A Catholic writer wrote an article recently about how people who look at their pets as members of the family, even calling them "furkids" are wrong. He further went to say that it is our duty to either have children as Catholics, or adopt. Anything else is disordered.
Some agree, saying that it is wrong to put animals above humans or in some way relate them to humans. They're merely animals.
But is that the truth?
God made us different than animals. He made us in his image and gave us free will. But God loved all that which he created. And all that he created with intelligence (and that includes animals) have souls that he will not dispose of. God's love is so eternal, he won't even destroy the fallen angels who became demons. God could wipe them out in a moment... but he allows them to exist and retain their angelic knowledge and powers. God can not destroy that which he originally made for good (even if their free will caused them to do evil) and who he gave intelligence.
We are different from his other creations, especially the animals, and we were created to be special... but that does not mean animals are merely animals and nothing special to him. To believe that is inaccurate and arrogant.
God made the animals for us, and one of the many roles they play in our lives is as COMPANION.
And look at the role they play in the bible. God rode into town on what we now celebrate as Palm Sunday on a donkey. The witnesses to his miraculous birth were not the Magi, nor the shepherds, but the animals of the stable. The Dove is the symbol of God's peace. God commanded Noah to save each species of animal, two by two. Christ is often depicted in the book of Revelation as a lamb, or a lion.
As long as we remember, human life is precious, created to be special since we are in God's image, and important to protect above all else... There is nothing disordered about looking at a pet as a member of your family.
The true disorder comes on the part of the author of the article.
For one, he discounts the love God has for all his creations. Even the smallest blade of Grass is precious to God. All things have a purpose, all things are created with love. To believe otherwise, especially about an intelligent creature with the God giving capacity to feel emotion... is pure pride. It is making ourselves important instead of humble.
The disorder also comes on the part of the author for thinking it is so black and white. He states very clearly that our job as a Catholic is to either have biological children, or to adopt a child. It is a Disorder to do any less.
God does not grant all the ability to have a child. Are the barren disordered? Are nuns who live in seclusion and take the vow of silence which means they do not have children nor adopt/raise children, disordered? Are priests disordered for not taking a child into their home and raising them? After all, he merely gives a sermon on Sundays. That isn't raising a child, feeding them, clothing them, taking care of them when they're sick, reading them a bedtime story, getting their homework done... it's not the true role of a parent and according to this author, your role as a human is disordered if you don't have a child or adopt one.
Are the childless not good Catholics if they are not parents, not by choice, but by circumstance? My health, being single with no prospects right now, and the fact I've now entered my 40s, somewhat precludes me from having a child, as well as adoption. Am I less valuable as a Catholic? Or in the eyes of God am I disordered?
I have my... yes... FURKIDS. the ones God gave me to protect since a child is not in my future. They are as God created them to be. Companions. In turn they teach me patience, they teach me to be more giving, more loving, more kind. And they give love in return.
God only creates WITH PURPOSE! If God did not mean for animals to be loved and to love in return, he would not have created them with enough intelligence to feel, to be tamed and domesticated. He would not have created them to be faithful and understand what it is to be loyal.
I think God created animals more like himself than people are. They may not have free will or have been made in His image... but they are shining exaples of His love. Their love is pure, unconditional, unending.
An animal loves you no matter what you look like, no matter how rich or poor you are, no matter if you're fat or skinny. When you've had a bad day and are cross with them because they knocked something over... they still love you unconditionally.
When you leave, they are heartbroken without you. When you return, they celebrate... so happy to see you they can barely contain their joy, even if you were only gone for 2 seconds to get the mail. If they are treated badly, or if someone they love are faced with evil... they will bite. They will even risk their lives for someone they love to protect them. Their love doesn't end. A pet looks at you and all they see is love.
That's God's love. When we turn our backs to Him, he is sorrowful, but when we come back to him, God's joy is so great, it can not be contained. When we hurt, he hurts. When we're lonely, he's there if we're only willing to accept him. When we blame him for all the wrong in our lives, he forgives us for being upset and waits for us to come to him for comfort. His love is perfect, unchanging, and eternal.
God didn't create animals by mistake. He didn't make them to be these throw away things... or he wouldn't have given them the intelligence or the capacity to feel emotions and develop attachments. Did you know that if a deer loses a fawn, she can mourn herself almost to the point of death? She loves her child like a human loves their child, and if that child is lost, she grieves. God gave her the intelligence to know her child, and the heart to love her child. They are animals... but they are not JUST animals.
The bible is filled with examples of how important animals actually are to God. Read Friar Jack's "I Will See You in Heaven" Is a great book that puts all of those biblical proofs on display.
Even St. Francis, a GREAT saint in the Catholic faith... he looked at all of God's creation as his family. He called the animals his brothers and sisters and even preached to them.
'Oh birds, my brothers and sisters, you have a great obligation to praise your Creator, who clothed you in feathers and gave you wings to fly with, provided you with pure air and cares for you without any worry on your part.’…The birds showed their joy in a remarkable fashion: They began to stretch their necks, extend their wings, open their beaks and gaze at him attentively.
That is from "the Sermon to the birds". St. Francis never missed an opportunity to tell animals to praise God. He called them his brothers and sisters, he related them to members of his family. Was one of our greatest saints "disordered" because he considers all that God created a part of his family in God?
Yes we are different from animals. Yes we were created set apart from animals. But no, it is not disordered to consider any of God's creations a part of our family in God, and treat them with the love and respect God calls us to treat all living things with. It is in God's most innocent creations, that we truly see him. His love, his faithfulness, his truth.
For more reading: Get Friar Jack's book "I'll see you in Heaven" for biblical proof of pets meeting us in heaven... and look up St. Francis of Assisi and animals. Lots of great resources. Then you will see... there is nothing disordered about loving an animal as a part of your family.
Of course, as with anything, this is an over simplified response to the article I read. I could go into so much more detail, but this is a meager blog and after a while it would become redundant. I hit the finer points here. If you're interested in learning more... see the links below.
FURTHER READING:
ST FRANCIS OF ASSISI
Article 1
Article 2
Article 3
I'll See You In Heaven
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