Pet Blessings
“God blessed them, and God said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves upon the earth.’” - Genesis 1:28b
“The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to till it and keep it.” - Genesis 2:15
Two days last week I was a part of the Pet Blessings at both the School and the Church. They were wonderful days full of excited pet and “lovey” parents and children. It is a time when we get to appreciate our pets not only in fellowship but also in acknowledgment of God’s place in that relationship.
As you can see from the quotes above, we are given charge over the creation that God made and calls “good.” Including us. We are the “them” in the first quote. We are blessed and to pass that blessing on to creation itself. We are to have “dominion,” or authority over creation, we are to till the soil and to “keep” it. In other words, we are to have stewardship over creation.
Part of our stewardship is that when we take on a pet or a “lovey” we are to not only to love but also to feed and protect and basically take care of them. By doing that work we are passing on the blessing that God gave to us to those we are stewards of. In fact, in the Pet Blessing we use we say, “Bless O God, this your creature, and all who are involved in its care and protection. Amen.” Its all about taking care of what God has made and blessed.
Seeing all those smiling faces and the love and devotion displayed by the pets for their people and the people for those pets always reminds me that God not only loves us but entrusts us with what God loves: creation. I am so thankful for our pets and “loveys” as they are reminders of who we are and who we belong to.
God’s Peace,
Fr. Mitch+