There is a sacred, spiritual space between us and the animals, and us and the natural world. I see it with Maria and the donkeys. With Rocky. Walking on a path with Lenore. When Simon comes to me.  Seeing people on the edge of life with Izzy. When Frieda guards us, daring the world to intrude. With an artist and her pug. A friend and her horse. These are, I have come to believe a kind of sacrament, sacred rites conducted in the spirit or presence of God. We do not need buildings for them, or dogma, or preachers with Bibles. We need ourselves and the loving spirit we bring, this is our communion with the animals we love. Put some sacrament photos up on Facebook.

Sunday Prayer:

“May I never not be frisky,

May I never not be risque.

May my ashes, when you have them, friend,

and give them to the ocean,

leap in the froth of the waves,

still loving movement,

still ready, beyond all else,

to dance for the world.”

—  “Prayer,” Mary Oliver