As you may know, or not know nor care, Sunday was the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi. This is the bird-guy whose likeness stands in many a yard with homeowners clueless about who he is and why he’s standing in their yard.
His classic depiction is with birds on his shoulders and assorted other creatures at his feet, a nod to the legend that when he had no human audience he would preach to the birds. Other animals were added over time in the name of artistic license or market appeal. Sad to say, there are no indigenous Texas creatures at his feet. He is absent the horned toad, turkey buzzard and rattlesnake. We must cut some slack. He was Italian and Italy has been civilized a lot longer than Texas, as have Italian animals. A guy in the hydrangeas with buzzards on his shoulders and armadillos at his feet is just wrong.
Many churches have a blessing of the animals on St. Francis’s Feast Day. Sadder but wiser from past mishaps and fatalities, parishes now have gentle guidelines, e.g. rules for this event. For example, no loose pythons, nothing with fangs or venom in or out of cages, no insects because one pet cricket is another pet’s lunch. No pets with poop too large to be removed with a swipe of one paper towel.
If the pet is sickly, poisonous, or fails the poop test, a picture of the pet may stand in for the real thing. Love and mercy find their way home no matter what the vehicle.
Meeting all the criteria, Bob qualified for an on-site blessing. Later that afternoon, I find Bob, tiny eyes squeezed shut, conked out on his basking rock. Intense spiritual experiences can be exhausting not to mention being sloshed about in one's feeding bucket for the 20 minute drive to St. Julian’s in the company of five children in a closed vehicle.
Somewhere, St. Francis is smiling.
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