Gentleness/Pets/Grants Farm

Little Flowers met at the Grants Trail and had a petal meeting to learn about Saint Teresa of Calcutta. We learned about the virtue of gentleness. This worked well with the St Francis animal care badge. We hiked into Grant's Farm and took the tram through the animal enclosures. We fed the goats and parakeets and watched a wild animal adventure show. Many of our Little Flowers were not able to join us on this adventure. If you would like to create your own animal experience where you can interact gently with an animal and go through the information at the bottom of this post, tell about your experience to your Little Flower Leader and you can earn your gentleness petal and St Francis animal care badge. 

Verse: “Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, heartfelt compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.” -Colossians 3:12

Saint Teresa of Calcutta (1910-1997) was born Anjeze Gonxhe, or Agnes Little Flower in Albania (now North Macedonia). Her family taught her to serve the poor and joined a teaching order, the Sisters of Loretto and was sent to India to teach young women. She took the name Teresa after the Little Flower, patron saint of missionaries. One day, while on a train she received “a call within a call” hearing Christ say, “I Thirst,” she knew she must serve him through the poor. She received permission to start the order of the Missionaries of Charity and cared for the dying and destitute. She won the Nobel Peace Prize In 1979. She became known all over the world and spoke gently and truthfully, known for her stubborn persistence in getting what was needed for the poor. She died in India on September 5, 1997 and was canonized in 2017. Her feast day is September 5. She is the patron saint of World Youth Day. 

Gentleness is a human virtue that asks of us to be kind and tender towards others. Being gentle is important when with smaller children, pets, the elderly, and the sick. When have you shown gentleness? When has it been shown to you? Historically gentleness corresponded with manners. How do manners help us practice gentleness? Which manners do you practice? Which do you find harder to remember? Colossians 3:12-17 is entitled, “The Practice of Virtue.” Which virtues do you hear? Think of someone you know that exhibits each of those virtues. 

Patron Saint Badge: St Francis of Assisi, patron saint of pets

St Francis of Assisi (1181-1226) was born into a wealthy Italian family. His mother originally named him Giovanni after John the Baptist, but his father wouldn’t allow it and changed it to Francisco which means Frenchman.  Francis was known to live a decadent and sinful life until he began to slowly convert towards God after he encountered Him in a dream. Eventually he turned his entire life over to God and gave up all his wealth and influence, relying entirely on God to provide for his needs. This radical dependence and surrender was attractive and many joined him, creating the Franciscan order which is still preaching all over the world today. The Franciscans wear brown robes (color of the earth) with a white rope that has three knots representing their three vows of obedience, poverty, and chastity. Francis also gave us the nativity scene and may be the first saint known to have the stigmata, or wounds of Christ on their body. 
St Francis loved nature because he knew that everything was created by God and was therefore good. He was known to even preach to the birds. We are required to treat God’s creatures with respect. Some animals are not meant to be pets, but thrive better in the wild. Humans should take care not to interfere with their habitats when building and using the land.

St Francis was once staying in the town of Gubbio where the people were too afraid to leave their village because a wolf was terrorizing them. The wolf was eating their animals and even some villagers. The were so tired of being afraid, they decided to kill the wolf. St. Francis considered the wolf, a brother, a fellow creature of God’s creation. So he asked the villagers to let him try to solve the problem first. Confident in God’s protection. St Francis approached the wolf, alone. He asked the wolf, in the name of Jesus to stop terrorizing the village. The wolf laid down his head in obedience and walked submissively alongside Francis into the village with Francis like a pet dog. The villagers were overjoyed and began to feed the wolf and adopted him in peace from then on. 

St Francis’s feast day is October 4th and is often celebrated by pet blessings.

Sts Teresa and Francis, Pray for us!