A blessed Feast of the Annunciation to you, dear brothers and sisters in Christ. May the Theotokos, the invincible Defender, in her irresistible might, keep us safe from all trials. I am so moved by the icon, how Gabriel’s feet suggest that he is running to share the news with Mary!

Last week in England, I had a day of dogs! Any number between 5 to 1 to the houses we visited in various pastoral visits. How comforting is their unconditional love, their presence with the elderly, the housebound, the downtrodden.

Certainly, the dogs have characters, the obedient, the timid, the loud, the excitable, the nervous,the angry, the loving. A bit like humans.

As much as Fathers and Saints have always shown love for God’s Creation, they have also warned us against idolatry:

Let us consider St. Silouan the Athonite words:

“There are people who grow attached to animals, stroke, caress them and talk with them; and they have abandoned the love of God, and thus the love between brothers, for which Christ died in terrible agony, is lost. It is foolish to do so. Feed animals and cattle, and do not beat them—in this consists man’s duty of kindness towards them; but to become attached, to love, caress and talk to them—that is folly for the soul.

“The soul that has gotten to know the Lord always stands before Him in love and awe; how can it be possible to love, stroke and talk with cattle, cats and dogs at the same time? This means that someone has forgotten the commandment of Christ to love God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind (Mt. 22:37)…”

True, it is hard for us to accept these words: is there anyone among us who has never patted a dog, or stroked a cat or talked to them, thus expressing their love for them? Moreover, they too need our love: just feeding them is not sufficient. They are emotional creatures: dogs, for instance, experience a whole gamut of emotions.” (“The Blessed and the Dumb”)

Aren’t these words by the Saint very strict, maybe even too strict? Isn’t really the problem when affection (or, rather, attachment for a pet) replaces our love for people and God, making up for a lack or a complete absence of the latter?

As my spiritual father told me, we need “a strong balance here. No tightrope but one foot firmly planted in the love of the creator and one firmly planted in the love of His Creation. It is when we love dogs to the exclusion of God therein lies the problem. There was a popular sign in the back of car windows some years ago “A dog is for life not just for Christmas!” I would add “God is for life, not just for Christmas!”

This day of dogs reminded me of an obedience of mine back in Greece: to undertake dog walking of an ill person’s therapy dogs. These dogs offered him comfort, companionship, and joy but he could not take care of them. Many a time, I found myself grumbling about this extra, ‘pointless’ work every day. Surely I had other, far more important tasks and obediences to undertake? Then one day I read the following by St. Paisios which brought comfort and peace to my heart, and from that day onwards, I have started to learn saying Yes, from the heart, to the love of God, even in ‘pointless’ works:

“My mind tells me that even the animals are better than me; so, I humble myself and obey them. Very early this morning, being tired from praying all night and exhausted because of my illness, I lay down to rest. After a while, I heard a kitten meowing outside my cell as if she needed something. I really wanted to rest, but I humbled myself and went against my own will. I obeyed the kitten and replied to her calling. I went to open the door. It had started to rain and I let her in so she wouldn’t get wet. What do you think then? Should I obey the animals or not? My thoughts tell me I should.” – St Paisios

“So, I humble myself and obey them. … What do you think then? Should I obey the animals or not? My thoughts tell me I should.” – St Paisios

Your prayers and your thoughts