My company Five Pet Place is doing something a little different to
celebrate the Feast of Saint Francis, which is coming up on October 4th.
For those who aren't familiar with the Feast, it's where
Blessing of the Animals services are held at churches around the world to
celebrate the life of Saint Francis of Assisi, known as the Patron Saint of
Animals. The Feast was first added to church calendars in 1585.
Although the day of the Feast is October 4th, services themselves are
usually held on the weekend immediately before or after it.
I decided to create a Blessing by E-Mail service for several
reasons:
- It's something nice for people who love animals and the
animals themselves.
- It's a fun way to introduce Saint Francis to people who
never heard of him.
- It's easier for cats as the process of rounding cats up
and taking them to church is extremely hard on them. Since they're being
placed in a carrier, they think it's a trip to the vet. And there might
be dogs around — so the whole ordeal is stressful. This way, a cat can be
blessed in the comfort of familiar surroundings.
- It's a great way to help the elderly and other shut ins
participate. So if you have a friend or relative like a parent or
grandparent who would love to do something like this but can't, go ahead and
sign up for the blessing yourself, then print it out and share it on the day of
the Feast.
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| "Napa" |
- Finally, Saint Francis means something to me.
Several years ago, my cat Napa was diagnosed with a terrible intestinal
disease. She was rapidly losing weight — and even though her vet was
terrific — nothing seemed to be helping her. An uncle, after hearing of
her plight, sent me a Saint Francis medal, so I hung it on the wall by her bed.
Call it a coincidence, call it a miracle — but almost instantaneously her
situation stabilized and she wound up living several more very happy and
healthy years. If this blessing can help an animal in need like Napa was
— then we've done a little something to make the world a better place.
To receive a blessing, go to https://www.fivepetplace.com/signup/blessing On the
morning of October 4th, the day of the Feast, an e-mail sending the
non-denominational blessing will be sent. Rest assured, e-mail addresses
provided for the blessing absolutely will not be sold to anyone or used to send
ongoing marketing messages.
That said, visitors to Five Pet Place are encouraged to take
advantage of our other free services — such as our free monthly calendar and
cat birthday e-cards. Just look for the links to these services when
signing up for the Blessing by E-Mail.
