Blessing of the Animals
Send in a photo of your pet by Oct. 3
By Jennifer Hayes, M.Div. , Director, Spiritual Care
In the Catholic tradition, Francis of Assisi is the patron saint of animals. The Feast of Saint Francis of Assisi commemorates his life and is often observed by blessing animals.
I’m not Catholic, but maybe you are.
Or maybe you’re not.
Perhaps you ascribe to the Buddhist practice of living out compassion and peace toward humans and animals.
Maybe your values align with that of Hinduism, believing every living creature has a soul thus deserves respectful treatment.
The Islamic belief of animals being treated with kindness and compassion might be part of your creed.
Besides, as practical mystic David Spangler writes, “In practicing the art of blessing, we are really practicing being connected. Surely a blessing is also a flow of life force between ourselves and others or between ourselves and the sacred. It’s an act of connection. It restores through love a circulation of spirit among us that may have become blocked, forgotten, or overlooked. It reconnects us to the community of creation.” 
So, no matter your belief system, the Spiritual Care department invites you to participate in the Blessing of the Animals by sending a picture of your (insert the adjective of your choice here) pet to InternalCommunications@cookchildrens.org no later than Tues. Oct. 3.
With the pictures of your pets in hand (and with our Sit...Stay…PLAY friends by our side), Spiritual Care will bless the animals at 10 a.m. on Wed, Oct. 4, in the Meditation Room at Cook Children's Medical Center-Fort Worth.