Prayer for the Blessing of Animals
(kindly provided by the Monks of New Skete Monastery)
Let us pray to the Lord.
O our master, Lord and God, in ancient times you blessed the flocks of the patriarch Jacob, and when you took flesh and entered this world as a small and vulnerable infant, you were sheltered in the manger with these very creatures of yours.
O loving Saviour, after you taught us how to pray to your heavenly father, you used the birds of the air as a reminder of his all embracing providence, for everything that breathes is the work of your hands and acknowledges, each in its own way, the presence of your all holy and life-giving Spirit.
As we gather together this day to ask you to bless these various animals, let us see in them the goodness and beauty with which you endow all your creatures. By the example of our venerable fathers Paul and Anthony of the desert, Francis of Assisi, Seraphim of Sarov and Sergius of Radonezh, teach us never to abuse them or to take them for granted, rather let them open our hearts to your divine love so that, together with every living being, we may all sing your praises, Father, Son and Holy Spirit; now and forever, and unto ages of ages.
People: Amen.
from the Canticle of the Three Youths
All you works of the Lord, bless the Lord! For him
the highest glory, praise that never ends!
Let the earth bless the Lord! For him the highest
glory, praise that never ends!
For all things growing within the earth, bless the
Lord! For him the highest glory, praise that never
ends!
Watersprings, bless the Lord! Seas and river, bless
the Lord! Dolphins and everything that moves in the
deep, bless the Lord! For him the highest glory,
praise that never ends!
Birds of heaven, bless the Lord! Wild beasts - and
tame ones, too - bless the Lord! For him the highest
glory, praise that never ends!
Be bless'd, O Lord, throughout the vast and firm
expanse of heaven! Be praised in song! Be glorified
above all else, forevermore!
(sung as the animals are bought forward for the
blessing)
Attributed to St. Basil the Great are two beautiful prayers for
Animals:
The earth is the Lord's and the fulness thereof.
O God, enlarge within us the sense of fellowship with
all living things, our brothers the animals to whom
Thou gavest the earth as their home in common with
us.
We remember with shame that in the past we have
exercised the high dominion of man with ruthless
cruelty so that the voice of the earth, which should
have gone up to Thee in song has been a groan of
travail.
May we realize that they live not for us alone, but for
themselves and for Thee and that they love the
sweetness of life even as we, and serve Thee better in
their place than we in ours. (5) (5A)
For those, O Lord, the humble beasts, that bear with us the burden and heat of day, and offer their guileless lives for the well-being of mankind; and for the wild creatures, whom Thou hast made wise, strong, and beautiful, we supplicate for them Thy great tenderness of heart, for Thou hast promised to save both man and beast, and great is Thy loving kindness, O Master, Saviour of the world. (5)
Proverbs 12:10 LXX
"A righteous man has pity for the lives of his cattle;
but the bowels of the ungodly are unmerciful."
St. Tikon of Zadonsk says:
"Have compassion on also your cattle, which God gave
you to serve you." (3)
St. John Chrysostom says:
"..surely we ought to show kindness and gentleness to
animals for many reasons, and chiefly because they are
of the same origin as ourselves." (He is referring to
the word and will of God.)
Wisdom of Solomon 9:1-6 LXX - Part of this is the reading (Wisdom of Solomon 9:1-3) for January 1 in the Church service books:
"God of my fathers, and Lord of mercy, who hast made
all things with thy word, and ordained man through thy
wisdom, that he should have dominion over the creature
which thou hast made, and order the world according to
equity and righteousness, and execute judgment with an
upright heart: give me wisdom, that sitteth by thy
throne, and reject me not from among thy children: for
I thy servant and son of thy handmaid am a feeble
person, and of a short time, and too young for the
understanding of judgment and laws. For though a man be
never so perfect among the children of men, yet if thy
wisdom be not with him, he shall be nothing regarded."
(2)
St. Maximos the Confessor:
Man is not a being isolated from the rest of creation;
by his very nature he is bound up with the whole of the
universe... In his way to union with God, man in no way
leaves creatures aside, but gathers together in his
love the whole cosmos disordered by sin, that it may be
transfigured by grace. (6)
Bishop Kallistos Ware says:
Made in the divine image, microcosm and mediator, man
is priest and king of the creation. Consciously and
with deliberate purpose, he can do two things that the
animals can only do unconsciously and instinctively.
First, man is able to bless and praise God for the
world. Man is best defined not as a 'logical' animal
but as a 'eucharistic' animal. He does not merely live
in the world, think about it and use it, but he is
capable of seeing God's gift, as a sacrament of God's
presence and a means of communion with him. So he is
able to offer the world back to God in thanksgiving:
'Thine own from thine own we offer to thee, in all and
for all' (The Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom).
Secondly, besides blessing and praising God for the
world, man is also able to reshape the world; and so to
endue it with fresh meaning. Man is not just a logical
and eucharistic animal, but he is also a creative
animal: the fact that man is in God's image means that
man is a creator after the image of God the Creator.
This creative role he fufils, not by brute force, but
through the clarity of his spiritual vision; his
vocation is not to dominate and exploit nature, but to
transfigure and hallow it. (14)
From the Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom
(after the consecration of the Divine Gifts):
"Furthermore we offer unto thee this our reasonable
worship on behalf of the whole universe, of the Holy
Catholic and Apostolic Church, (etc)... (7)
Sometimes the word "world" is used instead of universe.
It means the same thing - all of the creation
(cosmos). The word creation is two words in the Greek:
cosmos - all of the created universe, and oikoumene -
the inhabited earth, implying people. It is
misunderstood in the narrower sense all too often.
(See next two quotes.)
1. God so loved the world (all of the created
universe) that he gave his only begotten Son...
2. And He said to them, "Go into all the world and
preach the gospel to every creature." (sometimes this
is translated as "all of creation") (Mark 16:15)
Orthodox Study Bible note on Mark 16:15: The
Resurrection launches the Church toward her
world mission. All nations are to be His
disciples and to bear witness to His Resurrection...
Further, every creature, the entire cosmos, is
affected by it. (1)
St. John of Kronstadt
Do not breathe malice, vengence, and murder even towards animals, lest your own soul should be given up to death by the spiritual enemy breathing wickedness in you even toward dumb animals, and lest you should become accustomed to breathe malice and vengence against men also. Remember, that animals are called to life by God's mercy that they may enjoy their existence as much as they can during their short life. "The Lord is good to all."(Ps. cxlv.9) Do not beat them if they are unreasonable, or if they play tricks, or if any of your property is damaged by them. "Blessed is the man who is merciful to his beast." (15)
Nikitas Stithatos - On the Practice of the Virtues
#14...and you will be shut out from love because you
minister solely to yourself and do not succor your
fellow beings when they are in need. Like some
polymorphic monster..., you will be the implacable
enemy of God, man and the animals. (11)
Orthodox Prayer for & with our Fellow Creatures
Speak a word to me, Father.