Spiritual Journey Thursday is dedicated this month to the small steps that create a big change.
On Wednesday night, Charlie (my 10 year old schnoodle) and I went to a simple service for blessing the animals. Our priest, Father Matt, wore a Creation-themed stole and set up a Eucharistic table under the pavilion in the backyard of the church. He was surrounded by animals of all kinds, dogs of all sizes and colors, cats in carriers, a hedgehog, and a basket of turtles (Each and Other). He sprinkled the pets with holy water. The dogs barked in a choral round.
As silly as I thought this was going to be, I have to admit I was moved. I was moved by the way we are so proud of our pets, of how much animal love makes us happy. Such a small thing, the lick of a dog, the purr of a cat, the tiny curious heads of turtles, turned to something bigger, something better.
In the well-known prayer, St. Francis echoes “Make me an instrument of peace.” In keeping things sacred, declaring that all are worthy of God’s love, and finding joy, we become instruments of peace.
Peace can be difficult to hope for when innocent fathers are shot in the line of duty, when thousands leave a country music festival terrorized and forever scarred, when our country’s leaders seem determined to divide, oppress, and insult our small steps toward peace.
After Rebecca Kai Dotlich’s poem Always, I wrote the following poem.
There is always
a sweet scent of satsumas
ripening in the fall.They ignore the drone of bees,
the flash of lightning,
the rush of wind,
the flood of water.Nature knows what comes next.
Nature never worries about tomorrow.
She trusts the hand of the planter.
She recalls the love of rain.
She hopes for the dawn
and shows us how.–Margaret Simon, all rights reserved.
Reflections on the Teche 
Yes, much comfort to be found in nature, isn’t there? Thank you for the beautiful poem. And Pet pictures! It’s a wonderful thing to have in common, this love of animals. I watched a documentary this week about Pitbulls rescued from the Michael Vick case. Your post brings to mind. Thank you! And FYI I am away from my desk without Internet, so I won’t be able to Put the links in my post. Sorry about that! Hopefully everyone will just look and comment. XO
Beautiful, Margaret! I especially love your poem. 🙂 And the blessings for our animal friends! I so would have attended w/Dug & Reece.
Thank you for your beautiful words. I am trying to be like nature, not worrying about tomorrow.
Margaret, your small steps left me feeling a sense of peace. Last Sunday, our pastor spoke about the blessing of the animals so I was happy to actually see a ceremony devoted to that. I appreciate the way your wove your intro into a step back to St. Francis’ prayer, a look into the chaos of the world, and onto a poem that honed in on the power of nature to bring wonder and peace to our lives.