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LESSONS OF GUBBIO
by Jim McIntosh, OFM Editors note: Jim wrote this in 1995 when he was minister of the St Anthony of Nagasaki Fraternity and chair of the St Margaret of Cortona Peace and Justice Commission. In May 1999 he took his first vows as an OFM.
For there appeared in the territory of Gubbio a fearfully large and fierce wolf which was so rabid with hunger that it devoured not only animals but even human beings. All the people in the town considered it such a great scourge and terror because it often came near the town that they took weapons with them when they went into the country, as if they were going to war. But even with their weapons they were not able to escape the sharp teeth and raging hunger of the wolf when they were so unfortunate as to meet it. Consequently everyone in the town was so terrified that hardly anyone dared to go outside the city gate. 1 At times it seems our world is full of wolves. We see war and armed conflict around the world, we hear terrifying tales of "ethnic cleansing", and we watch the plight of the vast majority of humans who live in desperate poverty. At home we read daily about the violence on our streets, we see the tragedy resulting from the lack of concern about human life, and we watch in horror as people divided by race or politics do violence to one another. These problems can seem overwhelming and, when faced with the enormity of the problem, were not sure how to act. Jesus told us "Blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called the children of God."2 In the Second Vatican Council the Council Fathers told us "all Christians are urgently summoned to do in love what truth requires, and to join with all true peacemakers in pleading for peace and bringing it about."3 The US Bishops have said "Peacemaking is not an optional commitment. It is a requirement of our faith. We are called to be peacemakers, not by some movement of the moment, but by our Lord Jesus."4 If we desire to live the Gospels, then, and help bring about the Kingdom of God, we are required to work for peace and bring justice to our world. The Secular Franciscan rule says "Let them individually and collectively be in the forefront in promoting justice by the testimony of their human lives and their courageous initiatives. Especially in the field of public life, they should make definite choices in harmony with their faith" (Art 15). The Rule goes on to say "Mindful that they are bearers of peace which must be built up unceasingly, they should seek out ways of unity and fraternal harmony through dialogue, trusting in the divine seed in everyone and in the transforming power of love and pardon." (Art 19) The General Constitutions of the Order of Friars Minor say "The brothers should be aware of the horrendous dangers that threaten the human race. They should speak out courageously against the arms race and every kind of warlike activity as a most serious curse on the world and the gravest injury to the poor. The brothers should spare themselves neither toil nor hardship in building up the reign of the God of peace. 5 As Franciscans, we are called to be peacemakers, but our peacemaking has a very distinctive character. To discover the special nature of Franciscan peacemaking we need to look to our founder, St Francis of Assisi, for guidance. Throughout his life one can find many examples of Francis desire to bring about peace. One story that brings together many of the essential elements of Franciscan peacemaking is the story of the Wolf of Gubbio: For while the Saint was there at that time, he had pity on the people and decided to go out and meet the wolf. But on hearing this the citizens said to him "Look out, Brother Francis. Dont go outside the gate, because the wolf which has already devoured many people will certainly attack you and kill you!" But St Francis put his hope in the Lord Jesus Christ who is master of all creatures. Protected not by a shield or a helmet, but arming himself with the Sign of the Cross . . . St Francis bravely went out to meet the wolf. Here we se the first two essential elements of Franciscan peacemaking: First, just as Francis went out to meet the wolf, we must take positive steps to bring about peace. Peacemaking is something actively done; we cannot simply wait for it to happen. We cannot sit idly by waiting for peacemaking opportunities, but rather we must respond when we hear about conflicts and disturbances. These are the opportunities for the "courageous initiatives" spoken about in the SFO Rule. One sees this over and over in the life of St Francis. When visiting the Crusades, Francis went out to speak to the Sultan. When Francis heard about problems between the Bishop and Mayor of Assisi, he sent his brothers out to speak to them. Peacemaking is something one does actively, despite the possible risks. The second element of Franciscan peacemaking here is that Francis went out unarmed. The original SFO Rule instructed Secular Franciscans "They are not to take up lethal weapons or bear them about against anybody." (Original SFO Rule V, 16) Franciscans are to bring about peace through nonviolence. Using violence to bring about peace is unacceptable. Then, in the sight of many people who had come out and climbed onto places to see this wonderful event, the fierce wolf came running with its mouth open toward St Francis and his companion. The Saint made the Sign of the Cross toward it. And the power of God, proceeding as much from himself as from his companion, checked the wolf and made it slow down and close its cruel mouth. The third essential aspect of Franciscan peacemaking is the realization that peace is God-centered. All peace flows from God and we work merely to be Gods instruments and bring about that peace. We cannot bring about a peace that does not come from God.
