Jim Cogley Reflections – Tues 4 March – Mon 10 March 2025
Note: A seminar entitled Personal and Ancestral Healing will be held in Lady’s Island Community Centre on Saturday 8th March from 10am to 4pm. Cost €40 with refreshments included. Facilitators – Jim Cogley & Luba Rodzhuk. Bookings by phone or text to 087-7640407. There are five places left for this day.
Because of strong demand and limited spaces, two similar Wood You Believe seminars involving Personal and Ancestral Healing are scheduled to be held in the Edmund Rice Healing Centre in Callan, Co Kilkenny on Saturdays March 15th and 22nd also from 10am to 4pm. The cost will be €50 with refreshments and lunch included. Bookings by phone or text to Jim Maher on 086-1276649. This is a beautiful venue that is quickly becoming established as a centre of Healing. Places for these are almost fully booked.
This week Wed 5th March there will be a Healing Mass in Our Lady’s Island at 3pm
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Lent that we begin this week it is traditionally seen as a springtime of spiritual renewal. The image presented is offered to represent that invitation to open the door of our hearts to Christ; to say ‘yes’ to who we truly are, and to embark on a deeper adventure.
Tue 4th March – ‘Behold I Stand at the Door and Knock’
The picture shown is my most recent piece. It is based on the verse in the Book of Revelation (3:20) where Jesus says, ‘Behold I stand at the door and knock, and if anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and we will sit at table.’ While at first sight it appears to replicate in wood the famous painting by William Holman Hunt from 1855 called Christ the Light of the World, it is not nearly as detailed, and is more a depiction of Christ as the Good Shepherd with his staff in hand. Here the focus is on the hand knocking on a door that, as in Holman’s portrait, has no handle on the outside. The door can only be opened from the inside. Christ doesn’t force himself into our lives but patiently waits for us to respond to his invitation. He is there with his staff more than willing to shepherd us through the difficulties and challenges of life, but the choice is ours as to whether we allow him or not.
Wed 5th March – The Door of the Heart
The original painting by Holman Hunt is regarded as one of the most powerful evangelical paintings ever that has changed and influenced millions of lives. Both culturally and religiously it was regarded as a huge phenomenon. At one stage, while on tour, it was estimated that one third the population of Australia came to see it. Even the replica made of wood does not leave us as it finds us. The image doesn’t fade as after seeing some great world class painting like the Mona Lisa. Instead, it leaves us with an imprint on our hearts as to where our soul is at in relation to Christ. The door clearly represents our heart, and it is either closed, partially open or perhaps open at times of convenience and need. On the other hand, it might be fully ajar with a stopper that ensures it remains open no matter how the winds of change may blow. When viewed against the backdrop of reading Psalm 23, The Lord is my Shepherd, it makes an inspiring and challenging reflection.
Thurs 6th March – The Heart Anchor
I was inspired and cajoled, to make the picture of Christ the Shepherd, composed of nearly 50 pieces by a colleague. I can’t claim full credit for the design as I had seen something similar and just made adaptations. For her it reflected an important stage on her journey of faith, from a background where there was none, into a vibrant living faith. It was the picture of Christ standing at the door that had spoken most eloquently to her heart. Over the years it had helped her to hold fast to Christ as being the one sure and steadfast anchor of her soul, especially at times when she was surrounded by so many New Age influences. While so many of these appeared very attractive it was her Christ foundation that enabled her to see what was airy-fairy as opposed to what was grounded, real and human. This foundation helped her to be like the wise scribe that Christ spoke about in the Gospel who ‘could take from his storehouse things both new and old.’
Fri 7th March – The one who has Christ has everything
The centrality of Christ in the whole faith edifice is well expressed in what is believed to be a true story: A wealthy businessman who travelled widely had the opportunity during his life to accumulate lots of very valuable pieces of art work and paintings. As an avid art collector his reputation became widely known. These were displayed in his mansion and when he died the auction of his collection attracted the attention of art dealers from far and wide. The only painting that no one seemed interested in was that of a young boy by an unknown artist which wasn’t in great condition. Surprisingly on the day of the auction this piece was the first to be put up for sale. Bidding was slow and no one seemed interested except the man’s butler who started bidding with a single pound. He knew the painting to be that of his master’s beloved son who had died as a youth, there were no more offers and the auctioneer lowered his hammer. The solicitor immediately intervened and halted the auction. He said that on the deceased instructions he was now required to publicly read out the will. It stated that whoever bought the painting of the son that he loved would be the one to inherit all that he owned. The painting was the key to the inheritance. Our spiritual inheritance is intrinsically linked to our relationship with Christ. In the words of St Pauls letter to the Ephesians, ‘It is in Christ that we are blessed with all the spiritual blessings of Heaven’.
