Celtic Saints and Their Animal Friends

A New Spirituality of Holiness

This book explores the rich traditions of the Celtic saints and their kinship with animals. The accounts of these individuals' lives constitute the largest body of stories (hagiographies) of any group in Christian history-so to have so many creature stories included in them reveals the deep love early and medieval Celts had for animals, with their saints sharing this quality to the full.

As we read these stories, we discover that they not only record what the Celtic saints did for animals but also what the animals did for the saints. This pattern of reciprocity, transcending species, so that all benefit in both the physical and spiritual circles of life, has a great deal to teach us today about what it means to be holy. Most of all, perhaps, it shows us how to build the Realm of Heaven as we protect and celebrate the creatures with whom we share our planet.

"Edward Sellner's new book is a gift and a delight. Offering the rich Celtic tradition of kinship between Celtic saints and animals, this book is an invitation to ponder our own relationship to the more-than-human world. We can take such inspiration from these monks and mystics, tending to their wild kin in ways that break them open to a God who is wild as well."

- Christine Valters Painter, author of numerous books, including The Soul's Slow Ripening: 12 Celtic Practices for Seeking the Sacred

"A beautiful book that reveals an enduring alternative tradition in Christianity that has always celebrated the lives of fellow creatures. Sellner wonderfully demonstrates that for the Celtic saints, the closer we get to God, the more God's creation should be treated with respect, wonder, and delight."

- Clair Linzey, Professor of Animal Theology, and Deputy Director, Oxford Centre of Animal Ethics, Oxford, England.

"Through stories of foxes and badgers, otters and ducks, hounds and horses, Celtic Saints and their Animal Storiesinspires readers to reconnect with their sense of wonder and tenderness toward all of creation. Edward Sellner's book revitalizes our sense of compassion and of deep spiritual kinship with animals."

- Lisa Kemmerer, author of numerous books, including Animals and World Religions

"For those of us who already have a kinship with an animal, be it a dog, cat, horse, bird, or some other creature, this book teaches us how to integrate that kinship into our spirituality. Ed Sellner's book is a manual on how to integrate our relationships with animals into our spiritual lives."

- Dara Molloy, author of Reimaging the Divine: A Celtic Spirituality of Experience and The Globalization of God: Celtic Christianity's Nemesis