A picture, they say, is worth a thousand words.You have the picture, drawn by my brother, Isidore. But what about the words?
You might think that here am I being attacked by a wildcat. And that would be far from the truth. Between me and this cat there was a beautiful relationship. I was the provider of food; this cat the provider of so much companionship and consolation for me personally.
Don't be deceived by the name, "Tiger" describing my cat's appearance, not its disposition. A truly beautiful cat. And, for the most part, so affectionate and appreciative. A cat to be proud of.
And then, for no discernible reason, the surprise assault -physically painful, emotionally devastating ...a falling out of love with a vengeance. What had I done to deserve this? What had I left undone? In this you see the howling agony of me betrayed, rejected by my trusted friend, my beloved cat.
The cartoon does nothing to boost my self-image, even though it may be a true representation of myself at that traumatic moment in my life. The picture also captures the soul of Tiger, then and there, ferocious, ugly, hostile...not the Tiger I loved and thought I knew.
In my bewilderment I am forced to ask, "What was Tiger saying to me, a benign and caring friend?" In allowing this to happen, what was God, my loving Father, saying to me? Surely not the cynicism of, "Put no trust in princes!" Nor in cats! Could it be that I must be brought to realise that I am not so lovable to people as I would like to imagine -nor to cats.
Until I find satisfactory answers to these questions I am unable to decide how I am to Reach God....mywaygodsway. There is so much I don't understand...perhaps I'm not meant to understand. Could it be that I am meant to learn constancy in friendship, even when.....
And having learned, I must teach this to Tiger.
Peter O.P.
We have marked this, our 50th posting,
with a combined effort.
Isidore has drawn the cartoon and Peter has written his comment.
Next week Isidore will meet God in a Miner Digging Deep
First of all: congratulations to the resident cartoonist!I feel he may have had a gleam of mischief in his eye when drawing this.
ReplyDeleteNo one could have failed to have been moved by Fr Peter's love and empathy when reading his Christmas contribution.
As a long time friend I can testify to the constancy of Fr Peter's friendship and support.
Perhaps we just have to agree that "there's nowt so queer as folk"(and cats).
No doubt Tiger was back to his normal affectionate self after an appropriate pause for reflection . . . and equally, no doubt that you welcomed him back - thus saying a great deal about God's unchangeable love and forgiveness; and our volatile humanity !
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