Dear Lord, please open your gates and call St. Francis

"Dear Lord, please open your gates
and call St. Francis
to come escort this beloved companion
across the Rainbow Bridge. 

Assign them to a place of honor,
for they have been a faithful servant
and have always done their best to please me.

Bless the hands that send them to you,
for they are doing so in love and compassion,
freeing them from pain and suffering.

Grant me the strength not to dwell on my loss.
Help me remember the details of their life
with the love they have shown me.
And grant me the courage to honor them
by sharing those memories with others.

Let them remember me as well
and let them know that I will always love them.
And when it's my time to pass over into your paradise,
please allow them to accompany those
who will bring me home.

Thank you, Lord,
for the gift of their companionship
and for the time we've had together.

And thank you, Lord,
for granting me the strength
to give them to you now."