Margaret Chudej holds her cat, Movie Star, while Pastor Karen Horan of Gruene United Methodist Church blesses the cat in celebration of St. Francis of Assisi Day Saturday at County Line Veterinary Clinic.
Pastor Karen Horan of the Gruene United Methodist Church blessed pets from 12 different families Saturday morning at the County Line Veterinary Clinic in a small ceremony.
For the second year in a row, Horan has worked with Dr. Elizabeth Long at the clinic to find a meaningful way to celebrate St. Francis Day. St. Francis is the patron saint of animals.
“The story as I remember it, he (St. Francis of Assisi) was fasting and the animals came and blessed him,” Horan said. “That’s really the purpose of this event, to thank God for the animals.”
Many events attributed to St. Francis indicate a love for animals. It is said he set up a Nativity scene with live animals, preached to an attentive flock of birds and tamed a ferocious and feared wolf in the Italian town of Gubbio.
The actual prayer said over the animals reads, “Bless O God, this pet, your creature, and all who are involved in its care and protection. God bless this pet of yours. May your love of this animal be a constant reminder of God’s love for you and all creation.”
Some animals at the clinic were old, such as Movie Star, a cat featured in Thursday’s Herald-Zeitung, who was with her owner, Margaret Chudej, to receive blessings from Horan.
Others were adopted by the clinic, such as retired greyhound, Bob.
“We were taking care of dogs when they closed the Corpus track,” said Long.
Often racing greyhounds no longer have a home when they retire, and Bob ended up staying at the clinic.
“He was known as SpongeBob in his racing days, now he’s just Bob,” Long said.
