On the Feast of St. Francis

Canticle of St. Francis

O Most High, all-powerful, good Lord God,
to you belong praise, glory,
honour and all blessing.
Be praised, my Lord, for all your creation
and especially for our Brother Sun,
who brings us the day and the light;
he is strong and shines magnificently.
O Lord, we think of you when we look at him.
Be praised, my Lord, for Sister Moon,
and for the stars
which you have set shining and lovely
in the heavens.
Be praised, my Lord,
for our Brothers Wind and Air
and every kind of weather
by which you, Lord,
uphold life in all your creatures.
Be praised, my Lord, for Sister Water,
who is very useful to us,
and humble and precious and pure.
Be praised, my Lord, for Brother Fire,
through whom you give us light in the darkness:
he is bright and lively and strong.
Be praised, my Lord,
for Sister Earth, our Mother,
who nourishes us and sustains us,
bringing forth
fruits and vegetables of many kinds
and flowers of many colours.
Be praised, my Lord,
for those who forgive for love of you;
and for those
who bear sickness and weakness
in peace and patience
- you will grant them a crown.
Be praised, my Lord, for our Sister Death,
whom we must all face.
I praise and bless you, Lord,
and I give thanks to you,
and I will serve you in all humility.

-- St. Francis of Assisi

In honor of the Saint that loved all of God's creation, I thought I'd do a post/update on our family pets! :)

It's no secret that we are a pet family.

This is our red Beta fish...whose name eludes me at the moment.  We've had him for about two years.  

The trick about Beta fish is to get ones that look lively
at the pet store.  Also, we've had better luck with the
common variety as opposed to the fancy tailed ones that
are less hardy.  We also haven't had luck with the babies.

You all know my friend Reina, girl who saves my sanity by getting me out on walks each day.  She reminds me of Pongo in "101 Dalmatians" gazing lazily out the window, and going CrAzY on me when I put my shoes on and head toward the door.  I kid you not, I have to SPELL the word "WALK" or she'll begin her tail wagging frenzy and sniff and wiggle and jump on me...  ugh.  I love her.

I pretty much see my Beta as something along the lines of a house plant.  They require almost no care and add life and color to the corners of my home. "Blueberry" also joined our home about two years back.  But he's one of a very long line of succession of Beta fish.  I've kept fish since I first had children and wanted them to be able to gaze and ponder the wonder that is a creature that lives in water!

I need to do an official post introducing "Muffin".  Muffin is a teddy bear (bichon frise/shih-tsu mix). She is for the whole family, but is special to my middle girls, who campaigned for a small dog, that they could walk more easily than my Reina. ;)

you've seen our aquarium before. It's 40 gallons, which is just a bit more fun than the beginner 20-gallon aquariums out there.

I do not limit our love of animals to pets!  Every fall we find a wooly bear caterpillar or three and make homes for them in Ball jars.  Just catch-and-release, we haven't yet raised them to butterflies!

 I've said before that despite Reina's name, Wilma (our himalayan) is the true "queen" of the house!
She's adjusting to the new puppy just as she slowly befriended Reina.  Lots of curiosity, a bit of hesitant playfulness, and keeping wary distance.  We'll all feel more comfortable together over time.  In the meantime, extra cat treats!

The priest at Mass today mentioned St. Francis's stigmata.  He said St. Francis so meditated on the passion of Christ that it became physically apparent in his hands.  I think everyone is happy to focus on the animal and nature-love of this powerful Saint, but his waters run very deep.  It really is a challenge to imitate him--more challenging than pictures of fluffy kitties and puppies make it seem.

Perhaps St. Francis was able to draw strength from his delight in all of creation.  Strength to suffer for the God whom he learned to love by finding Him in all of His glorious creation.

 "Ever since the creation of the world his invisible nature, namely, his eternal power and deity, has been clearly perceived in the things that have been made."