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The Family Room by Michelle Martin

October 12, 2008

Bless the beasts

Polly attended Mass for the first time this month, accompanying us to a special liturgy in honor of the Feast of St. Francis in our church parking lot.

Polly is our 3-year-old dog, a whiteand- tan short-haired 45-pound female of uncertain heritage and somewhat excitable temperament.

She shared the makeshift sanctuary with a handful of cats, a rabbit and various other dogs, including a chow puppy that set off Polly’s alarm bells by looking at her. Birds in cages were taken inside the rectory due to cool weather.

Given that Polly has not yet mastered the skill of sitting or lying quietly – or really doing anything quietly – we relegated ourselves to the rear of the congregation, settling against the guardrail at the back of the parking lot. That vantage point allowed us to catch the last warming rays of the sun as it slipped behind the church, and allowed Polly to try to hide behind the guardrail.

I wasn’t so sure Polly was the best candidate to go to Mass, even to one held outdoors, even one to which animals were specifically invited. She’s not aggressive with other animals, or people, but she can be unruly, and she has a piercing whine capable of annoying the most patient human.

But she is a much-loved member of the family, asking for and giving affection without reserve, providing more than enough reason to smile and play, and ready to be there for anyone who needs a sympathetic ear. Polly, I am sometimes told by the kids, is the only one who really understands.

She’s also an only dog now, after Kirby died this summer, making her presence in our lives loom even larger.

So when Caroline and Frank heard that she could go to church for a special blessing, in honor of the saint who reminds us that Jesus came to redeem not just people, but all God’s creation, they wanted to go. They wanted Polly to be seen and acknowledged by a loving God, a God who understands that animals may not be in need of salvation, but they are in need of love.

St. Francis, the 13th century soldierturned- monk, referred to the elements of God’s creation, including animals, as his brothers and sisters, and treated them with enough respect to preach to them, according to the stories told about him.

Why not? I talk to Polly. She doesn’t answer in words, but she has no difficulty communicating love.

The love that animals like Polly need is the same love that they give. They give it in multiples of what we give them, it seems, providing a living lesson in what love means.

Martin is assistant editor of the Catholic New World. Contact her at [email protected].