The final thread running through the Celtic missionaries' understanding of the "soul friend" is, broadly, spirituality. They understood that, however essential and fulfilling a deep human bond might be, it could not take the place of a friendship with God. Indeed, such relationships flowed directly from such a love-bond with God.
They saw God as the true friend, the pattern of all friendship, the centre of a wheel in which all human soul-friendships are vital spokes. One example illustrates this well.
When his mentor and bishop died, Finbar (also written Finbarr or Findbar) felt bereft, so he went to see his friend Eolang. Eolang had been praying and had received a word from God for Finbar. He knelt before him and said: "I offer you my church and my soul." Finbar wept and would have none of it, but Eolang persisted. "Let it be so, for this is the will of God. You are dear to Him and you are greater than I. Only grant me this, that we may live and die in the same place."
Here it is clear that the heavenly dimension enriched the human beyond what it could have achieved itself.
The Celtic anamcharas (soul friends) appreciated that solitude and companionship had to be kept in a creative balance. Both were essential for what they called "soul-making": the lifelong process of making peace with God, with oneself, with others, and with all of creation. Soul friends are committed to helping one another make this journey successfully.
The need for such committed love has perhaps never been greater than in the post-Christian West. May these examples stir hunger and faith for a new movement of faith and application in the areas of soul-friendship listed in these posts, for the good of all our souls!
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