Thirteenth century Italian saint, St Francis of Assisi is the patron of Ecology and beloved far beyond the Christian faith. Francis sings praise to the divine ‘through our sister, Mother Earth’. He never understood earth as being a garden of resources over which we have dominion. Instead, he saw the earth as a mother or a sister who governs us. He was known for calling all things sister and brother – the sun, the moon, crickets, mice, trout, ravens and wolves.
One day he was called upon by the major of Gubbio to intervene in an unfolding tragedy. A ferocious wolf was killing livestock and people on the outskirts of the village. The more the stories of savagery passed along the villagers tongues, the more enormous, fierce and bloodthirsty the wolf became. Everyone lived in constant dread. Historical interpretations of the fable tell that Francis tamed the wolf. However, other research into longer tellings of the tale reveal that Francis did not resolve the conflict by taming the wolf at all, he solved it by listening to the wolf. He stood in the wolf’s presence, respecting the animal’s wildness, called her sister and understood her story.
Francis returned to the village and explained that the wolf had been injured and abandoned by her pack. She had not meant to anger people, she was simply hungry and sheep are so slow. When the guards ran after her with their spears, she acted in self-defence. Armed with Francis’s understanding the townspeople helped the injured wolf to find food and they coexisted without fear.
~ Lyanda Lynn Haupt, Rooted: Life at the Crossroads of Science Nature and Spirit.
Quote from Rooted: Life at the Crossroads of Science Nature and Spirit by Lyanda Lynn Haupt
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