Blessings of the Farm
On October 4th we celebrate the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi. The feast commemorates the life of St Francis, who was born in the 12th century and is the patron saint of animals and the environment. Around this time it is popular for people to have their pets “blessed”. Perhaps you took your cat to church this past Sunday, or plan to have your lizard blessed next weekend?
In this blog, Lisa Ransom of Grow Compost Vermont, shares a prayer for all of creation’s animals, including the little creatures that keep our soil rich with nutrients for farming. Enjoy!
Blessings of the Farm
God, who created in dazzling variety and called all creation good:
Bless all of the creatures who inhabit the fertile soil and heal our land, the small and hidden, the creepy and slithery, the hoppy and buzzing…
Bless the pigs who burrow and wallow; for their joy in digging up roots and aerating the hard ground, fertilizing as they go. For the space they create so the sheep can graze. Bless them for their lesson to us that “disturbance” is the key to fertility and regeneration.
Bless the chickens who scratch through the dung; for their appetite for fly larvae and the scattering of nutrients along their path, for their brood who feast on worms and parasites, for the perfect eggs they lay – an image of the fullness of creation.
Bless the goats who tend to the overgrowth; for their agility to climb the hills, for their enthusiasm to graze the perimeter, reaching their noses under the fence to the untouched green grass and the brambles that grow on the rocks. Bless the goats for the wholesome, fresh milk they provide.
Bless the ducks who eat the slugs and dabble in the mud; for their quack and their waddle. Bless the humor and joy of the duck.
Bless the llama that guards; for her clear, non-violent protection, for her assertive stomp and her aggressive spit, for her crooked teeth, her long neck and her wobbly legs. Bless her for the integrity of a job well done.
Bless the honeybees who pollinate and remind us that life is sweet.
Bless the trillions of microbes, hidden underfoot; for their voracious recycling of carbon that feeds the soil, the foundation of all living things. Bless the microbes for reminding us that without death there is no life, without decomposition there is no regeneration.
Bless this farm.
Hold us together in the web of life that You have brought into being.
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Video: Washington National Cathedral honors the feast day of Saint Francis of Assisi with a yearly Blessing of the Animals service on the Cathedral’s west steps.
Lisa Ransom is a farmer-priest and owner of Grow Compost of Vermont in the Diocese of Vermont. She is also on the Charter Board of Cultivate: The Episcopal Food Movement.
Related: Gifts for Life
