Blessing of the Animals

At 5:00 p.m., with Vespers of the Feast of Saint Francis of Assisi, Wednesday, October 4, 2023
We will meet in the McNary Center courtyard weather permitting.
In inclement weather, we will gather in the atrium of the McNary Center.

All animals are welcome to attend but MUST bring a human being who must remain connected at all times through a leash or carrier.


All things bright and beautiful, all creatures great and small, all things wise and wonderful, the Lord God made them all.
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Blessed are you, Lord our God, Ruler of the Universe
for through your goodness you have filled the world with all manner of creatures that move upon the earth, swim in the waters, or fly through the heavens.

Grant us wisdom to treat kindly the world we share with them and one another.

Make us grateful for them:
for their companionship,
for the delight they give us by their form and behavior,
for the ways they lighten our toil,
mystify us with their intelligence and strength,
terrify us with their ferocity,
and touch our hearts with their vulnerabilty.

Teach us to treasure the ones you have placed under our protection, and grant us humility to learn the lessons they can teach us about trusting in your providence.

Set all creation free from its subjection to futility and from bondage to decay.
Let it find in us the glorious liberty of the children of God for which it has been groaning in travail and hope until the coming of your Son, our Savior, Jesus Christ, who by the blood of his Cross has reconciled all things in earth and heaven to you.

And now, O Lord, pour out in abundance your blessing upon them and upon us, granting them and us life, health, peace, and the joy of fellowship,
in the name of the Father, and of the son, and of the Holy spirit.

Amen.