Eucharistic Prayer for a festival for the Blessings of Animals usually near the Feast of St. Francis (Oct. 4)

It is truly right and a good and joyful thing 
that we should at all times and in all places, 
offer our thanks and praise to you, All-powerful, most holy, most high God. 
You formed out of the ground various wild animals, various birds of the air and set humanity in dominion over them. 
You rescued two of every kind from the flood with Noah and his family. 

And so, with Francis of Assisi and Anthony of the Desert*, 
with earth, air and sea and all their creatures, 
and with all the hosts of heaven, we praise
your name and join their unending hymn:

The Sanctus is said or sung.
 
You are indeed holy, O God, and blessed is your Son Jesus Christ.
He was the true Passover Lamb and Shepherd of Your sheep. 
He came into our world but unlike foxes with their dens and birds with their nests, 
there was no place for him to lay his head. 
By the baptism of his suffering, death, and resurrection, 
you gave birth to your church, 
delivered us from slavery to sin and death, 
and made with us a new covenant by water and the Spirit. 

On the night before he suffered death, 
our Lord Jesus gathered his friends around the table and as he took bread, he offered thanks to you; 
breaking it, and giving it to all of them, saying: 
“Take and eat; this is my body, given for you. Do this for the remembrance of me.” 

After all of them had eaten, 
he again took the cup and offered thanks to you, and gave it for all to drink, saying: 
“This cup is the new covenant in my blood,
shed for you and for all people for the forgiveness
of sin. Do this for the remembrance of me.”

And so, in remembrance of these your mighty acts in Jesus Christ, 
we offer ourselves in praise and thanksgiving as a holy and living sacrifice, 
in union with Christ’s offering for us, 
as we proclaim the mystery of faith:  

Christ has died. 

Christ has risen.
Christ will come again.
 

Pour out your Holy Spirit on us gathered
here and on these gifts of bread and wine. 
As they are the body and blood of Christ for us, 
so may we be for the world the body of Christ, redeemed by his blood. 
Make your Church throughout the world an instrument of your peace.
Where there is hatred, 
May your Church sow love;
Where there is injury, pardon;
Where there is doubt, faith;
Where there is darkness, light;
Where there is despair, hope 

And where there is sadness, joy.
 

By your Spirit bind us to Christ, one to another, 
together in ministry to all the world, 
until Christ comes in final victory and we feast at the heavenly banquet. 
Through your son Jesus Christ,  with the Holy Spirit in your holy church, 
all honor and glory is yours, 
Almighty God, now and forever.  

Amen

And now, as God’s confident children, we boldly pray: 

Our Father in heaven...

*Francis of Assisi (October 4) and Anthony of the
Desert, also known as Anthony the Abbot, (January 17) are
considered patrons of animals and pets.
A prayer from Albert Schweitzer: “Hear our humble
prayer, O God, for our friends the animals, especially for
animals who are suffering; for any that are hunted or lost or
deserted or frightened or hungry; for all that must be put to
death. We entreat for them all Thy mercy and pity, and for
those who deal with them we ask a heart of compassion
and gentle hands and kindly words. Make us, ourselves, to
be true friends to animals and so to share the blessings of
this earth.”