The Mulier Fortis just sent a text message to say that the much blogged and beloved cat Sylvester died earlier today after failing to recover from anaesthetic. Taking good care of animals is a sign of our humanity and it is sad to hear of a pet dying.
In honour of Sylvester, here is a quotation from the Catechism of the Catholic Church:
Animals are God's creatures. He surrounds them with his providential care. By their mere existence they bless him and give him glory. Thus men owe them kindness. We should recall the gentleness with which saints like St. Francis of Assisi or St. Philip Neri treated animals. (Catechism 2416)
8 comments:
Our beloved pets bring us much comfort and joy in this world...and much sorrow when they pass. We have cats (and dogs and chickens and...well, you get the picture) and I feel Mulier Fortis' pain.
I understand Aquinas' teaching about Vegetative/Sensitive souls and all, but doesn't that make a pet's passing all the more inspirational? We love them SO much here in this world, yet our joy in Heaven will far surpass any love we had here for them--or other beings.
In any event, prayers for Mulier Fortis as I know 17-year-old Sylvester will be sorely missed.
Oh, dear. I'm so sorry to hear of this. I know Mac will miss him terribly, and the rest of us will also miss his antics.
Sincere condolences from Johannesburg, South Africa - to His Hermenuiticalness ( Reverend and Dear Father Tim) and the community at Blackfen Parish, especially Mac on this sad Occasion. If animals did indeed have souls, I would find myself offering a Requiem Aeternam for poor Sylvesters Repose.
Be assured of my constant prayers!
Calvin
I mentioned this on Mulier Fortis' website. A priest once told us what his father had said to him when he was a child and his dog died, and he asked his father would he see his dog in heaven. His father told him that when he got to heaven if he needed his dog there to be happy, God would make sure that his dog was there. I think his father was a very wise man. that's the best answer I've ever heard, for adults who have lost a pet as well as for children.
My cat Sylvester died in 2005 at the age of 3 after a battle with leukemia. The vet amputated one leg in the hope of containing the feline cancer but it came back nevertheless. He is still missed even though Tiberius wandered into the rectory a few months after Sylvester died. Sylvester was a black & white short hair domestic and looked just like the cartoon character on Looney Tunes.
I'm flattered that Sylvester warrants a whole post to himself...
...and after all the pretence that you didn't do cat posts...
;-p
I don't mean to criticise this particular case, but to ask a general question that occurs to me. We shouldn't be cruel to animals, I see that. But haven't we gone too far in our good treatment of pets?
It has been said that, "every time we spend money we cast a vote for the world we would like to see."
People are dying of preventable diseases. Treatments are often not that expensive by our scale but unaffordable to those that need them.
Are we voting for the Kingdom of God when we spend hundreds of pounds on vets bills for our pets when that money could save human lives?
Most peculiar. I've got a cat called Sylvester who looks just like that...
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