Not one Sparrow is forgotten in your Sight

Have you ever found yourself mourning the death of an animal? This week I was helping my former husband with his 20 year-old cat named Proshka. Proshka was a determined and willful girl. She liked being inside, but she liked equally to be outside. She would throw her body against the door to come in even in the middle of the night. James said, ” she ruled me from the day she came into my life, but I loved her.”

James compiled a brief “blessing” from prayers from the Russian Orthodox Church. It began: “O God of all spirits and of every flesh, everything that has breath praises you both in this world and the next. Heaven is full of the sounds of creaturely voices in a great cacophony of praise and thanksgiving. Day and night your creatures praise you, without ceasing and with joy. Holy Father, your Son Jesus Christ taught us that not one sparrow is forgotten in your sight.”

I used to live in Dutchess County where there was a preparatory school with a zoo. The motto for Trevor Zoo is “We strive to educate our students and visitors about wildlife and the natural world in order to inspire all to live responsibly.” They found that when students care for animals they also care for each other better.

It’s fitting that Proshka died close to October 4, which is the day we celebrate the feast day of the Patron Saint of Animals, Saint Francis of Assisi. It is customary that animals are brought to churches for a special ceremony called the “Blessing of the Animals.” I believe that animals reflect unconditional love for us and they nudge us to live and trust in a new way. This Sunday let us all be nudged in the direction of love and mercy, knowing that not one creature is forgotten in God’s sight.