The Admonitions

“Come here, Brother Wolf. I command you on behalf of Christ that you do no harm to me or to anyone.”

---

These are 28 spiritual counsels written by St. Francis to guide inner virtue. They are short pastoral reflections. They take specific scripture passages and apply them to daily community life. Though originally recorded for his friars, they form a foundation for Secular Franciscan spiritual formation.

The Admonitions focuses on the following six themes:

The 28 Admonitions of St. Francis

1. The Body of Christ: Recognising the real presence of Jesus Christ in the Eucharist.
2. The Evil of Self-Will: Warning against putting individual desire above God’s commands.
3. Perfect Obedience: Submitting oneself to legitimate guidance out of love for God.
4. Let No One Appropriate the Role of Being Over Others: Exercising any form of authority solely as a servant (modelled on Christ washing the feet of the disciples).
5. No One Should Boast in Himself but Rather Glory in the Cross: Keeping humility, recognising that human talent and life are gifts from God.
6. The Imitation of the Lord: Actively following the footprints of the poor and crucified Christ.
7. Good Works Must Follow Knowledge: Ensuring that studying or acquiring knowledge leads to active charity, rather than intellectual pride.
8. The Avoidance of the Sin of Envy: Refusing to envy the spiritual gifts or good fortune of others.
9. True Love: Loving enemies and seeking the spiritual good of those who cause us harm.
10. The Chastise of the Body: Overcoming personal vices and keeping control over bodily temptations.
11. No One Should Be Corrupted by the Evil of Another: Refusing to harbour anger or judgement over someone else’s sins.
12. How to Discern Whether One Has the Spirit of the Lord: Recognising the Holy Spirit when a person remains humble and self-effacing despite being praised.
13. Patience: Displaying true internal patience when faced with personal trials or adversarial people.
14. Poverty of Spirit: Maintaining interior detachment from possessions, status, and worldly power.
15. Peace: Remaining a peacemaker in mind, body, and spirit despite external persecutions.
16. Purity of Heart: Looking past earthly distractions to continuously focus the heart and spirit on seeking God.
17. The Humble Servant of God: Accepting lowliness and not self-exalting over human praise.
18. Compassion for One’s Neighbour: Supporting others in their structural or moral weaknesses just as we would wish to be supported.
19. The Happy Servant of God: Remembering that “what a person is before God, that he is and no more”.
20. The Virtuous Servant of God: Fleeing from vanity and maintaining quiet faithfulness.
21. The Good and the Vain Religious: Avoiding the practice of showing off one’s piety or good works to receive human validation.
22. The Frivolous and Talkative Religious: Restraining the tongue from unnecessary gossip, continuous idle talk, and boastfulness.
23. Correction: Receiving correction gracefully, immediately humbling oneself, and swiftly seeking to make amends.
24. Humility: Loving and serving a brother equally whether he is healthy and useful, or sick and unable to return the favour.
25. True Love: Respecting and speaking well of a companion behind their back just as one would in their presence.
26. The Servant of God Should Honor the Clergy: Showing profound respect to priests and ministers due to their unique sacramental role.
27. How Virtue Drives Out Vice: Recognizing that where there is love, patience, and humility, fear and vice have no room to exist.
28. Hiding a Good Thing That It May Not Be Lost: Keeping the internal spiritual treasures and good things God does through us close to the chest, preventing spiritual pride.

Key Attributes of the Admonitions

• Focuses entirely on internal spiritual maturity.
• Acts as spiritual commentary on the Gospels.
• Corrects spiritual pride and egoism.
• Remains fluid, timeless, and strictly instructional.

By Contrast Key Attributes of the Rule

• Establishes a binding way of life.
• Requires formal profession and promises before God.
• Defines fraternity structure and leadership roles.
• Dictates secular obligations like family and work life.
• Outlines official daily prayer requirements.

Back to the Rules, Constitution and Rituals

---

The Story of Brother Wolf

The famous wolf of Gubbio appeared to St Francis around 1220 while St Francis was staying in the Italian town of Gubbio, where a fearsome wolf was terrorizing people and livestock, leading St Francis to venture out and tame the beast into a peaceful, community-fed companion, a story detailed in The Little Flowers of St Francis.

---

When the wolf sees St Francis, he comes charging at the saint with his mouth open, ready to attack. St Francis immediately makes the sign of the cross over him and says, “Come here, Brother Wolf. I command you on behalf of Christ that you do no harm to me or to anyone.” As soon as St Francis did this, the fearsome wolf closed his mouth and stopped running; and once the command was given, it came meekly as a lamb, and threw itself at the feet of St Francis.

St Francis recognized the coldness in Brother Wolf and chose to offer warm embrace of acceptance. forgiveness, and non-judgment. He gave him an opportunity to begin again.

In many ways, we are similar to Brother Wolf. Like him, we may have some “coldness” in our heart. We may hide behind the fierce persona to hide our fear and insecurity, and we don’t let others come nearer to us because we are afraid or threatened.

The encounter of St Francis and Brother Wolf teaches us to always be merciful and compassionate, to always offer acceptance and loving embrace, so that we can live side-by-side with our fear and insecurities. What happened has happened, and we can live with our past. As long as we have God who always offers us acceptance, mercy, and love, we can live in the present and face the future with hope.

Reflection

• Is there any part of you that you are not proud of?

• Is there anything you are afraid of?

• Spend this time with the Lord, to learn to accept, befriend, and embrace these wolves in our heart.