Chapter meeting for October

Don't forget that Oct. 4 is the feast day of the Sisters' patron, St. Francis of Assisi. Animal blessings and prayers are in our Prayer Room (link at right).

Some special hymns have been added to our Hymnal (link at right) to allow the Sisters and friends to make a joyful noise on behalf of all animals and their Creator.

And what's a feast day without a feast? Or at least a real nice coffee break. So check out the biscotti and coffee now being served in our Refectory (link at right). Maybe have a cuppa while browsing the links to the blogs of real nuns, now featured in our Lectionary (link at right).

Our new friend in heaven
One of St. Francis' newest helpers in heaven is, we hope, Steve Irwin, late of "Animal Planet." Steve waxed enthusiastic about the animals most of us would run screaming away from if we found them lurking under the zucchini leaves. Steve was, frankly, something of a dumb ass, but those who love animals truly and deeply are often seen as a quart low in the brains department. SanFran himself was often called God's Fool.

This tribute to Steve is making the rounds on e-mail, and the Sisters ask that you remember him in your special St. Francis Day prayers:

At the Rainbow Bridge

At the Rainbow Bridge, pets await their beloved owners. There are plenty of things to keep them contented while they wait: trees you can't get stuck in, endless meadows, splashing streams, thickets perfect to hide in for pounce-attack games.

But one day the residents noticed some rather unusual newcomers arrive. The koalas and the kangaroos slipped in rather quietly, but then came the bearded dragons, the skinks and the goannas.

The influx of snakes startled an entire family of cats up a tree. Pythons, cobras, tiger snakes, brown snakes and even fierce snakes. There were so many at one point, it seemed the ground itself was alive with writhing.

A burly wombat shouldered his way through the crowd and plopped down in a shady spot, barely missing a Jack Russell terrier who yapped indignantly as he abandoned his position.

And then the crocodiles showed up.

Finally, a Great Dane managed to get up enough nerve to approach one of the reptillian giants. "Um, excuse me," he said hesitantly. "But why are you all here?"

The croc dropped her jaw and laughed. "Same as you, mate," she said. "Waitin' for someone who loved us."

The dogs, cats, gerbils and other "typical pets" looked at each other in confusion, then at the plethora of weird, ugly and downright deadly creatures assembled. Who on Earth could possibly love some of those faces?

"I see him!" shouted a green mamba from his vantage point in one of the trees. A cacophony of squeaks, hisses, bellows and roars erupted as the mob surged forward toward a lone human walking across the field toward the bridge. The other animals managed to catch a glimpse of him before he was overwhelmed by the crowd.

"CRIKEY!" he shouted joyously right before he was bowled over by the wombat.

"Well I'll be," said a Persian as she tidied up her fur. "It's that Aussie my human liked to watch on TV. Had to be the craziest human on the whole planet."

"Oh, please," remarked an echidna as he hurried by. "Is it really that crazy to passionately love something God made?"

God Bless Steve Irwin at peace at the Rainbow Bridge.

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