St. Francis and All Creation
I have always loved the blessing of the animals and the hymns we sing on that Sunday. Once a year on, or near October 4, we gather to celebrate the feast day of St. Francis of Assisi and the blessing of the animals. Francis was born around 1181, a child of wealthy parents, and as typical of a wealthy young man, he lived a bit of a wild life. He soon became disillusioned with this lifestyle, and giving away his wealth, he became a beggar, living a life of extreme poverty and penitence. He believed that nature itself was the mirror of God and called all creatures and all creation his brothers and sisters. There are many stories, such as giving his hovel to a donkey that needed shelter, and saving a wolf from angry villagers and dogs, and then negotiating peace between them. He wrote a poem in which he refers to brother sun and sister moon. He was kind and nurturing to all creatures great and small. He is known as the patron saint of animals, and for this reason we bless our animals on the feast day of St. Francis.
There are two hymns we associate with the blessing of the animals and with St. Francis. One is hymn 405:
“All things bright and beautiful, all creatures great and small
All things wise and wonderful, the Lord God made them all.”
The author of this text, Cecil Frances Alexander, wrote a series of children’s hymns to illustrate the Nicene Creed in a way understandable to children. In this hymn she illustrates the text “God the Father, maker of heaven and earth”. The verb “to make” is the key to this text—it appears in every verse.
On a similar theme, the second hymn is St. Francis’ own—-hymn 400–All creatures of our God and King. It is believed to be the first religious poem in Italy. He named it “Canticle of brother sun and all creation”.
“All creatures of our God and King,
Lift up your voices, let us sing, Alleluia!
Bright burning sun with golden beams,
Pale silver moon that gently gleams,
O praise him, Alleluia!”
St. Francis goes on to praise winds and clouds, water and fire, stars and even gentle death, that brings back home the child of God. It is fitting that we bless our animals and all creation on the feast day of St Francis.
The choir rehearses on Thursday evenings at 7:00P in the church choir room located in the undercroft. No experience is required, come sing with us!
Lynn Gardner, Organist / Choirmaster
