Pure Love

St. Francis of Assisi is known for his love of animals. Artist depict him surrounded by birds, wolves, cats, sheep, dogs; if it's an animal, St. Francis is there also. At. Spirit of Christ Catholic Community in Arvada, the white statue of St. Francis is with a large dog and a bird. Sometimes, real dogs get in the picture!

On Sunday, October 7, 2019, the annual blessing of the animals took place in the garden. Last year I remember there were cats, hedgehog, fish and dogs. One year I have been told someone brought a horse to the blessing. This year it was all dogs. I guess what surprised me was the love between the dogs and their owners. Some dogs were well behaved and obeyed, while others seemed rowdy and enjoyed barking at the other dogs. One of my favorite photos is a man holding a small Chihuahua. The look of love the master gives his dog, to me, is very tender.

I love the expressions on the dogs as I took their pictures. If a human was in the picture, I could tell how proud they were of their pet. The two deacons went around and blessed every dog present by sprinkling holy water on them I did not hear one dog complain!

"The love we give to a pet

and receive from a pet,

can draw us more deeply

into the circle of life, into

the wonder of our common

relationship to our Creator."

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