Jim Cogley’s Reflections: Tues 17th Feb – Mon 23rd Feb 2026
Note: Coming Wood You Believe Healing Seminar with Jim Cogley & Luba Rodzhuk: There are just a few places still available for the Ballyvaloo Retreat from 23rd-26th Feb. Also, for The Healing Power of Poetry from 2nd-5th March with Michael Dillon (Director)
In Ladys Island on Sat 28th from 10-4pm there will be a Healing Seminar entitled The Hidden Journey of Life. Applications to 0877640407. Early booking is advised.
You can tune in to live broadcasts usually daily at 10am or recordings by going to Our Ladys Island Webcam
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Tues 17th Feb – Corky
I must confess to having fallen badly or even madly in love with a female, and it’s entirely mutual, we are besotted. As you probably guessed it’s a dog and she has awoken depths in me that I had long forgotten or never knew existed. Over the years as a priest, I never once considered keeping a dog, always thinking that my lifestyle would be unfair to the creature. Last December while visiting a friend her son returned from Co Clare. He had travelled early that morning to collect a rescue dog and we were introduced. He bounded onto the sofa where I was sitting and nuzzled in. Somewhere deep within I felt a whisper of Spirit that took me by surprise, ‘to get myself a dog’. The reasons why I shouldn’t came to the fore but when we follow the whisper all those issues fade into insignificance. By yielding to divine orchestration and just saying yes there is an unseen providence that always takes care of the lesser considerations.
Wed 18th Feb – Being Specific in our Requests
If I were to get a dog I needed to be quite specific as to what animal would be most suitable in my work. It needed not just to be my dog but also a community animal that both adults and children would love. Because so much of my work is counselling, a therapy dog would be great and even accompany me giving seminars and retreats. Ideally, I also would like to have a dog beside me during liturgical functions as that would add something special that has been sadly missing. So, I had a specific set of requirements: It was to be a labrador/retriever, a young mature adult, female, very teachable, she needed to find me rather than me her and the deadline was the 31st of January. So, when I had almost forgot, a girl in Bible Study mentioned a dog whose owner had gone into a nursing home. She very kindly offered to make enquiries and so on Jan 31st at 8pm I collected my beloved Corky.
Thurs 19th – Recognition
In rescue centres when a prospective owner arrives it is not unusual for a particular animal to respond with unbounded excitement as if they already know their new owner. This was the case with Corky. (That name was given because her previous owner was from Cork.) She immediately came to me and later going out to the car she tried to follow and whined at the door. It seemed an obvious match and everything that I needed was very generously given as well. For someone being out of touch with dogs for so long this was an invaluable form of divine provision. Returning home that night before going inside, I placed my hand on her head and said, ‘Corky, welcome to your new home.’ She went ahead while I locked the door behind me. Turning around she was there sitting with her paw up as if to say thanks and to be honest, my heart overflowed and I cried tears of joy and gratitude.
Fri 20th – Awakenings
Even at this early stage in our relationship, I am convinced Corky has lots more to teach me than me her. As one lady in the Parish remarked, ‘That dog will crown you’. I have a suspicion as to what she meant! Up to age 18 when I went to Maynooth we always kept dogs and I had a sheepdog with whom I had a special relationship. To have to give her away went very deep and not having a clue as to how to deal with feelings back then I just closed down and didn’t allow myself to feel the hurt. Having connected with Corky that part of me that I suppressed has come alive. Such is the essence of healing where something in the present awakens something deep from the past in order for it to be integrated. I now easily associate with the late Pope Francis and how he related with his dog Tiberius even to the point of the dog pictured beside him at liturgical functions in St Peter’s Square. It was nice to see how Pope Leo adopted the same animal and ensured his welfare.
Sat 21st – Discipline
There are so many lessons that dogs can teach us, one being the importance of discipline from a young age. It is from discipline that we get the word disciple. I once had a lovely rescue dog of three years old who had never been disciplined. No amount of later training made any difference and as difficult as it was, I had to give him back. From him I learned that the parents who fail to discipline their children are doing them such a lifelong injustice. From my own animal, who thankfully is well-trained, I have noticed something interesting. She will never push open a door that is slightly ajar but wait patiently until it is fully opened for her. It provides a lovely image of having patience on the spiritual journey, to stop pushing and forcing things to happen and allow them to open out in their own time.
