Saint Francis of Assisi and the Wolf: Forgiveness

AT THE TIME when Saint Francis was living in the city of Gubbio, a large wolf appeared in the neighbourhood, so terrible and so fierce, that he not only devoured other animals, but made a prey of men also; and since he often approached the town, all the people were in great alarm, and used to go about armed, as if going to battle.

Notwithstanding these precautions, if any of the inhabitants ever met him alone, he was sure to be devoured, as all defence was useless: and, through fear of the wolf, they dared not go beyond the city walls.

Saint Francis, feeling great compassion for the people of Gubbio, resolved to go and meet the wolf, though all advised him not to do so. Making the sign of the holy cross, and putting all his confidence in God, he went forth from the city, taking his brethren with him; but these fearing to go any further, Saint Francis bent his steps alone toward the spot where the wolf was known to be, while many people followed at a distance, and witnessed the miracle.

The wolf, seeing all this multitude, ran towards Saint Francis with his jaws wide open.

As he approached, the saint, making the sign of the cross, cried out: “Come hither, brother wolf; I command thee, in the name of Christ, neither to harm me nor anybody else.”

Marvellous to tell, no sooner had Saint Francis made the sign of the cross, than the terrible wolf, closing his jaws, stopped running, and coming up to Saint Francis, lay down at his feet as meekly as a lamb.

And the saint thus addressed him: “Brother wolf, thou hast done much evil in this land, destroying and killing the creatures of God without his permission; yea, not animals only hast thou destroyed, but thou hast even dared to devour men, made after the image of God; for which thing thou art worthy of being hanged like a robber and a murderer. All men cry out against thee, the dogs pursue thee, and all the inhabitants of this city are thy enemies; but I will make peace between them and thee, O brother wolf, if so be thou no more offend them, and they shall forgive thee all thy past offences, and neither men nor dogs shall pursue thee any more.”

Having listened to these words, the wolf bowed his head, and, by the movements of his body, his tail, and his eyes, made signs that he agreed to what Saint Francis said.

On this Saint Francis added: “As thou art willing to make this peace, I promise thee that thou shalt be fed every day by the inhabitants of this land so long as thou shalt live among them; thou shalt no longer suffer hunger, as it is hunger which has made thee do so much evil; but if I obtain all this for thee, thou must promise, on thy side, never again to attack any animal or any human being; dost thou make this promise?”

Then the wolf, bowing his head, made a sign that he consented.

Said Saint Francis again: “Brother wolf, wilt thou pledge thy faith that I may trust to this thy promise?” and putting out his hand he received the pledge of the wolf; for the latter lifted up his paw and placed it familiarly in the hand of Saint Francis, giving him thereby the only pledge which was in his power.

Then said Saint Francis, addressing him again: “Brother wolf, I command thee, in the name of Christ, to follow me immediately, without hesitation or doubting, that we may go together to ratify this peace which we have concluded in the name of God”; and the wolf, obeying him, walked by his side as meekly as a lamb, to the great astonishment of all the people.

Now, the news of this most wonderful miracle spreading quickly through the town, all the inhabitants, both men and women, small and great, young and old, flocked to the market-place to see Saint Francis and the wolf.

All the people being assembled, the saint got up to preach, saying, amongst other things, how for our sins God permits such calamities, and how much greater and more dangerous are the flames of hell, which last for ever, than the rage of a wolf, which can kill the body only; and how much we ought to dread the jaws of hell, if the jaws of so small an animal as a wolf can make a whole city tremble through fear.

The sermon being ended, Saint Francis added these words: “Listen my brethren: the wolf who is here before you has promised and pledged his faith that he consents to make peace with you all, and no more to offend you in aught, and you must promise to give him each day his necessary food; to which, if you consent, I promise in his name that he will most faithfully observe the compact.”

Then all the people promised with one voice to feed the wolf to the end of his days; and Saint Francis, addressing the latter, said again: “And thou, brother wolf, dost thou promise to keep the compact, and never again to offend either man or beast, or any other creature?” And the wolf knelt down, bowing his head, and, by the motions of his tail and of his ears, endeavoured to show that he was willing, so far as was in his power, to hold to the compact.

Then Saint Francis continued: “Brother wolf, as thou gavest me a pledge of this thy promise when we were outside the town, so now I will that thou renew it in the sight of all this people, and assure me that I have done well to promise in thy name”; and the wolf lifting up his paw placed it in the hand of Saint Francis.

Now this event caused great joy in all the people, and a great devotion towards Saint Francis, both because of the novelty of the miracle, and because of the peace which had been concluded with the wolf; and they lifted up their voices to heaven, praising and blessing God, who had sent them Saint Francis, through whose merits they had been delivered from such a savage beast.

