastor, the Rev. Chris Cooper.
The pastor said Scriptures are filled with references to animals, from Genesis to the Psalms to the Book of Revelation.
"In Genesis, the second chapter, there's the story of how God makes all the animals of the world and the human one is the one who gives names to each of them," he said. "From the beginning of time, they've been part of our lives because we've named them."
Psalm 148 speaks of man and beast praising God: "... Praise the Lord from the earth, you great sea creatures and all ocean depths, lightning and hail, snow and clouds, storm winds that do his bidding, you mountains and all hills, fruit trees and all cedars, wild animals and all cattle, small creatures and flying birds ...."
"It's recognition that even all the animals of the earth -- in the way they live and move and breathe -- praise the Lord. Their life is about praising God," Cooper said.
According to Scripture, humans are to care for all of the earth and that includes animals, Cooper said.
"I think that's what the kingdom of God is all about, not so much evacuating us to heaven, but bringing heaven to earth," he said. "We are here to care for this whole earth, the human creatures, the nonhuman creatures and the nonliving things as well. It's a theology of stewardship."
Cooper said all are welcome to bring a pet to the blessing and pets receiving blessings will be given a St. Francis medal.
Grace Episcopal Church in Siloam Springs will have its blessing of the animals at 3 p.m. Oct. 5. The Rev. Stan McKinnon said he's blessed rabbits, horses, gerbils, snakes and fish, but mostly dogs and cats. The animals are given a treat and the service features a liturgy for animals that includes the Prayer of St. Francis, Scripture readings and a song.
McKinnon said the gathering is a way to honor God by blessing the animals.
His pet, Luna, a black-and-white Boston terrier, often accompanies him to work.
"We have this sense of unconditional love from our pets," he said. "And this sense of responsibility to take care of something that is another part of creation that needs some care and needs somebody to look after them. It gives us a sense of giving back to God in a way and taking care of what God has put upon this earth, which is what we are called to do."
McKinnon said pets become part of the family for many people and most often they don't get to go to church.
"So it's nice to have a day where we can include the rest of the family," he said. "A lot of people feel that way about our pets. Our little dog lives indoors with us. Luna really is part of the family."
The event is also a fundraiser for an animal shelter in Siloam Springs. Participants are asked to bring dog or cat food or a cash donation. Animals from the shelter will also be there to receive a blessing.
The Humane Society of the United States' Faith Outreach program offers free resources to churches interested in planning a pet blessing. The "St. Francis Day in a Box," includes a prayer for animals card, a pet food collection promotion kit called Fill the Bowl, a DVD of the documentary Eating Mercifully, a Faith Outreach book selection, a magazine for children and information on creating space for wildlife in church yards or backyards -- a program known as Humane Backyard.
Christine Gutleben, senior director of the Faith Outreach program, said demand for the kits has increased dramatically this year.
"We usually send 500 packets a year to churches and this year we distributed 500 in the first week. We're now up to 1,500," she said.
Gutleben said the Humane Society's goal is to encourage churches to offer a variety of opportunities to help animals during their annual St. Francis Day blessings, such as the suggested pet food drive contained in the resource box.
"We provide a turnkey approach to setting up a pet food collection drive at a church with posters and stickers to encourage the faith community to collect pet food and supplies for food pantries," she said. "So many shelters are overrun with pets because people can't afford to keep them and we want to keep families and pets together, and churches can play a big role in that."
Gutleben said most faith traditions have a history of kindness toward animals and the Faith Outreach program is a way to offer resources and ideas for faith communities that want to be involved in animal welfare. Information is available at humanesociety.org/faith.
Religion on 09/27/2014