St. Francis Of Assisi, Feast Day of Patron Saint of All Animals Options

[Eliza]

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