800 Years of St. Francis · Day 20 of 31 · Tuesday, October 20, 2026
The Little Flowers of St. Francis, a collection of stories gathered in the century after his death, tells of a wolf that terrorized the town of Gubbio. People were afraid to go outside the walls. Francis walked out to meet it. He called it “Brother Wolf,” and when it came toward him he made a pact: the townspeople would feed the wolf, and the wolf would stop attacking them. The story says the wolf lived peacefully in Gubbio for two years, going from door to door, and that the town grieved when it died.
When I wrote a prayer for my own dog, a line about this story came to me almost unbidden: Brother Wolf, who was hungry and not evil.
That is the heart of it. Francis noticed what the frightened town could not: the wolf’s violence came from hunger. He didn’t excuse the harm, and he didn’t pretend the danger wasn’t real. But he looked beneath the behavior to the need, and he answered the need.
Most of us have a wolf or two at the edge of town: a person, a situation, or a part of ourselves that we fear. What might change if we asked what it is hungry for?
Notice today: What hunger might lie beneath the behavior that frightens you?
Love that transcends our categories can walk out beyond the walls, and sometimes it brings the wolf home.
At San Damiano: Freedom from Fear Day Retreat, Saturday, November 14, 10:00 am – 4:00 pm. Details
Day 20 of 31 · 800 Years of St. Francis: A Daily October Companion · spiritualbreak.com
Reflection © 2026 Michael J. Cunningham OFS.
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