Jim Cogley – Reflections: Tues 24 Sept – Mon 30 Sept 2024

Reminder that first Wed healing Mass in Lady’s Island has been changed to the following week Wed Oct 9th at 3pm.

Tue 24^th Sept – The Homeward Journey

In my work and travels I meet so many who have become disillusioned and estranged from Church and yet long for community with a sense of belonging and to find some place where their souls can be nourished. In many of the Wood You Believe seminars this issue comes up as usually there are many for whom this is a real issue. Typically, these are people who have experienced a deep spiritual awakening, but who as yet, have not found a suitable container wherein that newfound faith can be valued and nurtured. At a time when traditional churches are steeply in decline and finding it difficult to get lay involvement such individuals could well be their salvation. Yet the reality is that this is not happening, or at least not to any considerable degree. Why it’s not, should surely be seriously considered by all, especially those like myself, who hold positions of responsibility within the institution to ensure that such new wine is not being poured into old wine skins where it can’t be contained.

Wed 25^th Sept – The Missing Anchor

The reasons people have abandoned traditional practice are many and varied and some even find their particular one difficult to articulate. Many would say that the spate of clerical abuse scandals were a major factor in losing interest, along with the age-old inequality towards women. Beneath these issues were more fundamental ones that had they been in place would have provided them with an anchor, perhaps enabling them to ride out the various storms. The focus on religious practice, and in most cases the total absence of spiritual experience, finds expression over and over. These were people who experienced their religion as cold and sterile, wordy and uninviting. It had never introduced them to Spirit or any dimension of depth and seemed to have overlooked the obvious, helping them to find a relationship with Jesus Christ, the only one who is the sure and steadfast anchor of the soul.

Thurs 26^th Sept – Grass Roots awakening

It would seem obvious from the popularity of retreats and seminars that there is a huge spiritual awakening taking place but at at grass roots level, and it is usually among people who might be classed as having ‘fallen away’. Their Faith awakening journey has generally been born from deep suffering. Alcoholics who practice the AA Programme have a spiritual basis, elements of which should form the basis of every sermon. Yet they find that the kind of spirituality that works for them, and is quite universal, is rarely mentioned. Others have experienced the dreadful pain of separation or divorce but this too, with all its loneliness and heartbreak, has awakened something deep within. Likewise, a serious loss has forced many a one to pray and seek Spirit, knowing that there, and only there, can they find communion with their loved one. Even abuse with all it horrors can leave a deep wound through which the light can shine through.

Fri 27^th Sept – The Church I would not attend

As a priest there are searching questions I ask myself. What kind of church would I not attend? I would not be interested in a church where the focus is on ‘getting Mass’ with no community interaction. A place where you go in as an isolated individual and come out even more isolated seems a contradiction of what Church as a gathering is all about. Many churches are like that and how can they expect to have appeal? A ‘same old’, ‘same old’ routine with no innovation or room for creativity would not appeal to me either. Unfortunately, some priests seem fearful of any deviation from the set texts and the result is a boring liturgy where the Spirit appears stifled. Leonard Cohen said many times in concerts that in his lifetime he had tried many religions and ‘joy had always broken through’. A boring routine and continuous lack of joy in a liturgy would for me be a real turn-off.

Sat 28^th Sept – The disappointment of ‘churchianity’

A considerable number of those who have experienced some level of spiritual awakening have gone back to church with hope in their hearts. More often than not, this return has been for just a short time, as they came away feeling empty and disappointed after finding that their needs were just not being met. Sermons in particular come in for criticism as not being grounded in the human reality of life or dealing with real issues. The ongoing clerical arrogance of a few priests that should have died the death long ever ago came as a shock to many. The absence of a prayerful and reflective liturgy, where words were in abundance, but silence was lacking, was a factor for others not returning. An age-old system ‘that was now in its death throes’ was what many experienced and felt that they wanted no part of. While this rather strong statement was not true for every church, it is still an indictment on so many.

