Orthodox prayers for the loss of a pet

When a pet dies, these prayers thank God for the animal you loved and bring Him your grief. The Church has no prayer for an animal’s soul, so they are for you.

Picture: Léon Bazile Perrault, Her Favourite Pet, 1867

3 prayers

When your heart is broken

He heals the brokenhearted

Praise the Lord!It is good to sing praise to our God.It is pleasant, and praise is fitting.The Lord builds up Jerusalem;He gathers the outcasts of Israel.He heals the brokenheartedand binds up their wounds.

He counts the number of the stars;He calls each one of them by name.Great is our Lord, and mighty in power;His understanding is beyond measure.The Lord lifts up the humble;He brings the wicked down to the ground.

Sing to the Lord with thanksgiving;make music to our God on the harp.He covers the sky with clouds;He prepares rain for the earthand makes grass grow on the mountains.He gives the animals their food,and feeds the young ravens when they cry.

He takes no delight in the strength of the horse,no pleasure in the legs of a man.The Lord takes pleasure in those who fear Him,in those who hope in His mercy.

Traditional wording, 1611

Praise ye the LORD: for it is good to sing praises unto our God; for it is pleasant; and praise is comely.The LORD doth build up Jerusalem: He gathereth together the outcasts of Israel.He healeth the broken in heart, and bindeth up their wounds.

He telleth the number of the stars; He calleth them all by their names.Great is our Lord, and of great power: His understanding is infinite.The LORD lifteth up the meek: He casteth the wicked down to the ground.

Sing unto the LORD with thanksgiving; sing praise upon the harp unto our God:Who covereth the heaven with clouds, Who prepareth rain for the earth, Who maketh grass to grow upon the mountains.He giveth to the beast his food, and to the young ravens which cry.

He delighteth not in the strength of the horse: He taketh not pleasure in the legs of a man.The LORD taketh pleasure in them that fear Him, in those that hope in His mercy.

This psalm praises God, Who heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds, and Who gives the animals their food. Its words let you bring Him your sorrow.

Plain English by Wiser Walk, from the Hebrew, with the King James Version beside it. How the wording is made. Traditional wording: The King James translators, The King James Version, 1611.

Where it comes from, and the original

Thanking God for the life He made

You love all things (Wisdom 11)

You love all things that exist,and You loathe nothing You have made,for You would never have made anythingif You had hated it.

How could anything have lastedif You had not willed it?Or how could anything You had not called forthhave been preserved?

You spare all things, because they are Yours,O Master, Lover of all that lives.

Traditional wording, 1611

For Thou lovest all the things that are,and abhorrest nothing which Thou hast made:for never wouldest Thou have made any thing,if Thou hadst hated it.

And how could any thing have endured,if it had not been Thy will?or been preserved, if not called by Thee?

But Thou sparest all: for they are Thine,O Lord, Thou Lover of souls.

The Book of Wisdom tells God that He loves all that exists and loathes nothing He has made. These lines let you thank Him for the animal you loved, one of His own creatures.

Plain English by Wiser Walk, from the Greek of Wisdom 11:24-26, with the King James wording beside it. How the wording is made. Traditional wording: The King James translators, The King James Bible, Apocrypha, 1611.

Where the King James Version reads “lover of souls”, other Bibles read the same Greek word as “lover of life” (the Common English Bible) or “who lovest the living” (the Revised Standard Version).

Where it comes from, and the Greek

When you have had to let go

Lord, as You will and as You know

Stretch out your handsLord, as You will,and as You know,have mercy.

When a struggle presses hardLord, help!

Traditional wording, 1936

Lord, as Thou wilt and as Thou knowest, have mercy upon me.

Help me.

Words may not come after you have had to let an animal go. St Macarius the Great gave this short prayer when he was asked how to pray. It leaves everything to God and asks for His mercy.

Plain English by Wiser Walk, from the Greek. How the wording is made. Traditional wording: Helen Waddell, The Desert Fathers, 1936.

Helen Waddell translated the saying from its old Latin version, so her wording has “have mercy upon me” and “Help me” where the Greek has “have mercy” and “Lord, help”.

Where it comes from, and the Greek

Scripture for this

Trust in Him at all times, O people; pour out your hearts before Him. God is our refuge. Selah

Psalm 62:8 The psalm asks you to pour out your heart before God, and that includes grief for a pet.

²⁴And God said, “Let the earth bring forth living creatures according to their kinds: livestock, land crawlers, and beasts of the earth according to their kinds.” And it was so. ²⁵God made the beasts of the earth according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and everything that crawls upon the earth according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.

Genesis 1:24-25 Your pet was part of God’s own work, and He saw that it was good.

⁹“Behold, I now establish My covenant with you and your descendants after you, ¹⁰and with every living creature that was with you—the birds, the livestock, and every beast of the earth—every living thing that came out of the ark.”

Genesis 9:9-10 After the flood God made His covenant with the animals too, every living creature that was with Noah.

The life of every living thing is in His hand, as well as the breath of all mankind.

Job 12:10 Your pet’s life was in God’s hand, as the life of every creature is.

Look at the birds of the air: They do not sow or reap or gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?

Matthew 6:26 Jesus points to the birds that the Father feeds. The animal you looked after was never outside His care.

Bible text: Berean Standard Bible, public domain.

A psalm for this

The LORD is good to all; His compassion rests on all He has made.
Psalm 145:9

In this song of praise, David moves from God’s greatness to His kindness toward everything He has made.

Psalm 145 Read the whole psalm, with St Athanasius’s advice on when to pray it.

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