God's Grace

The Celtic Wisdom of Poet and Mystic John O’Donohue

Brett Leveridge

In 1982, O’Donohue was ordained a Catholic priest and spent much of his time in solitude, contemplating the “the invisible world” – what we see with our souls, not our eyes. A topic he explored in his international bestseller Anam Ċara, which means “soul friend” in Gaelic. In 2000, O’Donohue left the priesthood to focus on his writing. He passed away in his sleep in 2008 at the age of 52. Today, his work continues to inspire many to take a closer look at that which they cannot see.

John O’Donohue was an Irish poet, scholar and priest best known for his writings on Celtic mysticism and the natural world. He grew up in County Clare, Ireland, a landscape that profoundly influenced his work. He called the west of Ireland “a huge wild invitation to extend your imagination…an ancient conversation between the land and sea.”

Click through below to explore some of John O’Donohue’s words on the divine, the soul and the invisible world, and for more inspiring stories, subscribe to Mysterious Ways magazine!

Stone bridge over a river in Northern Ireland

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“The eternal world and the mortal world are not parallel, rather they are fused.”

The Dark Hedges at sunrise - Northen Ireland

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“I think the divine is like a huge smile that breaks somewhere in the sea within you, and gradually comes up again.”

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Tranquil Scene from Killarney National Park, Ireland

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“Love is the threshold where divine and human presence ebb and flow into each other.”

Water flowing under the medieval Irish bridge

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“There is an unseen life that dreams us. It knows our true direction and destiny. We can trust ourselves more than we realize and we need have no fear of change.”

White Lighthouse, Fanad Head, North Ireland

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“We need to return to the solitude within, to find again the dream that lies at the hearth of the soul. We need to feel the dream with the wonder of a child approaching a threshold of discovery. When we rediscover our childlike nature, we enter into a world of gentle possibility.”

Aerial view of pine forest, The Glen of Aherlow, Tipperary, Ireland

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“May you take the time to celebrate the quiet miracles that seek no attention.”

Winter countryside morning, Northern Ireland

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“Your body is in the soul, and the soul suffuses you completely. Therefore, all around you there is a secret and beautiful soul-light.”