Jeanne d'Arc (Historiated initial depicting Joan of Arc from Archives Nationales, Paris, AE II 2490, poss. 15th cent)
Jeanne d’Arc (Historiated initial depicting Joan of Arc from Archives Nationales, Paris, AE II 2490, poss. 15th cent)
“Si je n’y suis [en la grâce de Dieu], Dieu m’y mette; et, si j’y suis, Dieu m’y tienne! Je serais le plus dolente de monde si je savais ne pas être en la grâce de Dieu”
— Jeanne d’Arc

Today’s Feast Days

7 April

George the Standard-Bearer
(c. 776–821)
Archbishop, Wonderworker / Thaumaturgus / Θαυματουργός
Henry Walpole
(1558–1595)
Martyr, Priest
John Baptist de la Salle
(1651–1719)
Confessor, Founder, Priest
Maria Assunta Pallotta
(1878–1905)
Nun
Notkar the Stammerer
(c. 840–912)
Hagiographer, Hymnographer, Monk

The Celtic tradition recognized that an anam chara friendship was graced with affection. Friendship awakens affection. The heart learns a new art of feeling. Such friendship is neither cerebral nor abstract. In Celtic tradition, the anam chara was not merely a metaphor or ideal. It was a soul-bond that existed as a recognized and admired social construct. It altered the meaning of identity and perception. When your affection is kindled, the world of your intellect takes on a new tenderness and compassion.

John O’Donohue (1956–2008)

Irish poet, author, and Catholic scholar

Anam Cara: a book of Celtic Wisdom (1999)