About Me

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Douglas, Alaska, United States
I have lived in Alaska since 1978, having come to Juneau as a Jesuit Volunteer. I fell in love with Alaska and now live on Douglas Island with my husband and two dogs.

Monday, October 8, 2012

Bless The Beasts (And The Humans)

Last Thursday, we celebrated the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi.  On his feast day, we bless our pets, because Francis is well known as a lover of all God's creatures.

Frida was freaking out, so I carried her.  She acted as if we were walking the last mile.

We gathered at the Cathedral and processed, singing, over to Cathedral Park, accompanied by dogs...


cats...


and a ferret.


Charles blessed the animals and they were all quiet and respectful.



Some of them even exchanged the sign of peace!




Charles blessed our little Beans...


and the ferret...


and finally, the humans.

Frida was the only one who disgraced herself, but I had a plastic bag in my pocket, just in case.  It's funny, she was really anxious in the car on the way to the church, but on the way back she was as calm as could be.  It must have been the influence of the other, more well behaved dogs, or perhaps the blessing worked!

It was a wonderful celebration!




5 comments:

  1. What a charming tradition. I love the gray cat. We are trying to see all 50 states and are considering driving to Alaska next summer. I have a friend who moved to Haynes (Haines?) because her daughter had moved there. She loved it so much she sold her beach house and is settled int life in Alaska.

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  2. How sweet! Our pets give us such comfort and love, so they most certainly deserved to be blessed.

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  3. And wonderful pictures. The two dogs and the kiss of peace are my favorite!

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  4. Lovely! Thanks for sharing Paula!

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  5. We need "like" buttons for posts like this. :-)

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