elephant, camel, horse, etc. at St John's
Certainly in the midst of Anglican discussions (often now with far more heat than light) about who and what can or cannot be blessed and why, I have noticed a general confusion about what “blessing” actually is in the Judaeo-Christian tradition. At heart of the blessing tradition there is the Jewish Berrakah. We bless something/someone by blessing God. We bless by giving thanks. The composition of such a blessing (my copyrighted mnemonic) is:
Praise
Proclaim
Petition
Praise
You can see this configuration in the Eucharistic Prayer, in the prayer for blessing the water at baptism, in the blessing over a couple in a wedding,…
The modern declaratory “blessing” at the end of a Eucharist is a much different construction, and a much more recent innovation. Communion of the people originally concluded the Eucharist. As numbers grew and formal buildings became more ornate, so did the conclusion with prayer being added. In the Middle Ages the bishop blessed the people as he walked through the congregation at the conclusion. By the Reformation the bishop in many places said this “blessing” prior to leaving the sanctuary. Some priests, especially in France and Germany, imitated this Episcopal “blessing”. As fewer in the congregation received God’s blessing in receiving communion, this verbal “blessing” made up for a non-communicating Mass. With the restoration of receiving communion as the norm at the Eucharist, many rites have made the declaratory “blessing” a the conclusion of the Eucharist optional.
Photo: This was a St Francis Day blessing of the animals service I participated in in the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, New York. (Notice the elephant, camel, horse, pony,…! 
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Invitation: Please add your practical help, experiences, and prayers about blessing of animals in the comment section below. What do you do? What have you done? What works well? What does not? What prayer do you use?…
I grew up in a “very-low-Protestant-Church” in which blessing was not part of the congregation’s vocabulary. One year the church held a blessing of the animals on a fall Sunday.
It felt a bit odd celebrating the day within the context of a church that generally doesn’t bless anything. I wasn’t sure what to make of it. Was it an “All dogs go to heaven” sort of thing? Bring your animal to church day? Show and tell? The point seemed to be missing – because I don’t think that community quite understood blessing/berrakah.
The Church that I attend is having a blessing of the animals this Sunday Evening (Oct.4). I serve as a Deacon in this Charismatic Episcopal Church. I know our Priest does the sign of the cross over the animals. I don’t know if he sprinkes them with Holy Water or not. Don’t know what prayer he uses. Will comment more later after attending the service. We are to have a Healing Eucharist after the Blessing of the Animals. I am to preach in that service.
We brought our cat to the recent Pet Blessing Service and it was lovely – but at the end of it the cat, in his cage, was hissing like a good’un!
My (Episcopal) church will be doing an afternoon blessing of the animals. Our priest, who has cats, told me that it is her practice to use holy water on dogs but not cats. She has cats and knows how most cats are about water–so that’s a good thing.
I plan to bring the majority of my cats pictorially rather than physically.
My own view of blessing is that it is an acknowledgement of God’s grace. Our beloved creature companions are already the created and beloved of God, and I believe they are our teachers in many respects–about love, about forgiveness, about patience… Giving them a blessing is an opportunity for us to acknowledge their special place in our lives publicly before God.
I used to work in a circus in the 1960s and I never forgot the day when we got all the animals in the cirus ring, somewhere in Italy, (forgotten where now) and a priest came and blessed them. Never forgot it. I wasn’t a catholic then, but I thought it was lovely. Unfortunately some of the humans weren’t too kind to the animals – those animals really needed a blessing….
Please don’t forget us http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kTkKwelX1RI
I know there are parts of Italy where a blessing in the square outside the church takes place but not so much in the country where I live. I guess that’s because country folks are more rugged-minded and don’t keep animals as pets as much as town folks do. For them the blessing of farm animals is done when the priest goes round to bless the homes after the Easter period. However, I’m convinced even dogs go to heaven!!!
We do ours on the green at 4 PM – invite the town – it is not only a blessing of animals but we celebrate St. Francis too.
It is quite a fun liturgy. Before he died, a local RC deacon used to help me with it.
I am an Interfaith Minister in Washington, DC. I will officiate on Saturday for a Blessing of the Animals at a neighborhood market (Broad Branch Market) that offers wonderful community events.
I plan to invite the human friends to bless their animals alongside me. Holding open hands upward to represent being open to God’s blessing. Then placing open hands either toward or on the animal, to signify sending God’s grace their way. I want to encourage the adult and younger owners to keep a steady consciousness of being channels of God’s love, returning the love that our animals friends bring to us.
Sorry I’m so late with my follow up of 10/2. We made the Sign of the Cross, afterwards the Priest led us in a versicle and we responded. A reading from Isaiah 11:6-9 was read. After this a time of silence, and then those present offered prayers of intercession for their animals. The Celebrant invited all to hold or place their hands on their animals in blessing.Holy water was then sprinked on the animals, and once again we made the Sign of the Cross. A blessing was then said by the priest and then we processed in the church for a service of healing.