A Visit to Noah's Ark
Reflections by Brother Luke
From time to time, Bill Cosby’s comedy routine about Noah’s Ark will come to mind, and it always brings a smile to my face. “Noah…Noah!” God’s voice booms out, followed by a sheepish reply from Noah. The image of gathering two of all the animals of creation onto a boat to save them from the impending flood resides not only in the worlds of Biblical story and mythology but also in folklore. As a story of salvation it can warm our hearts to imagine all the wonder of seeing so many different kinds of animals all parading up to the Ark and joining in a colorful display of the variety and beauty of God’s creation. On the other hand, if it is an example of a lived experience of managing all those animals in a small space on a boat during an horrific storm at sea, the romance of it all may fade away in the face of the logistical reality of feeding, housing, and cleaning up after all those glorious (and anxious) creatures.
Back in 2005, as we were preparing for our celebration of our 40th anniversary as a monastic community in 2006, one idea that we tossed around as we brainstormed about the celebration was to hold an animal blessing event connected to the Feast of St. Francis on October 4th. Our community’s roots were nourished originally within the Eastern Rite of the Franciscan Order, and we continue to maintain a special affection for St. Francis, so an animal blessing seemed consonant with our history. It also connected with our work with dogs, both as dog trainers and as breeders of purebred German Shepherd dogs. However, as we discussed this event, the inevitable litany of “what ifs” began to emerge.
Well, this avalanche of concerns gave us pause. But the itch to try this would not go away, so we decided to explore how we might deal with these issues. We could handle the possible crowd problem by not doing a massive publicity effort but only a simple announcement. Since October 4 in 2006 was not on a Saturday, we calculated that this weekday event would help keep the size of the potential crowd down. We also decided that we would count on good weather and hold the event outside in our welcome garden between our two churches, rather than attempt to do it inside one of the churches. This would have the added benefit of being surrounded by nature and in the midst of the fall colors in perfect array. With a small crowd, fewer animals would mean fewer chances for fights. It also would cut down on the cleanup afterwards. So, we announced the event and held our collective breath.
With the commitment to go ahead with the animal blessing, a small detail still had to be attended to: creating the animal blessing service! Fortunately, both Brother Marc and Brother Stavros were excited about exploring the Orthodox tradition of blessing animals and looking for examples of Orthodox saints who were also known for their affection and special relationship with animals, to companion with St. Francis. The calendar boasts of many, and as it turned out, we added a few others from the West as well.
So the day arrived. Fortunately, the weather cooperated, and we had a good crowd that included not only family house pets, both cats and dogs, but also a small python snake that calmly lay around Sister Rachel’s neck (!) and two horses. Contrary to our concerns in advance, we had no fights, no illnesses, no overcrowding, and an inaugural event that has become a fixture in our calendar since 2006. We have now become confident enough about crowds that we have decided to hold the event on the Saturday closest to October 4th to allow the greatest number of people to attend. Even the Church of the Transfiguration was baptized one year when rain moved the event into the church, where dogs, cats, and even a goat were blessed without any untoward incident.
But you might say we also had help from God and the intercession of the saints we called upon to bless all those present, as captured in the intercessory prayer from the Blessing Service:
“Save your people, O God, and bless your inheritance! Visit this world of yours and teach us respect for all it holds, and bestow your abundant mercy on us all: By the intercession of Anthony the Great; Gerasimos and Jerome, who had lions to assist them or whom they assisted; of the martyred brothers Florus and Laurus, known for their horsemanship; of Sergius and Seraphim, who had bears as companions in the Russian forests; by the prayers of Giles of Arles and Dodo of Georgia, who gave refuge to deer fleeing the hunter; of Philip of Moscow, who husbanded fish off the islands of Solovets; by the intercession of Timothy of Armenia, herdsman of buffalo; of Bridget of Kildare, patroness of cattle; and Julian of Norwich, who drew comfort from her cat; of St. Bernard of the alpine pass; and especially of our Father Francis of Assisi, who trained the wolf of Gubbio to be a good neighbor, and who delighted in every creature. By the intercession of your most Pure Mother and all the saints: We beseech you, O Lord ever merciful: Hear us as we pray to you and have mercy on us.”
This year, the October 4th Feast of St. Francis falls on Saturday, so please join us for our annual Animal Blessing. The Blessing Service begins at 3:30 in the afternoon, and animals (always leashed or otherwise under control) and their humans are invited to come early to meet one another and enjoy the beauty of the monastery grounds and welcome garden.