Sat 8th March – Back to Basics
Facilitating people to open their hearts and come into a personal and vibrant relationship with Jesus Christ has to be the key for hope and renewal in our churches. Otherwise, he remains but a distant historical figure to be admired. For so long there has been a presumption that because someone was baptised and confirmed then he or she had made a personal commitment to Christ or that the conferring of the sacraments would act like a slow–release capsule of grace throughout their lives. If someone had been conferred with the sacraments, they were automatically regarded as being Christians. Experience and observation prove that this is not the case. For a gift to be effective it needs both a giver and a receiver. The gift of grace is freely given in the sacraments and so they do not need to be reconfirmed but in every case, they do need to be consciously received by the recipient. Otherwise, the gift remains dormant in that person’s life is like an unopened parcel with its contents waiting to be revealed.
Sun 9th March – Temptations
One of the truly great inspirational leaders of our time has been Nelson Mandela. We have all heard about his years of imprisonment on Robin Island, his relationship with the South African Rugby team and how he inspired them to win the World Cup.
Reading into his story we can only imagine some of the temptations he had to overcome before he became the man of greatness and destiny that the world so admired. Before he changed anything he first had to conquer himself, as is true for us all. Before becoming president, he had spent the best 30 years of his life locked up in a tiny prison cell by night and breaking stones by day, a victim of the unjust apartheid regime. What temptation he must have endured not to give in to self-pity. Yet he emerged a man of incredible dignity very sure of his own identity and what he was about. He went in an angry man but his soul became tempered on the anvil of suffering.
What temptation he must have experienced to give in to bitterness, hatred and resentment and yet he emerged with a message of forgiveness, peace and reconciliation towards those who were responsible. He often said that unless he had forgiven he would have remained a prisoner.
What temptation he must have overcome wanting some measure of revenge on the whites who had oppressed his people for generations and denied them the very basics of human rights. His acid test came when he could have sought revenge and disbanded the all-white rugby team who were lame ducks and a symbol of white oppression. Yet he became their main supporter and was their main inspiration for Winning the World Cup. The great measure of his greatness was that by bringing them on his side he was also gaining the support of their millions of followers. It was a master stroke of genius where his wisdom as a leader and statesman was proved beyond question.
The Mandela story came to mind as I read the Gospel of today, the Temptations of Christ. In each case you will notice that the devil began by trying to throw a seed of doubt in his mind as to his true identity. So, he says, ‘If you are the Son of God? First, you would turn stones into bread,’ which means to go the route of materialism and work on the assumption that by accumulating more and more that you will find what you need. The way Jesus responds is very wise; he quotes the scriptural truth that it is not on bread alone that we can truly live. We can have everything this world has to offer and yet be running on empty and devoid of inner peace.
Next the devil tempts him with power, and the glory that will be his if he is prepared to go down that particular route. All he has to do is put himself first and leave God out of his life. Again, Jesus sees through the temptation and answers with, ‘You must worship the Lord Your God and serve him alone’. He knows that to be dependent on others approval in order to feel good about oneself is itself a form of slavery. A true leader will command respect from being sure of his own identity without ever having to demand it from others.
Then the devil takes him up to the high point of the temple and invites him to take the risk of putting on a spectacular show. This would mean putting God to the test, that if he jumped then God would surely have to look after his own and send his angels to keep him from falling. Here the temptation is to step out of alignment with the higher purpose for his life. Later, God would ask him to walk on water and it would happen but just now, he was not being asked to put on a show. Hence Jesus replies, much to Satan’s disgust, that ‘You must not put the Lord your God to the test.’
All the temptations of Christ are really ours as well. They boil down to giving God first place in our lives or not and living life His way or our way. Abandoning our lives to God is not just one way to live, it really is the only way, because in the end of the day we all abandon ourselves to something, be that materialism, the need to be successful, the opinion of others or some form of addiction.
I will conclude by reading the poem by the Victorian poet William Ernest Henley that sustained Mandela as he read it every day for 30 years during his imprisonment.
Invictus
Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the Pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.
In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.
Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the Horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years Finds,
and shall find, me unafraid.
It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll,
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul.
Monday 10th March – Incarnation – The Human Journey
If the core truth of the Christian message is Incarnation, or God becoming human, then our journey to God has to be by embracing our humanity. Yet our religious experience has been just the opposite – it has been characteristically anti-human, and in a manner that paid little respect for what it meant to be a human being. With a focus on original sin rather than original blessings, our humanity was suspect from the beginning. Being a sinner got far more attention that being saved, and it was almost a virtue to see oneself as unworthy. The Monaghan poet, Patrick Kavanagh, used strong words when he said the Catholicism of his time was ‘an insult to the Incarnation’. So much of what it meant to be human was outlawed, our emotions were treated as notions, any need for self-affirmation was classed as pride, and our sexuality was barely tolerated even in the marriage bed. Rather than leading into the fullness of life that Christ promised, it sucked the life out of people and then after a life of sacrifice offered little reassurance for the afterlife.