The Blessing of Our Relatives

Me, rejoicing in Chica and Tuxedo, my friend Jan's horses, at San Gabriel, Corrales.

May your abundant ✠ blessing rest upon these creatures who are our companions in the journey of life. Amen.

Let us also remember the less fortunate creatures of this world.

Hear our humble prayer, O God, for our friends the animals, especially for those animals that are suffering; for all that are overworked and underfed and cruelly treated; for all wistful creatures in captivity that beat against the bars; for any that are hunted or lost or deserted or frightened; for all that are in pain or dying; for all that must be put to death. We entreat for those who deal with them a heart of compassion, gentle hands, and kind words; that they may share thus the blessing of the merciful. For you, O lord, will save both human and beast, and great is your loving-kindness. Amen.

--the BB

A very special thanksgiving

Thirty years ago tonight, shortly after midnight, I met someone who turned out to be my very best friend. I will be joining him at a party tonight in about one hour.

I just want to say a special thanks to God. I am very blessed.

--the BB

Blog Blessing

I got tagged today by Fran--tagged with a blessing. (You are a total sweetie, Fran, but I'll try not to ruin your reputation by saying that too loudly; I want you to stay scary to warmongers and workers of injustice.) [I lifted the following paragraph from Fran.]

This is a blessing meme. The point is to tag in order to know that someone has blessed you and to let them know you hold them in thought and prayer. And what better thought than that at Christmas time, right? You can read about the origin of this blog blessing here.

So, on this night of Advent 4, I bless... Padre Mickey, JN1034, and my canine friend Rowan.

I bless el Padrecito (and the lovely Mona and the entire Dance Party gang) for the wonderful, positively magical, blend of incarnate love of people, whimsy and irreverence, scholarship, and fervor. Nice to return an earlier favor. If you have not been to any Christmas pageants yet this year, may I recommend one? [It's best if you followed the drama leading up to it, so you may want to read this and this first.]

I bless JN1034 for their fervent witness among the Orthodox and all of us, championing the fullness of the Orthodox faith and LGBT folks as children of God, holding out the reminder that God became human that humans might become lil'gods, to use their term. We are part of the transfiguration of all creation and these folks, with passion and humor and deep spirituality maintain the prophetic prodding lest we sleep in unawareness. [Gotta tell ya, when I saw their photo of an orthodox cleric waving a rainbow flag I wept, much as I did hearing Archbishop Tutu uttering the words of apology.]

I bless Rowan the Dog for his bravery and his wisdom and his intrinsic goodness. He knows how to cut through all our human silliness and take us right back to what is real. Thats one of the many things dogs are good at. A few licks and a few woofs and the world shifts back into place, or at least we get shifted back into place again.

These three, among so many others, worthies all, remind me who I am and Whose I am; they enlarge my world and help me to see in fresh ways; they challenge me and help me laugh. They are prophets and priests and healers and clowns; they are good companions on the journey.

I don't like tagging folks but I don't mind blessing them and telling them they are blessings in my life. (And if you do pass the blessing, note that I replaced the original graphic because it was too light for me to read--getting old here.)

Blessings to all my blog companions--spiritual, political, whimsical, or other (specify). I am grateful for sharing the journey with y'all.
--the BB