Ask Dear Old Dad: Why do we bless pets?

Dear DOD,

Why are we blessing all these animals?

Anonymous

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Dear Anonymous,

In early October, I participated in the blessing of the animals at the Church of Our Savior. Somewhere between blessing fluffy cats, large dogs, and an amazing number of turtles, I was asked this question: “Why are we blessing these animals?” My apologies for not recalling who asked it.

The blessing of animals occurs during the octave (an “octave” indicates a celebration of eight days beginning with the feast day itself) of the Feast of Saint Francis of Assisi, whose feast day is October 4.

Saint Francis was a monk who delighted to see the hand of God in all of creation. The hymn attributed to Francis “Brother Son and Sister Moon” details this vision. There are many delightful legends of Saint Francis interacting with all sorts of animals. It is said that if a village would not listen to his preaching, he would instead preach to the animals, who readily received the Gospel.

For Saint Francis, all of creation and all living things were brought about by God’s spirit/breath, calling order out of primordial chaos, with God’s speaking all things into existence. So from soil to tree, from fruit fly to blue whale — all creation, including us humans, share the same substance and source of our being. In God’s wisdom we humans were formed in God’s image and called into partnership to care for creation and its creatures. Some of God’s creatures came to be our fellow workers (horses), others to be companions (dogs), and yet others, sources of comfort and joy (cats).

So in thanksgiving for the goodness of all creation and for the gifts of our companion animals, we bring them to the Blessing of the Animals.

Hope that this helps.

Dear Old Dad (DOD)

P.S.

As the old saying goes, I hope one day to become the person my dog thinks I am!

Dogs teach us to parent children, cats teach us to parent teenagers.

“Three Dog Night” was the name of a 1960s–70s rock group. However, a “three dog night” was a night so cold that you needed three dogs in your bed to keep warm, attributed variously to Australian, Siberian, or Inuit lore.

Do you have a burning question about church, Episcopal/Anglican traditions, theology, and so on? In our monthly feature "Ask Dear Old Dad," after the classic "Dear Abby" format, the Rev. Reese Riley, COS Senior Adjunct Clergy, will tackle your questions with his signature wisdom and charm. And by the way, there are no dumb questions! You may request to be anonymous, or you may have your name published. Your questions will inspire the conversation! Submit your question to Hannah at HannahR@COSepiscopal.org