Then, calling to it, St Francis said "Come to me, Brother Wolf. In the name of Christ, I order you not to hurt me or anyone." It is marvelous to relate that as soon as he had made the Sign of the Cross, the wolf closed its terrible jaws and stopped running, and as soon as he gave it that order, it lowered its head and lay down at the Saints feet, as though it became a lamb. This passage demonstrates the fourth element of Franciscan peacemaking, to treat all others as brothers and sisters. It can be tempting to demonize those who oppose us or those who would wish to do us harm. It is essential, however that Franciscans take care to always remember "the presence of the divine seed in everyone" and take care to love those who are themselves deeply loved by God. And St Francis said to it as it lay in front of him "Brother Wolf, you have done great harm in this region, and you have committed horrible crimes by destroying Gods creatures without any mercy. You have been destroying not only irrational animals, but you have even had the more detestable brazenness to kill and devour human beings made in the image of God. You therefore deserve to be put to death just like the worst robber and murderer. Consequently everyone is right in crying out against you and complaining, and this whole town is your enemy. "But Brother Wolf, I want to make peace between you and them, so that they will not be harmed by you any more, and after they have forgiven you all your past crimes, neither men nor dogs will pursue you any more." The wolf showed by moving its body and tail and ears and by nodding its head that it willingly accepted what the Saint had said and would observe it. Here is the fifth element of Franciscan peacemaking:
peacemaking requires
reconciliation. It means bringing people together to find a So St Francis spoke again: "Brother Wolf, since you are willing to make and keep this peace pact, I promise you that I will have the people of this town give you food every day as long as you live, so that you will never again suffer from hunger, for I know that whatever evil you have been doing was done because of the urge of hunger. But, my Brother Wolf, once I am obtaining such a favor for you, I want you to promise me that you will never harm any animal or person. Will you promise me that?" The wolf gave a clear sign, by nodding its head, that it promised to do what the Saint had asked. A sixth element of Franciscan peacemaking demonstrated here is the realization that often conflict comes about because of an unjust situation. The townspeople had enough to eat, while the wolf outside their walls was starving. Although the townspeople probably thought of themselves as victims of unprovoked violence and while there certainly can be no excuse for the wolfs behavior, it was the townspeoples unwillingness to share their food that was in part the cause for the conflict. Peaceful resolution often calls for both sides to make changes. The townspeople gave up some of their food and the wolf gave up his murderous attacks. And the wolf immediately began to walk along beside St Francis, just like a gentle lamb. When the people saw this they were greatly amazed and the news spread quickly throughout the whole town, so that all of them men as well as women, great and small, assembled in the market place, because St Francis was there with the wolf. "Listen, dear people" he said. "Brother Wolf, who is standing here before you, has promised me and has given me a pledge that he will make peace with you and will never hurt you if you promise also to feed him every day. And I pledge myself as bondsman for Brother Wolf that he will faithfully keep this peace pact." Then all the people who were assembled there promised in a loud voice to feed the wolf regularly. And St Francis said "Brother Wolf, I want you to give me a pledge here and before all these people that you will keep the pact and will never betray me for having pledged myself as your bondsman." Then in the presence of all the people, the wolf raised its right paw and put it in St Francis hand as a pledge. And the crowd was so filled with amazement and joy, out of devotion for the Saint as well as over the novelty of the miracle and over the peace pact between the wolf and the people, that they all shouted to the sky, praising and blessing the Lord Jesus Christ who had sent St Francis to them, by whose merits they had been freed from such a fierce wolf and saved from such a terrible scourge and had recovered peace and quiet.
The essential elements of Franciscan peacemaking, then, are these: It is integral to the Franciscan call to live the gospel, "going from gospel to life and life to the gospel" (SFO Rule Art. 1). So too it is integral to the Franciscan call to be peacemakers. We need to find the wolves in todays society. We need to find ways to feed the hungry wolves before they resort to violence. There are many towns of Gubbio in todays world, and many opportunities for us, collectively and individually, to help bring about peace. Sometimes the scale of the problems of our community and our world can overwhelm us. We think "How can I implement a new economic order or bring about a settlement in war-torn lands? How can I eliminate nuclear weapons or stop the violence in our inner cities?" Every journey starts with a single step, and there are many concrete steps we can begin to take as peacemakers. The first step of course must be prayer. Just as St Francis started his journey toward the wolf with a Sign of the Cross, so too we need to root our peacemaking in prayer. Prayer is our most powerful weapon, as true peace comes form God and can only be brought about with Gods assistance. Another good step is to work with our brother and sister Franciscans. We sometimes forget the power of an organization with over a million members world-wide. The SFO Rule tells us to act both individually and collectively. We can speak out for justice as individual Franciscans, as a Fraternity, as a Region, as an Order, and as the Franciscan family. Our international nature benefits us in two ways. We can help those elsewhere in the world needing our assistance, and we can also open our ears to hear the authentic voices coming back to us from other places. We should consider joining with other Franciscans as part of Franciscans International, the Franciscan Non-Governmental Organization at the United Nations. Another critical step is Formation, both initial formation and ongoing formation. We can use initial formation to instruct ourselves as to the integral role peacemaking plays in our Franciscan life. We can use ongoing formation to keep abreast of the needs of our world, and to coordinate our peacemaking work. Finally, in our apostolates we can work at bringing about reconciliation and peace. We can look for the hungry and feed them before they become wolves. We can look for the alienated and the hurting, and strive to reintegrate them into our human society. From that day, the wolf and the people kept the pact, which St Francis made. The wolf lived two years more, and it went from door to door for food. It hurt no one, and no one hurt it. The people fed it courteously. And it is a striking fact that not a single dog ever barked at it. Then the wolf grew old and died. And the people were sorry, because whenever it went through the town, its peaceful kindness and patience reminded them of the virtues and holiness of St Francis. Praise be Our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
Notes: 1. Fioretti, #21, (O1348). 2. Matthew 5:9 3. Gaudium et Spes, Documents of Vatican II, 1965, #78. 4. The Challenge of Peace: Gods Promise and Our Response: A Pastoral Letter on War and Peace. National Conference of Catholic Bishops, 1983, #333. 5. General Constitutions of the OFM, 1987, #69, 2. 6. Celano, First Life, #57a (O276). 7. Legend of Perugia, #44 (O1022). |
common agreement. It means calling on people to forgive one another and move
ahead together. Franciscans are, by their very nature, reconcilers.