There was a lot of barking and meowing at Saint Mary this past Sunday (no, we haven’t started a doggie day care). We held our annual pet blessing in honor of the feast of Saint Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of animals!
It was a reminder of the bond God gave us with the rest of creation, including our precious pets, which we all love so much. After offering up a prayer, Father Dindo sprinkled the animals with Holy Water. This was probably the one instance when they didn’t mind getting a little wet!
Thank you to all the pets who brought their Saint Mary parishioners out on that absolutely gorgeous and sunny Sunday afternoon. In honor of Saint Francis, let’s remember his prayer:
Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.
Where there is hatred, let me bring love.
Where there is offense, let me bring pardon.
Where there is discord, let me bring union.
Where there is error, let me bring truth.
Where there is doubt, let me bring faith.
Where there is despair, let me bring hope.
Where there is darkness, let me bring your light.
Where there is sadness, let me bring joy.
O Master, let me not seek as much
to be consoled as to console,
to be understood as to understand,
to be loved as to love,
for it is in giving that one receives,
it is in self-forgetting that one finds,
it is in pardoning that one is pardoned,
it is in dying that one is raised to eternal life.
The Mokena Marian 