Jim Cogley’s Reflections: Tues 22 Sept – Mon 28 Sept 2026
Wood You Believe
The Journey of Enlightenment
A Pathway of Transformation
Retreat Facilitated by Fr. Jim Cogley and Luba Rodzhuk
This retreat will offer a unique opportunity for those seeking deeper healing and spiritual awareness
and who are already familiar with the inner journey.
Venue: Ballyvaloo Retreat Centre
When: Mon -Thurs – 15th October
Cost: €370
Note: Bookings ASAP with Luba Rodzhuk on 087-7640407. 3/4 spaces still available.
Wood You Believe books are available on website: jimcogley.com
Tues 22nd Sept – Looking for Answers
Relationships
In our journey through life, we are all searching for something. That ‘something’ can be quite elusive as we search in the wrong places, drink from wells that are dry, ask the wrong questions, invest our energy in the wrong things and head in wrong directions. This week we will look at a few biblical characters who did just that, and whom Jesus met where they were. The first was the woman of Samaria, who was looking for her answer in the wrong relationships. When Christ met her, she had been through five failed marriages and was living with man number six. She arrived at the well carrying a bucket, and through her encounter with Christ she went home not just with a bucket of water, but with a well inside her, welling up with what she most needed: eternal life. Up to this point, like so many of us, she thought that someone out there might be the answer to her needs. What she had to realize was that what she needed so badly was already inside her.
Wed 23rd Sept – Material things
Next, we have Zacchaeus, who we are told was a greedy little man from Jericho. He was also the chief tax collector in his area, a position that made him despised by his own people. He probably thought that the end justified the means, and as long as he got where he wanted to be, he didn’t mind who he trampled on along the way. He was career-oriented but was motivated not by service but by an insatiable desire for more. He was looking for answers in material things, thinking that they would bring him happiness. Obviously, they didn’t, because if they had, he would not have been looking to see Jesus. It was that encounter, and an invitation to fellowship with no preconditions that awakened the love in his heart that had lain dormant while he was heading in the wrong direction.
Thurs 24th Sept – Religion
Saul of Tarsus, who was to become the great St Paul and one of the greatest missionaries of all time, was probably one of the most religious people of his time. As a leading Pharisee, he ticked all the boxes. He was circumcised as a child, born of the tribe of Benjamin, a zealous upholder of the law and, in the eyes of his people, considered blameless. So zealous was he, in fact, that he was prepared to persecute the early followers of Christ and be party to the murder of St Stephen. For him, the answers he sought lay in religion, and the more faithfully he practised his religious beliefs, the closer he believed he would come to finding what he needed. It obviously didn’t happen, any more than it can happen for any of us who think that sincerity, prayer, going to church and leading an impeccable life are, in themselves, the way to finding what we need. Like Paul, we need the scales cleared from our eyes.
Fri 25th Sept – Revenge
It is clear from the Gospels that Christ’s disciples had a lot to learn before they could become apostles. Disciple means one who learns, and apostle means one who is sent. James and John were known as ‘Boanerges’, or Sons of Thunder. They were obviously hotheads who thought that the answer to everything lay in aggression and revenge. So when Christ came to a Samaritan town and the people refused to accept him because of age-old divisions, the two disciples wanted him to call down fire from heaven in order to destroy the town. Christ refused to do so, and it is interesting that we later meet these two in the Acts of the Apostles when they are sent as apostles of love to the Samaritan community. What they had to learn was that revenge is not as sweet as many think it is, and that only love can truly make a difference.
Sat 26th Sept – Freedom
One of the well-known characters in the Gospels who thought that the answer to what he needed lay in unlimited freedom was the Prodigal Son. He was prepared to place freedom before family loyalty, duty and respect for his father. For him, freedom amounted to doing whatever he wanted, as often as he wanted and with whomever he wanted. Everything, including family resources, he was prepared to sacrifice on the altar of freedom. Yet his freedom became his downfall and brought him into bondage, where he even envied the pigs he was tending for the way they were being treated. It was this realization that brought him to his senses and enabled him to make the long journey home. There he discovered that true freedom lay in relationship and in doing what was required of him as a son. It was in his father’s embrace, and in doing his will, that he found who he really was and discovered his true life.
