Prayer Service for All Animals and Those Who Care for Them Prayer Service for All Animals and Those Who Care for Them

10 August 2024, by Estela Torres

Prayer Service for All Animals and Those Who Care for Them

He prayeth well, who loveth well
Both man and bird and beast.
He prayeth best, who loveth best
All things both great and small;
For the dear God who loveth us,
He made and loveth all.
— Samuel Taylor Coleridge

Opening Song: May We Become the Compassion of God (Kathy Sherman,
CSJ)

Opening Prayer:

The Earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof. O God, enlarge within us the sense of fellowship with all living things, our brothers and sisters the animals to whom you have given 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 you in song, has been a groan of travail. May we realize that they live, not for us alone, but for themselves and for you, and that they love the sweetness of life.
–Saint Basil the Great

Reflection:

A charitable heart is a heart that is burning with love for the whole creation, for humans, for the birds, for the beasts, for all creatures. Someone who has such a heart cannot see or call to mind a creature without their eyes being filled with tears by reason of the immense compassion which seizes their heart; a heart which is softened and can no longer bear to see or learn from others of any suffering, even the smallest pain, being inflicted on a creature.
–Saint Isaac the Syrian

Remembering the Saints and Praying to Them:

During the first 1,000+ years of Christianity, there were many saints who loved animals. They lived with them, rescued them, nursed them, and saved them from hunters. In turn, many saints were helped by animals. We remember them now, along with all the others not named here, and we pray to them that they may help us to become ever more loving and compassionate.

St. Basil
St. Isaac the Syrian
St. Anthony, Abbot
St. Cuthbert
St. Philip Neri
St. Hubert
St. Melangell
St Columba St. Roche
St. Giles
St. Edmund
St. Ciaran
St. Jerome
St. Francis
St. John Chrysostom
St. Modestos
St. Sylvester
St. Bonaventure
St. Hugh of Lincoln
St. Kentigern
St. Martin de Porres
St. Nicholas of Tolentino
St. Catherine of Siena
St. Godric
St. Guthlac
St. Julian of Norwich

Reading (Psalm 104: 1, 10-12, 14-22, 24, 27-30, 33-35):

Bless the Lord, O my soul, O Lord my God, you are very great.
You make springs gush forth in the valleys; they flow between the hills,
Giving drink to every wild animal and quenching their thirst.
By the streams the birds of the air have their habitation;
They sing among the branches.
You cause the grass to grow for the cattle, and plants for people to use,
To bring forth food from the earth, and wine to gladden the human heart.
The trees of the Lord are watered abundantly, the cedars of Lebanon that he planted.
In them the birds build their nests; the stork has its home in the fir trees.
The high mountains are for the wild goats; the rocks are a refuge for the badgers.

You have made the moon to mark the seasons; the sun knows the time of its setting.
You make darkness, and night falls,
When all the animals of the forest come creeping out.
When the sun rises, they withdraw and rest in their dens.
O Lord, how manifold are your works!
In wisdom you have made them all; the earth is full of your creatures.
These all look to you to give them their food in due season;
When you give to them, they gather it up;
When you open your hand, they are filled with good things.
When you hide your face, they are lost;
When you take away their breath, they die and return to their dust.
When you send forth your Spirit, they are created;
And you renew the face of the earth.

I will sing to the Lord as long as I live;
I will sing praise to my God while I have being.
May my meditation be pleasing to him, for I rejoice in the Lord.
Bless the Lord, O my soul.
Alleluia!
(We pause here briefly to reflect.)

Litany:

LEADER: We confess our belief in God the Creator, the Reconciler, and the Sanctifier
who loves each and every creature.

ALL: This we believe and know: animals are our fellow creatures loved by God the
Father, redeemed by God the Son, and enlivened by God the Holy Spirit.

LEADER: And now we pray . . .
For animals neglected and ill-treated