The wolf lived two years at Gubbio; he went familiarly from door to door without harming anyone, and all the people received him courteously, feeding him with great pleasure, and no dog barked at him as he went about.

At last, after two years, he died of old age, and the people of Gubbio mourned his loss greatly; for when they saw him going about so gently amongst them all, he reminded them of the virtue and sanctity of Saint Francis.

The Wolf & Native American Spirituality

I have decided to stick with legends and myths regarding wolves.
Today's post is related to native american beliefs.

The Pawnee of present day Nebraska and Kansas are different then most other Native Americans. The Pawnee divided their world horizon into four semi cardinal points. They placed the Mountain Lion, the Bobcat, the Bear, and the Wolf to these semi cardinal points. These animals were chosen primarily because they were the great hunters. The stealth of the Cats, the endurance of the of the Wolf, and the strength of the Bear. The Eagles are not part of the semi cardinal points but nevertheless very important. The Eagle has great vision, but more importantly when you pray, you pray into the smoke of the sacred fire. The smoke from the fire carries your prayers into the sky, the Eagle it is said will fly into the smoke and catch your prayer and deliver it to the Great Spirit. The white feathers of the Bald Eagle are tipped with black. It is said, this happened because the Bald Eagle was the messenger to the Great Spirit. He had to take the prayer to the other side of! the sun. When he delivered the prayer his feathers were singed by the fire of the sun as proof that he was the messenger of the Great Spirit. The Great Spirit said, " You are my messenger and the whole world shall see that I have kissed your tail feathers as proof that you are indeed my messenger.

The Pawnee set the Mountain Lion to the northeast, the Wolf to the Southeast, the Bobcat to the Southwest and the Bear to the Northwest. The cats are said to guard the primal female presence and were put into the ski as the Evening Star. The Wolf was also put in the ski as the Red Star or Wolf Star. The Red Star is to symbolize the color of the Red Wolf. These animals were held in high esteem by these primitive hunters.

The Wolf is an important part of tribal, ceremonial, individual life but the wolf was nevertheless was regarded as "other" by our native brothers. The wolf is never to be confused with his domesticated cousin the dog. The dog and the wolf are poles apart. The wolf had great powers given to him by the Great Spirit. The wolf it is said could change into a man and help a man out that was in trouble. The Sioux word for wolf is Skunkmanitu Tonka, (The animal that looks like a dog but has a powerful spirit).

Native Americans probably had three different breeds of dogs. They continued to breed these dogs to each other. Dogs were used for: their hair for weaving, their flesh among some tribes for food. They were used to pull travois and sleds, to pack food, panniers, and firewood, and to hunt game. These dogs were not pets. Any dog that proved to be a nuisance by getting into food catches or digging under tepees were quickly dispatched.

Crossing wolves and dogs would produce hybrids that were headstrong and dangerous, so Native Americans rarely tried this. Dogs several generations removed from the cross proved to be gentle, obedient, intelligent, and very hardy, but Native Americans were not interested in this kind of special breeding. More fundamentally, dogs and wolves were poles apart, and it was not deemed appropriate to mix them. The wolf has a soul in Nunamuite Eskimo eyes: not so their sled dogs. The wolf is an integral part of many religious ceremonies, the dog would be unceremoniously kicked out of any ceremonial lodge.

The Sioux men used to sing songs while they traveled. These were short songs of encouragement or songs about a lover or in praise of past deeds. These were collectively called wolf traveling songs by the Cheyenne. Such songs usually came to a warriors in their dreams. A warrior may also sing to call the wolves in song to eat the flesh of their enemies after a battle. A warrior may compare himself to a wolf. A wolf it is said has changed himself into human form to warn young men of dangers, where to find food, and what plants heal, and have the most nourishment.

Here is an example of one of the songs that was sung by a Sioux, Weasel Bear:

A Wolf I consider myself
But the owls are hooting
At daybreak I roam and the night I fear
Awake to who is following me
I roam At daybreak
I roam At daybreak
I roam Shivers coming up my spine
I roam Eyes in back of my head
I roam.

The Legend of Greywolf



Legend of Greywolf





One of the biggest Turkish emperors had two daughters and they were both extremely beautiful. They were so beautiful that people believed these two daughters could only marry beings with supernatural powers and that these women were not created for humans.

As the emperor believed this same idea, he searched for ways of keeping his daughters away from people. In the farthest point of his land, a place where no man had neither walked nor seen before, he built a tall tower and locked his two daughters into this tower. He then prayed and begged so adamantly that the god who he believed in could not resist. The god came down to earth, took the form of a greywolf, and married the daughters of the emperor. Nine children were born after this marriage; They were named the Nine "Oguz" (meaning a good-hearted decent) and their voices resembled that of a greywolf.

In the end, these children all carried the spirit of the Greywolf, their population grew and thus the Turks embody characteristics such as great strength, great courage, and great agility.