Sunday 27th Sept – Parable of the Two Sons
One of the things that I have always liked about the Bible is the way that it can help us to understand our human nature and what is going on in our lives. The Gospel today is one that I can strongly identify with in relation to my own life. Both sons are asked to go and work in the vineyard. One immediately says yes to his father but fails to follow through on his word. The other starts with a blank refusal but thinks better of it and then his life becomes a yes. In terms of what I felt called to do when I was a young man of 16 my initial response was also a definite ‘no’, priesthood was never on my agenda. Afterwards I thought better of it and slowly came to realize that if God has created me for some definite purpose then what business would I have in pursuing another. Also if God had plans for my life what chance could I possibly have in trying to find happiness and fulfillment in doing anything other than his will. Eventually when I got around to saying yes my motto in life became, ‘In His will do we find our true lives’. Now looking back over 46 years in priesthood that motto is still more real than ever.
In a way it’s all about giving ones word and being true to that word. In order to do that it’s important to weigh up the cost of time, energy and commitment that saying that yes will entail but also the even greater cost of refusal in terms of not being true to myself and going a road that is just not the one I am meant to be on.
The greatest thing we can give to another person is our word. It’s something that is easy to give but the cost comes later when we have to honour it. We all have had the experience of someone who promises us the sun, moon and stars, only to be let down. ‘I’ll do that job for you on Tuesday without fail’, then you wait home all day and they don’t arrive and if you’re lucky you get some paltry excuse that the van had broken down or there was an emergency somewhere else. In effect, their word is worthless. In the world of business many trainees are told that excuses are only for non-achievers. A word is a bond that should only be broken under extreme circumstances.
In contrast to those, who say one thing and do another, it is a delight to deal with someone who is slow to give his word and doesn’t make promises easily. When they do you can rely on them and you know that it is going to be followed through. Businesses succeed because of that one simple formula and it’s the secret to success in life. Ultimately we are only as good as our word.
In the word of sport, community and church it’s often the person who is most reluctant to get involved turns out to be the most committed and the one who can be totally relied on. That’s where we all need those who will encourage and even to prod us into giving of our best but in so doing to becoming all that we are capable of becoming. Those who encourage are those who believe in us and they see something in us we are incapable of seeing in ourselves, like a Christ who could see in a motly group of 12 apostles the foundation stones of the Christian Church or a manager who can spot a winning team in a group who may not even believe in themselves or in each other.
There’s a rather amusing story in relation to encouragement. A bachelor in the west of Ireland had a donkey that was subject to fits of obstinacy. He was, as we say, as stubborn as a mule. One day while bringing his donkey to draw turf the animal refused to budge. He even lay down on the road and paid absolutely no attention to the shouts and demands of his owner. Naturally the shouts gave way to a few skelps of a stick and then a few kicks in the rear but still no budge. Meanwhile a car had drawn up and the occupant was watching proceedings. The door opened and out came an stunningly beautiful lady. She said to the owner, that’s not the way to get the best out of the animal, the more you beat him the less he will do for you, what he needs is encouragement, here let me show you. Coming over to the donkey she rubbed his tummy, then his back and placed his head on her lap. She told him gently what a wonderful animal he was and what wonderful work he did. She stroked his long nose and blew into his ears and nostrils. She obviously knew her animals because seemingly that is the way you introduce yourself to a horse. Then just as the ass was on his feet and showing signs of life she looked across at the owner who was now lying on the ground with his belly in the air. Rather alarmed she said, ‘My good man are you feeling okay?’ ‘I’m not really,’ he said, ‘I desperately need some encouragement!’
Monday 28th Sept – The Wrong Road
The story of the Good Samaritan is just as much about the victim who was rescued as it is about the one who did the rescuing. He is someone who, for whatever reason, found himself on the wrong road, away from Jerusalem, the city of light, the place of worship, the City of God. His back was to the light, perhaps through bad choices or simply adverse circumstances. His road could have been that of so many: addiction, self-rejection, abuse or violence, perhaps arising from a dysfunctional background. Having turned from the light, he found himself spiralling out of control. The powers of darkness work like a judo player who uses the momentum of an opponent coming towards him to knock him down. This man was robbed, stripped, beaten and left barely alive by the roadside. This is the all-too-familiar experience of so many who, consciously or unconsciously, have taken a wrong direction in life and turned their backs on the light that is their only true source of life.