By Christina Bagaglio Slentz, Ph.D.
SAN DIEGO — One of the most beloved legends of St. Francis is the story of “The Wolf of Gubbio.”
According to tradition, the town of Gubbio, located in the Umbria region of early 13th century Italy, was increasingly suffering the violent attacks of a big, scary wolf. Straight out of a child’s — or Creation Care minister’s — nightmare, this carnivorous “apex predator” was not only feasting on livestock but had also begun to terrorize the townsfolk with attacks on humans. Sadly, the village’s best efforts to thwart the animal were unsuccessful.
Enter St. Francis. An atypical hero. A man who had pledged himself to a life of non-violence.
Undaunted by the charging wolf, Francis humbly stood fast and gently preached the way of Christ to this great beast, stopping him in his tracks and gentling the creature. He entered into dialogue with the wolf, offering him a deal: If the wolf promised to abandon his predatory behavior, the townspeople would, in turn, promise to feed him. The wolf put a paw into St. Francis’ hand. All agreed, peace and security returned, and a new friendship took root in Gubbio.
More to the Story?
As we celebrate the Feast of St. Francis in October, let us ponder this tale further. Is this simply a story of “how to tame a wolf” — or any wild animal, for that matter? Perhaps a key detail invites us to consider St. Francis to be more than a “wolf-whisperer” and the moral of this story to be more than a lesson in superficial exchange.
Remember, the wolf calms down when Francis preaches to him “the way of Christ.” How is it that this way of Christ transformed the wolf, such that he — or she? — departed from what many might think as “natural?”
In today’s dog-eat-dog culture, the work of Charles Darwin tends to dominate our expectations of the natural world. His “survival of the fittest” theory of evolution not only explains patterns of life on earth but also offers to many a convenient justification for dismissing the demise of the weak. Better to be a “Wolf of Wall Street” than a “sacrificial lamb,” right? It’s just natural.
A Holistic View of Nature: Competition and Cooperation
While Darwin’s work illuminates the genius of our Creator and creation’s capacity to evolve, evolution is only one force of nature bearing the fingerprint of God. Symbiosis, for one, shines a light on patterns of cooperation and interconnectedness woven throughout creation. Might the way of Christ, which St. Francis preached to the wolf, have offered this other path, a path of integral ecology?
Most likely, your favorite science-savvy fifth-grader can tell you symbiosis describes a relationship between two dissimilar organisms. Technically, this includes “commensalistic” and “parasitic” relationships — one-sided beneficial relationships that are respectively harmless or harmful to the host organism.
In common terms, however, we typically think of “symbiotic relationships” as mutually beneficial. If you have seen the movie “Finding Nemo,” you will recall that the clown fish boasts a secretion that enables them to live in the safety of highly toxic anemones, where other creatures cannot pursue them. The clown fish acts as a colorful lure, drawing not-so-lucky predators into the anemone’s stinging tentacles, leaving them paralyzed and ready to be consumed by the anemone.
As science reveals more about the incredible design of our Creator, we discover case after case of harmonious exchange throughout the natural world. In botany, we have only more recently come to understand mycorrhizal fungi, critical interconnectors that form a mutually beneficial relationship with plants. In fact, about 95% of the plants scientists have examined exhibit a relationship with this fungi. By attaching to and penetrating plant roots below ground, this fungi can consume sugars produced by the plant in the above-ground process of photosynthesis. In turn, the fungi grow in a lacy web of filaments called hyphae, extending far into the soil beyond the reach of the plant roots, thereby increasing the plant’s capacity to absorb nutrients and water. To learn more as a family about the integrated lives of plants, trees and fungi, go to https://kidsgardening.org/resources/digging-deeper-mycorrhizae/. A good read for adults is “Finding the Mother Tree” by Suzanne Simard.
Taming the Inner Wolf
The story of the Wolf of Gubbio presents to us the danger of violent competition in our imperfect world in contrast to the self-giving power of Jesus — a way of love of neighbor and integral flourishing. While both patterns are evident in our natural world, we know that hyper-consumption or domination by an apex predator disrupts the balance of an ecosystem, introducing chaotic results.
Moreover, we — God’s chosen stewards of creation — are given the grace to act with more than animal instincts; we are given the choice to embrace the way of Christ, as St. Francis and the Wolf of Gubbio do. We might think of this choice as a struggle with our “inner wolf,” that primal tendency to resort to overconsumption, cruel domination, and self-promotion.
How might you put your paw in the hand of St Francis, agreeing to be transformed? Being our best self is assuredly part of God’s plan, but so is our capacity to act for the good of others, to live as contributing participants of a thriving, integral ecology.
As we conclude our 2024 Season of Creation with the Feast of St. Francis on Oct. 4, we invite you to learn more about caring for creation and how to be a positive force of nature at our family-friendly Feast of St. Francis Trees, Peace and All Goodness Festival, on Oct. 6. In addition to our tree blessing and giveaway, there will be free churros, eco-education, crafts and recognition of our children’s art contest winners. For more information and to register, please go to bit.ly/SDCC_FOSF24.
God has given us the grace to steward the gift of our sister, Mother Earth. Our gift to God is our choice to act with hope and love for the good of our interconnected common home!
