And then there is the wolf of Gubbio. A very fierce one indeed. Even when armed with weapons the people of the town of Gubbio could not escape the sharp teeth of this raging beast. But St. Francis armed instead with the Sign of The Cross went out to meet the wolf. Upon seeing Francis the wolf leaped to attack, yet the power of God calmed the beast into submission. The wolf then walked beside Francis into the town, where the animal had devoured so many people and other animals as well, and through Francis, made peace with the people, who, in turn made their peace with the wolf.
And perhaps even more miraculous is St. Francis in Rimini preaching for days to stubborn heretics who would not listen. An inspiration by God led St. Francis to the bank of the river which led into the sea, calling the fishes to listen to his sermon. "You fishes of the sea...listen to the word of God!"
Suddenly swarms of fish emerged, never before seen in that place, sticking their heads out of the water listening to St. Francis, arranging themselves in size and formation like a great battlefield of God. The little fish swam under the fins of the bigger fish, who were protecting them, and this army of fish stared at St. Francis who was like their holy father, in turn, protecting all of them in this great sea of peace. At this sight the people of Rimini came running and the heretics finally converted seeing the fish intently listening to St. Francis.
Now, I can't say for sure if St. Francis preached like that to other animals, but we could sure use St. Francis in our yard where more than one frog is always limping across the lawn, wounded, and sometimes mortally so. Sometimes they have a gizzard sticking out of them and even St. Francis can't save them then. Mom used to put holy oil from St. Anne's Shrine on them and they'd get better and hop off, but she got sick of it 'cause there were just too many of them. She said to me one day, "Pup-Pup, I have already raised my family, these frogs are on their own time." And she picked them up swinging them by their good legs into the vacant lot next door. Which just goes to show it is hard to find a saint on this earth!