Sun 29^th September – Scandal

Today’s Gospel raises the issue of causing scandal to a child and it does so in the strongest possible terms. The more literal translation of ‘Anyone who is an obstacle to one of these little ones’ would be, ‘Anyone who causes scandal to a child would be better thrown into the sea with a great millstone round his neck.’ It’s difficult to imagine a denunciation in more graphic terms.

When it comes to scandal the singer that comes to mind is Johnny Cash, the man in black. He was someone who was scandalized from an early age  by his father who blamed him for the death of his brother. While dad was drinking he left his two young sons in charge of a saw mill. They were both far too young and an accident happened where one got killed. Rather than take responsibility himself he blamed his son who survived and who had to carry that burden for the rest of his life. Johnny’s story is typical of so many for whom a word of blame or rebuke made in childhood was like a poisoned arrow that sank deep into the heart and continued to release its poison throughout an entire lifetime.

A lady I knew one time had two sons who were wasters. Neither worked or wanted to work. She spoiled them rotten and looked after their every whim, cooking cleaning and even making their beds. They lived at home and never paid a penny towards the household expenses. She freely admitted that they were using and abusing her but she just couldn’t stop herself.

As a child growing up on a farm her father had her driving a tractor from an early age. It was an old Massey Ferguson with poor brakes that he never bothered to get fixed. One day while backing the tractor close to a wall her younger sister ran out behind the wheels. She jammed on the brakes that weren’t working and the child got crushed. Naturally she blamed herself and her dad gave her no reassurance to the contrary. To do so would have been to admit to his own negligence in not getting the brakes fixed. Later, that guilt manifested in how she dealt with her two sons acting from guilt as if she owed them something and unable to stop herself from spoiling them. In effect she too had been scandalised by her parent.

There are so many forms of scandalisation that need to be mentioned. There is the growing phenomenon of the latch key kids who are exploited in the interest of money. The parents tend to spoil them by giving them everything that they want materially, but not what they need emotionally, because deep down they feel guilty about spending so little time at home with the children. Our ever rising house prices, and the cost of paying off a mortgage, that make it an economic necessity for both parents to be earning sets this scandal on a wider stage so it’s not about pointing fingers or making anyone feel guilty.

Then there’s the scandalisation of children that get caught up in the fallout when the relationship breaks down between their parents. One teacher was saying recently that in her class of twenty-two there were fifteen kids from families that had broken down or one-parent families. Is it not a scandal that in situations of separation children so often become weapons used by broken-hearted people who have nothing left that the other wants except a visit from a child? Sadly, this visit is withheld because the warring parties are interested in causing as much pain to their now-estranged lovers as they have felt themselves. Another aspect of this is where the estranged partner dumps his or her anger on the children and tries to poison them against their mum or dad. This is scandal of the first order because no matter how bad the parent may be the child needs to believe that the parent is okay in order to feel that they are okay. What they don’t realise is that whenever a weapon is fired the ammunition doesn’t just destroy its target; the ammunition itself gets destroyed too. In so many cases the relationship cannot be saved, and there may be very little left to salvage from it, but at least the children deserved to be saved. They do not deserve to become the casualties of their parents’ war. The transient pain of the parents during a time of separation can so easily become the life-long pain of the children who get caught up in the crossfire. Those with children are richly blessed but with blessing comes responsibility, especially the responsibility to ensure that they don’t grow up scandalised.

Mon 30^th Sept – Lord, to whom, or where shall we go?

I genuinely feel a deep sense of sorrow for the many who feel spiritually stranded and let down by the church of their youth which they feel has little to offer for where they find themselves at present. This is not universally true but is all too common. There are groups of such like-minded spiritual people in most areas, and to go back to the essence of Church as the ‘Gathering’ surely with modern technology some networking could facilitate bringing people together for sharing prayer and life experience. Even for a few like-minded individuals to begin meeting, the word can spread very fast and numbers will grow. Inviting a speaker or facilitator on a regular basis is always a good idea and creates interest. The one thing to avoid for anyone on a faith journey is isolation – it is just not good to remain alone on this path. For faith to mature it needs community, just as seeds need soil before they can come alive and grow.