Weekly Message October 6th , 2013 Fr. Thomas This coming Sunday is the day of our annual Blessing of the Animals immediately following the 10:00 a.m. mass. We do this on the Sunday close to St. Francis’ Day (October 4th) who is the patron saint of animals because his profound love of God extended to love all of His creation. It’s no secret that humans have a love affair with their pets. I’d like to share a personal testimony written by Professor John Ferguson of Birmingham, England regarding his dog. “ We have a Labrador Retriever named Actis. That’s an old Greek name which means sunbeam. It suits her color and her sunny temperament. She loves people. If you come to see her she will run to the door, wagging her tail, and say, “How nice of you to come to see me. You don’t seem to have had a good wash this morning: let me give you another one. Excuse me a moment. I’ve got a super bone. Let me run and get it that you can have a lick and chew with me.” When she was a small puppy she would dash to the door saying, “What, another of these marvelous humans!” Dr. Ferguson continues, “I learned a lot from Actis—a lot of what life ought to be like. You see, sometimes when there’s a knock on the door, or the phone rings we find ourselves saying, “Oh dear. Who’s that now?” But everyone enriches our lives in some way. Wouldn’t it be better if we rushed to the door thinking, “Another of these marvelous humans coming to visit us?” Isn’t this similar to Jesus’ command to love one another?” Our Lord wasn’t met at the Pharisee’s house by the Town Mayor, or the Chief Priest, or the Vestry, but by a woman of notorious sin: a woman in need of forgiveness, well known for her dishonorable past. None but she showed Jesus the affection he was due. What happens when a first time guest joins us for Sunday worship in our house? “What you do to the least of these my brethren you did it unto me.”
Posted on: Sat, 26 Oct 2013 00:48:51 +0000
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