Blessing the Pooches & Parrots!

Last Sunday afternoon, in honor of St Francis (and if you don’t know much about him, you should avail yourself of this excellent piece), many Catholic parishes held a “blessing of the animals” outside their rectories or in parish courtyards.

I understand that long before I was born, my parents had a rather raucous parrot who would respond to these occasions with a loud “hello” and “thank you!”

This picture looks like an altogether sweeter and more solemn encounter:

Isn’t that just lovely? H/T, via