The Ones We Count On.

(This service was a service of animal blessing, and so there were about 30 pets of various types and two horses from the farm next door who came by.)

Opening Prayer:

PRAYER TO ST. FRANCIS

FOR Animals, OUR PETS

Good St. Francis, you loved all of God's creatures.

To you they were your brothers and sisters.

Help us to follow your example

of treating every living thing with kindness.

St. Francis, Patron Saint of animals,

watch over my pet

and keep my companion safe and healthy.

Amen.

Homily:

I’m a pet person.

Often when I sit down to write a sermon or homily, I try to make sure that there is some balance between my “natural” point of view and other perspectives.

I realized, though, on this topic that I have been a pet person my whole life, and I don’t really know how to present the “not a pet person” point of view.

I know that there are many reasons why one does not have a pet:

Fear of animals

Allergies to animals

A life that is too busy with travel to properly take care of a pet.

But even for the Non-Pet People among us, pets are a force in our lives.

In literature, in movies, in stories told around campfires, animal companions are everywhere.

We were watching a documentary called “Dogs Decoded,” which sort of went through the dogs genetic code, and our human interaction with their genetics.

Here is some of what we learned from that show. Dogs and humans have co-existed for so long, that they actually may well have had an effect on our own evolution.

When you communicate with your dog, your dog looks at your left eye first, to gauge your mood, and you look at her or his left eye, too!

Cats are known to bring down blood pressure when they purr. Of course, having had a cat for 12 years, I can also report that he brought my blood pressure up a few times!

Cats are soft, and can be the best being to cuddle with, if they’re in the mood for it.

No matter dog, cat, turtle, guinea pig, horse, snake, each of us gets something out of the companionship of our pet.

They make us laugh, they allow us to care for another being in a way that is less complicated than loving another human.

They depend on us for care and feeding.

We depend on them because to them we matter.

And they show us this is many ways.

The wagging tail, the curved tail, the slightly excited version of whatever dance they do, to show us that they notice us, and are happy to see us.

In whatever version of happy they have.

And this is a great lesson for all of us, no matter our age.

We learn to read the happiness of those animals within our care,

Not because they demonstrate their happiness in a way that is most convenient, or comfortable for us, but because we learn to take joy and comfort in their own nature.

And by doing so, we learn, we grow, we become better beings ourselves.

So no matter what sort of genus or species your pet is, unless it’s a pet rock, you depend on your animal companion to increase your own humanity.

And each of us, your fellow humans, benefit from the lesson your pet teaches you.

I have learned that sometimes when you pet a cat, they don’t purr.

I have learned that if you aren’t home by a certain time, a dog can’t hold it anymore.

I have learned that few things help a broken heart like a pet sitting on the couch next to you, just radiating love and care.

From all of this, I have learned how to be a better human. If a person doesn’t want to do the equivalent of purring, I cannot make them.

If you don’t take care of the people in your lives, they will suffer. If you make a deal with someone, you must attend to that relationship.  And if you don’t it isn’t really fair for you to ask more of them then they are capable of.

Sometimes the best thing a friend can do, that I can do as a friend, is to just sit with my broken hearted friend, and be. There are some things that words just can not fix.

Look around the circle at all these pets. All these teachers, mostly without voices. These little beings who are in our lives, teaching, loving, needing.

In the Hebrew Bible, in Genesis, God gives Man dominion over the animals, some say.

I have read that word dominion as “responsibility.”

We have a responsibility for our animal companions. It is our accepted job to play with them, to feed them, to care for them, and to celebrate them.

Remember, always, even when it’s hard, to cherish your pet.