Jim Cogley: Reflections: Tues 27 Aug – Mon 2 Sept 2024
After a weekend of festivities, the usual midnight postings have given away to morning deliveries! Strong winds in the area unfortunately disrupted the broadband service making it impossible to transmit or record the Sunday afternoon event with Celine Byrne. She gave an outstanding performance and a testimony of faith that brought tears to the eyes and would soften a heart of stone. The sequel will be even better when she returns for a second visit next year. The weather was perfect here even though it was raining almost everywhere and that is often the case.
Our Pilgrimage Season continues with services each day at 3.00pm and 7.30pm and you are welcome anytime.
Many thanks for passing on these postings and it is encouraging to hear from so many how they have touched their lives and been a lifeline when they needed them the most.
Best wishes
Jim C
Tue 27th Aug – Keys to happiness
One of the great keys to happiness that is woven through the Bible is the importance of surrender or letting go. This concept strikes at the very heart of our egocentricity and so is what the vast majority of us run from, and don’t want to hear about. It is the necessary dying of the seed that must happen before it can begin to bear fruit. It is what in many traditions is called ‘the dying before we die’ that is so necessary if we are to live from our true selves. At the end of the day, the extent we have lived a life of surrender and abandonment to divine providence will determine our overall satisfaction with our lives. This is when it will become clear, not so much what we did for God in our lives, but more what He did through us, because of our lives being yielded to His will. The supreme example of this is the ‘Yes’ of Mary in her encounterwith the Angel Gabriel.
Wed 28th Aug – What can be truly ours
There is a verse in Sacred Scripture that says, ‘No one can lay hold of anything that does not come from above’. Having reflected deeply on this verse and the truth it contains I deem it to be one of the most challenging and yet one of the greatest secrets of happiness. I could rephrase it in terms of God always reserves the best for those who leave the choice to Him, but this doesn’t quite do it justice. In life we are programmed to go after so many things. In our pursuit of happiness, we believe that this, that or the other (one) can make us happy only to find that the pursuit was far more exciting than the realisation. The above verse suggests that it is only in letting go of what we want the most that leaves us free to receive with open hands all that God wants for us.
Thurs 29th Aug – Celebration of non-grasping
The verse quoted yesterday, ‘that no one can lay hold of anything that does not come from above’, is really an invitation to and celebration of a life of non-grasping. It was the core Resurrection message of Christ to Mary Magdalene, ‘Do not cling’. Yet we justify our clinging to what was, and what we want, but it is not in wisdom that we do so. My sense is that God as our loving Father wants to give us so much more than we could ever ask, dream or imagine. Yet His hands are tied simply because ours are not open. As I look back on my life, I have found that most of the things that I have really wanted, I have received, but only after I have let them go. Occasionally, and even recently, I have desired something special that was almost too good to ask for and it almost didn’t arrive because in the middle of the delivery process I got excited and went after it myself. Suddenly it stalled and only after repentance and painful learning did it eventually arrive, this time as pure gift.
Fri 30th Aug – Allowing
Praying with open hands, what does it mean in practice? A young woman was praying in front of a shrine with tears streaming down her face. A friendly chat revealed that she had suffered several miscarriages and there was a medical doubt if she could ever have the child or children that she so desperately wanted. She was invited to imagine the shape that her hands formed naturally as she was praying. At first, she saw them as being joined with her fingers interlocked. Then as she brought them apart they began to look like they were holding onto something. Slowly the realisation dawned that what she was praying for from above she was already grasping onto from below. It was her wanting that was preventing her from having – she needed to let go to the point of trusting that what God wanted for her would not go past her. Now six months into her pregnancy, and all going well, she is ready to receive her child as sent from above and pure gift.
Sat 31st Aug – The most basic key
Many books and magazines expound keys to happiness but tend to leave out the one that is most fundamental – following the Will of God for one’s life. Christ said that the one who does the Will of his Father is closer to him than even direct family members. What an astonishing truth that is, and there surely can be no greater secret to happiness! There is absolutely nothing in life that we can claim as our own that does not come from God, with one exception, and that is our will. This alone He has placed in our power that we can give to Him as uniquely ours. Many of us will go a long way astray and end up with our lives in total disarray, before we realise our need for a higher power to manage our lives.
Sun 1st September – In Praise of Dogs
I grew up with dogs and have always had an affinity with dogs. We seem to understand each other’s language and particularly with large dogs they always seem to nuzzle close and with their face on my lap we have a good little natter. I would like to own one but not being at home enough, it would be unfair to the animal.
It’s our closest friends that are our greatest teachers and for many that friend may not even be another human. It just might be their dog. It’s for good reason we say that a man’s best friend is his dog. Some even feel that their dog understands them better than their human companions. If our dog is our best friend that pet will have much to teach us.
A man was late for work one morning, and in his rush quickly locked the garage door, and jumped into his car, not realising his wife had gone in to feed their dog. It was a remote area; she had no access to her mobile phone and so had no option but to sit it out for the day. That evening when he returned and opened the garage only the dog was wagging his tail, and he knew there and then who loved him unconditionally!
A vet was examining a 13-year-old dog called Baker. The family were close to Baker and were hoping for a miracle. He found that the distressed dog was dying of cancer and needed to be put to sleep. He then offered to drop by in a few days and give the necessary injection.
When he called, and seeing Baker was surrounded by his loving family, the vet got a lump in his throat. Shane their youngest boy of six seemed quiet and petted the animal for the last time. The vet wondered if he knew what was going on. In a few minutes it was all over, and the animal went asleep never to wake up.
Surprisingly the child seemed to accept Baker’s transition without difficulty. The family were quiet and then someone queried why the unfortunate fact that dog life is so much shorter than human beings. Shane who had been listening closely said ‘I know why.’
What he said next was the most heart-warming explanation the vet had ever heard, and one that changed his whole outlook on life.
Shane said: ‘People come into the world to learn how to live a good life, loving others all the time and being a good person. Well, dogs are already born knowing how to do all this, so they don’t have to stay as long as we do.’
From our canine friends we can certainly learn some important lessons:
When a loved one comes home always run to say hello and make a fuss.
Never pass up on an opportunity to go for a walk.
Be excited with the possibility of exploring new places.
Do what you are asked before needing to be told.
Pay more attention to what people are saying.
Make sure to play daily and don’t be too serious.
Avoid biting when a ‘growl’ would suffice.
On warm days lie on the grass.
When you’re happy dance around and wag your entire body.
Be fully alive in the present and don’t worry about the future.
And never forget that when someone has had a bad day, stay silent, sit close, nuzzle in, and gently make them know that you’re there…
Mon 2nd Sept – Simple Truths
Life can appear very complex, but it can be greatly simplified by the application of just one principle – doing the will of God. Contained in this are certain core truths that begin to reveal themselves, even when I am just willing to be made willing. Full willingness is a work of grace and also a free gift.
To do the Will of God is to be radically true to my higher self.
To do the Will of God is to be led to exactly the right place in life.
To do the Will of God is to be brought into precisely the right relationships.
To do the Will of God is to experience Divine orchestration and perfect timing.
To do the Will of God is to bring alive all my talents and Divine potential.
To do the Will of God is to experience daily Divine providence at work.
To do the Will of God is to be blessed beyond my wildest imaginings.
To do the Will of God is to become who I really am.