Lord, make me an instrument of your peace

St. Francis of Assisi loved all animals. He is very special to us, and with all the animals we have in our house I like to think we are special to him too. One custom that many parishes have in honor of the Feast of Francis is a procession of animals and a blessing of pets. If you can’t get to a pet blessing, or, like us, can’t get all the pets to the blessing, there are other ways to celebrate the life of this great saint.

• Take a trip to the park and feed the ducks or birds.
• After serious consideration, head out to your nearby animal shelter and adopt a pet.
• How about a trip to the zoo?
• Get a St. Francis medal for your pets to wear.
• Send a St. Francis e-card. It’s a very nice slideshow timeline of the life of St. Francis.
• Feast on animal crackers, or bake your own animal shaped cookies.
• Get the crayons out for Waltzing Matilda’s great iconic coloring page.
• And of course, pray:

Prayer of Saint Francis of Assisi

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
there is injury,pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
and where there is sadness, joy.

O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek
to be consoled as to console;
to be understood as to understand;
to be loved as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive;
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.

Amen