From time to time, Bill Cosby’s comedy routine about Noah’s Ark will come to mind, and it always brings a smile to my face. “Noah…Noah!” God’s voice booms out, followed by a sheepish reply from Noah. The image of gathering two of all the animals of creation onto a boat to save them from the impending flood resides not only in the worlds of Biblical story and mythology but also in folklore. As a story of salvation it can warm our hearts to imagine all the wonder of seeing so many different kinds of animals all parading up to the Ark and joining in a colorful display of the variety and beauty of God’s creation. On the other hand, if it is an example of a lived experience of managing all those animals in a small space on a boat during an horrific storm at sea, the romance of it all may fade away in the face of the logistical reality of feeding, housing, and cleaning up after all those glorious (and anxious) creatures.
Back in 2005, as we were preparing for our celebration of our 40th anniversary as a monastic community in 2006, one idea that we tossed around as we brainstormed about the celebration was to hold an animal blessing event connected to the Feast of St. Francis on October 4th. Our community’s roots were nourished originally within the Eastern Rite of the Franciscan Order, and we continue to maintain a special affection for St. Francis, so an animal blessing seemed consonant with our history. It also connected with our work with dogs, both as dog trainers and as breeders of purebred German Shepherd dogs. However, as we discussed this event, the inevitable litany of “what ifs” began to emerge.
What if the animals brought in contagious germs that affected our dogs or our puppies at their most vulnerable stage in life?
What if the animals got into fights?
What if so many came that we could not handle them all?
What if someone brought a dangerous animal?
What if people rode horses—would they go into the church?
Indeed, should the event even be held in the church?
Well, this avalanche of concerns gave us pause. But the itch to try this would not go away, so we decided to explore how we might deal with these issues. We could handle the possible crowd problem by not doing a massive publicity effort but only a simple announcement. Since October 4 in 2006 was not on a Saturday, we calculated that this weekday event would help keep the size of the potential crowd down. We also decided that we would count on good weather and hold the event outside in our welcome garden between our two churches, rather than attempt to do it inside one of the churches. This would have the added benefit of being surrounded by nature and in the midst of the fall colors in perfect array. With a small crowd, fewer animals would mean fewer chances for fights. It also would cut down on the cleanup afterwards. So, we announced the event and held our collective breath.
With the commitment to go ahead with the animal blessing, a small detail still had to be attended to: creating the animal blessing service! Fortunately, both Brother Marc and Brother Stavros were excited about exploring the Orthodox tradition of blessing animals and looking for examples of Orthodox saints who were also known for their affection and special relationship with animals, to companion with St. Francis. The calendar boasts of many, and as it turned out, we added a few others from the West as well.
So the day arrived. Fortunately, the weather cooperated, and we had a good crowd that included not only family house pets, both cats and dogs, but also a small python snake that calmly lay around Sister Rachel’s neck (!) and two horses. Contrary to our concerns in advance, we had no fights, no illnesses, no overcrowding, and an inaugural event that has become a fixture in our calendar since 2006. We have now become confident enough about crowds that we have decided to hold the event on the Saturday closest to October 4th to allow the greatest number of people to attend. Even the Church of the Transfiguration was baptized one year when rain moved the event into the church, where dogs, cats, and even a goat were blessed without any untoward incident.
But you might say we also had help from God and the intercession of the saints we called upon to bless all those present, as captured in the intercessory prayer from the Blessing Service:
“Save your people, O God, and bless your inheritance! Visit this world of yours and teach us respect for all it holds, and bestow your abundant mercy on us all: By the intercession of Anthony the Great; Gerasimos and Jerome, who had lions to assist them or whom they assisted; of the martyred brothers Florus and Laurus, known for their horsemanship; of Sergius and Seraphim, who had bears as companions in the Russian forests; by the prayers of Giles of Arles and Dodo of Georgia, who gave refuge to deer fleeing the hunter; of Philip of Moscow, who husbanded fish off the islands of Solovets; by the intercession of Timothy of Armenia, herdsman of buffalo; of Bridget of Kildare, patroness of cattle; and Julian of Norwich, who drew comfort from her cat; of St. Bernard of the alpine pass; and especially of our Father Francis of Assisi, who trained the wolf of Gubbio to be a good neighbor, and who delighted in every creature. By the intercession of your most Pure Mother and all the saints: We beseech you, O Lord ever merciful: Hear us as we pray to you and have mercy on us.”
This year, the October 4th Feast of St. Francis falls on Saturday, so please join us for our annual Animal Blessing. The Blessing Service begins at 3:30 in the afternoon, and animals (always leashed or otherwise under control) and their humans are invited to come early to meet one another and enjoy the beauty of the monastery grounds and welcome garden.
Comments
Post a Comment