| 10/14/2009 1:13:00 PM | Email this article • Print this article | A blessing for animals, and for the Earth
By Father Jacek Orzechowski, OFM
Special to the Standard
The first weekend of October -- on the feast of St. Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of ecology -- a number of churches will offer blessing of animals prayer services. One such event took place outside of St. Camillus Church in Silver Spring. Some may wonder about the reason why anyone would come to have his or her pet blessed.
A blessing is our prayerful acknowledgment of something good and beautiful created by God. For example, when my sister kisses her two-year-old daughter goodnight, she blesses her child, even though little Victoria is asleep and not aware of it. The blessing that my sister gives to her child is not magic; rather, it is a sign of love and affection. Such a gesture acknowledges and celebrates that which is already present: "This child is a gift from God and I am grateful for it." My sister is the one affected the most by that blessing. In a similar way, we bless our animals because we want to acknowledge prayerfully that they are special to us. We want to thank God for their friendship and beauty. We also ask God to keep them in good health, so that they may continue wagging their tails, welcoming us when they see us, and delighting us with their beauty.
But there is an even more important reason why the blessing of animals ought to be relevant to us, especially in this time of the unprecedented ecological crisis. First, it reminds us that the animals -- and in fact all who are members of the Earth's community -- belong first and foremost to God. Their worth extends far beyond a mere commodity value that we humans ascribe to them. The diverse creatures reflect in their own unique and unrepeatable ways the goodness and beauty of the Divine Creator. Furthermore, the Christian tradition holds up to us the vision of the natural world that is being drawn by God toward a promise of a future fulfillment. Yet, all too often, human beings wreak havoc on God's earth, threatening the survival of countless species. What we must do is to tend God's garden with love and justice rather than exploit it with greed and unrestrained consumption. The blessing of the animals also reminds us that we are part of the Earth's community of life, and that we share the common origin in God and sacred cosmic destiny.
That awareness ought to compel us to certain solidarity with other species and to ensure the survival of the earth's natural diversity. According to 2007 IPCC report, between 20 percent and 30 percent of animal species are likely to be at increased risk of extinction if increases in global temperature exceed 1.5°C -2.5°C. Species are dying 10,000 times faster than natural extinction rates; faster than at any time in the last 65 million years. It will continue, unless we become more serious about doing something about it.
As the U.S. Senate prepares for a vigorous debate over what should be our national response to global climate change, people of faith are becoming increasingly aware of their moral obligation to speak up on this issue. October presents a great opportunity to hold up a vision of sustainable future for all of creation. Many Catholics across our country will be celebrating the feast of St. Francis by joining the Catholic Climate Covenant and taking the St. Francis Pledge to Care for Creation and the Poor. (http://catholicclimatecovenant.org/the-st-francis-pledge )
One time, at the end of the ceremony at which I blessed various animals, someone asked me facetiously if any of those creatures had been changed spiritually. I said, "My friend, this blessing is really more for us people that it is for these animals. It should empower us to change our erroneous world-views and lifestyles that are bringing us to the brink of the ecological catastrophe."
(Father Jacek Orzechowski, O.F.M., is a Franciscan friar ministering at St. Camillus Catholic Church in Silver Spring, Md. He is also co-chair of the Justice, Peace and the Integrity of Creation Directorate of the Holy Name Province.)
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