St. Francis of Assisi, Patron Saint of Animals. (For more on St. Francis, go www.allsaintsbrookline.org/)
We in the western world – with our higher incomes and luxurious lifestyles, the type of lifestyles that means we can afford animals to fulfil our own needs and pleasures (sporting, comfort, something to spend time with, care for and nurture, or a child substitute)… For the most part we our own animals are well cared for….
But what about the other animals in the world? Perhaps the ones that live in a shrinking habitat, that are hunted for their horn, shell, ‘oil’ or for their entertainment properties – bears that dance with a ring through their nose, pandas with no remaining bamboo…
Today, October 4 is the Feast Day of St Francis of Assisi, the Patron Saint of Animals .This week we celebrate animals around the world. I challenge you to: volunteer at an animal shelter near you, donate, or become a member of an appropriate cause such as World Society for Protection of Animals or World Horse Welfare (previously International League for the Protection of Horses). There is always something you can do.
This week is the week to be thankful of the animals in our lives – past and present, and those which inhabit this earth.
Kia Kaha, be strong, go well, ‘be the strong rope that lashes the canoe’
Karen
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