Sun 22nd Feb – Being Wronged
If your brother or sister has wronged you, what do we do? Who among us has never been hurt or felt wronged? No one is immune. The readings of today offer some very practical advice. It happened me less than two weeks ago. I felt hurt and even betrayed that someone made a complaint to the Dog Warden in Wexford CC of my dog being out of control in a public place. I only had the animal just over a week and was introducing her to the community where she would belong and was beginning the process of training. The same animal wouldn’t hurt a fly, is very obedient and even then, was very much under my control. The law states that an animal must be under ‘effective’ control and says nothing about being on a lead. First, I felt anger and then amusement because the same Dog Warden was on the lookout for such an animal for me and said he couldn’t imagine a dog being better looked after. Later I felt sorry for whoever it was to think his opinion was the only one and represented everyone else. Or why not do the honourable thing and voice the concern to my face? Why be nasty when it’s so much easier to be kind and considerate. Ninety-nine percent of people wouldn’t consider doing such a thing in a million years and why would anyone want to deprive their community and a dog of a good home. Some folks just object to everything and end up becoming objectionable!
The Bible says you must not bear hatred for someone in your heart, you must tell that person of their offence and in that way you will not take a sin upon yourself. It then says you must not exact vengeance nor must you bear a grudge.
There’s a very basic piece of wisdom that evades so many and it’s this; that any negativity or resentment that I bear towards someone else is not helpful for myself, neither for my spiritual, emotional or physical well-being so why carry it? If I have a ‘puss’ on me towards anyone it’s always my face that’s no longer smiling.
It’s not uncommon to hear such expressions as, ‘I hate the sight of that one.’ Or ‘He just sickens my stomach’ or ‘I can’t stand the ground he or she walks on.’ Such statements suggest a strong hatred or antipathy where something has happened and a relationship has gone sour. Our opinion that so and so is not a nice person is purely based on our own experience and not the universal truth. Then have you ever noticed that when we are angry with someone there is absolutely nothing that they can say or do that will seem right.
When we are hurt or even annoyed there are many routes we might take. We could create a smokescreen and say to the person; ‘Everybody is saying this about you, or they’re all talking’. Those who use such tactics rarely say who all these others are because outside their own minds they rarely exist. Another would be to avoid confrontation altogether and take the passive approach. Anything for a quiet life, let’s not rock the boat; don’t say anything. The problem is that by not confronting an unacceptable situation our self-esteem diminishes and we leave ourselves vulnerable to being abused over and over again. When the Bible speaks of taking the sin of the other upon ourselves this is precisely what is meant. We are called as Christians to use our anger as Christ did and confront injustice in order to bring about change.
The problem also with not leaving our anger at the right doorstep is that we displace it elsewhere. In other words, we take it out on someone else who doesn’t deserve it or our general irritability spills out like a poison on everyone we have dealings with.
What the Bible says in relation to conflict is to have courage and confront.
The opposite of courage is cowardice and it’s so much easier to be a coward when dealing with contentious issues. A way we can recognize our cowardice is when we begin to say things behind someone’s back that we are not prepared to say to his or her face. When that happens, we are two-faced and engage in a form of character assassination where we try to diminish that person’s estimation in the eyes of others. In doing so we bring to our aid any piece of gossip or innuendo we can lay our hands on to support our cause. There’s always someone who is foolish enough to listen and if they themselves have any unresolved issue with that same person then we have really backed a winner.
The Bible warns against exacting vengeance, in other words, don’t try to get even. That makes so much sense because the person who does so is like someone drinking deadly poison in the vain hope that it will affect the other person.
In the end of the day, we are all frail human beings who in our journey through life, walk on quite thin ice. That ice is capable of supporting our own weight but not much more. It’s when we choose to carry burdens of guilt, hatred or resentment that it begins to crack beneath our feet. Once we fall through it’s well-nigh impossible to climb back out unless we get help from a higher power. Divine assistance is what we always end up needing to call upon after we have failed to listen to divine advice.
Mon 23rd – Diverse Reactions
It is interesting to witness the diverse reactions to seeing a dog in church. Just a few are scandalized and think that the dogs place is to be kept locked up. Personally, I don’t think it is the place for unruly animals, but I do know many priests who have trained their dog to patiently sit beside them during Mass and that I would hope for and know to be possible. Reactions differ greatly, one man who first saw the dog in church said he cried tears of joy feeling that it was so right. Another man came into the sacristy to say that seeing the dog holding up her paw at the end of Mass was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. Yet another phoned the Dog Warden! I do believe that a well-trained dog can also be a great community asset and even when it comes to liturgy rather than being a distraction can add an entire new dimension. It’s early days yet so I would just ask people to wait and see how things unfold. Meanwhile the Dog Warden is more than satisfied!