Bless My…Uh…Sole

Kathi and I got a new Black Lab puppy. Name’s Zack. Turns out, he’s an Episcopalian.

I know this because he’s from a long line of Episcopalians. In fact, his breeder and human mama Marci Bahr was a storied teacher at the Episcopal prep school, St. John’s, in Houston.

He is our first male dog, so we needed to address the devilishness in him. So, we reasoned, we gotta do right by him. We gotta get him baptized. But, we discovered, you don’t get animals baptized.

What to do? Well, come to find out, the Reverend Sharon Turner at our Episcopal church here in La Grange, St. James, blesses animals in the name of the trinitarian God in the tradition of St. Francis. She has been blessing all kinds of animals in celebration of Saint Francis of Assisi Feast Day for many years. According to her, “We consider Saint Francis to be the inspiration for appreciating and loving all Creation and the creatures therein.”

Hmmm. A blessing for little Zacko? It might not be baptism, but it’s as close as we could get. As Pope Francis says of St. Francis, he “was particularly concerned for God’s creation and for the poor and outcast. He loved, and was deeply loved for his joy, his generous self-giving, his openheartedness.”

We decided to take him in and ask the Rev. Turner to do the deed: please bless our little Bubba. (Between you and me: I hoped the blessing might serve as a sort of exorcism. He’d been gnawing on our expensive dining room chairs anytime we were away for fifteen minutes. It was a little bit Satanic, if you ask me. No teething on the soles of my flip-flops or tennis balls for this little devil. He preferred woven Water Hyacinth chairs from Africa.)

Rev Turner agreed. She’d gladly bless the little pup but could not in any way assure us his behavior would change. And the issue of exorcism––well, she’d have none of that talk. I remembered hearing about St. James soon after coming here from Houston. “A church that blesses animals. Wow. How cool is that!” So, I checked it out. Its Queen Anne Revival architecture and beautiful stained-glass windows are amazing. And the motto over its entrance doors blew me away: “Enter as Stranglers, Leave as Fiends.” (Kathi quickly helped me through my dyslexia. It was actually, “Enter as Strangers, Leave as Friends.”) I am astounded to report, since the blessing, Zack has not once bothered the dining room chairs.

Now … if we can just get him to quit gnawing on the Persian carpets …

Rev. Turner can bless your pet (of any persuasion) on Sunday, Oct. 6, from 2:30-4:30 p.m. in the parking lot of St. James in La Grange across from the H-E-B. This is a drive through opportunity. Please come by and bring your pets. You will be warmly welcomed. She will also bless the animals at our fantastic Fayette County Animal Shelter in La Grange on Friday, Oct. 4, starting at 2:30 p.m. For more information call the church office at (979) 968-3910.