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    Angels with Hairy Faces: Spiritual Reflections on Dogs
    Angels with Hairy Faces: Spiritual Reflections on Dogs
    Angels with Hairy Faces: Spiritual Reflections on Dogs
    Ebook46 pages30 minutes

    Angels with Hairy Faces: Spiritual Reflections on Dogs

    By Alan McManus

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    About this ebook

    Spiritual reflections on dogs can teach us lessons that just might save our lives. Thank God for dogs who remind us to be happy in the moment, for dogs who play with sticks and tennis balls and let them lie when they’ve had enough. Thank God for dogs who get us out and about, who remind us that it’s not ‘all about me’ or even all about humans. Thank God for dogs who teach us about injury and pardon. Thank God for the bonds of love that endure. God help all creatures who do not feel safe or cared for and whose hearts have turned to aggression. Thank God for dogs who are secure enough to avoid conflict. Thank God for dogs who teach us about, and lead us into, friendship. Thank God for dogs who are compassionate and do not judge us for our social situation, who are patient and kind, do not take offence and are never resentful, and who are always ready to excuse, to trust, to hope, and to endure whatever comes. Thank God for human beings who are hospitable to angels, those with wings and those with hairy faces.
    A former Franciscan friar, Alan McManus M.Theol. (hons), M.Phil, PGDE, M.Litt., Ph.D. is a freelance academic, novelist, playwright and dramaturg. Only Say The Word: Affirming Gay and Lesbian Love, (Christian Alternative, 2013) is first in a series of books based on his doctoral work, Alchemy at the Chalkface: Pirsig, Pedagogy and the Metaphysics of Quality. He has also published articles on political philosophy and WW1 remembrance in the online journal, Citizenship, Social and Economics Education. His performed and published theatrical work includes a seven-minute radio play set in a rest home, Mrs Atkins remembers, which explores dementia as subversive remembrance and is also on You-Tube, as well as a play in homage to Dostoyevsky’s Alyona, Redemption, in English and Scots versions.
    Writing as Alan Ahrens-McManus, he has published five books of the Bruno Benedetti Mysteries, a series of inclusive novels set in Glasgow, starting with Tricks of the Mind which is followed by The Lovers, Shades of the Sun, Qismet and Tìr nam Bàn.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherAlan McManus
    Release dateDec 12, 2016
    ISBN9781370924141
    Angels with Hairy Faces: Spiritual Reflections on Dogs
    Author

    Alan McManus

    Alan McManus, M.Theol.(hons), M.Phil, PGDE, M.Litt., Ph.D., wrote his doctoral thesis on the work of the creative and contrarian American Philosopher, Dr Robert M. Pirsig. "Life Choice" is the second book in a series of considerations of the ethical implications of his reading of pirsigian metaphysics (ontology) which started with "Only Say The Word: Affirming Gay and Lesbian Love", published by Christian Alternative in 2013. As well as publishing articles on political philosophy and WW1 remembrance in the online journal, Citizenship, Social and Economics Education, his 'Strange Attractors: Myth, Dream and Memory in Educational Methodology' is the final chapter of the "International Handbook of Interpretation in Educational Research" published by Springer in 2015. "Alchemy at the Chalkface: Pirsig, Pedagogy and the Metaphysics of Quality" is available at www.robertpirsig.org.

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      Book preview

      Angels with Hairy Faces - Alan McManus

      Angels with Hairy Faces

      Spiritual reflections on dogs

      Alan McManus

      COPYRIGHT

      First published in SCOTLAND, December 2016

      Copyright © 2016 Alan McManus

      All rights reserved.

      epub ISBN: 9781370924141

      Smashwords edition published by Alan McManus.

      This ebook is also available in print at most online retailers.

      This book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be resold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for you use only, then please return to your favourite ebook retailer and purchase your own copy. Thank-you for respecting the hard work of this author.

      THANKS

      To Ben, companion of happy hours and sad, and to all the dogs and humans who have shared their experience of companionship with me. Thanks to Ciaran Dorris for helpful feedback on a draft. Thanks also to Clare Fodey and to Bridget & Kenneth (Coinneach) McManus for permission to use the photo of Ben in the kitchen and of Ben on the beach.

      DEDICATION

      To Kelvin

      who wears a dog-collar and who suggested it.

      Contents

      Guard and defend me

      Obedient to my word

      Healthy body healthy mind

      Where there is injury

      Strength in joy

      Cave canem!

      As a dog is...

      When I needed a neighbour

      Spirituality in action

      About the author

      Dear Reader

      Guard and defend me

      On the first night in July when I notice the dark (Glasgow sits at a higher latitude than Moscow) I awake to the sound of a dog barking. I don’t switch on the light and part the curtain from the faux shutters sideways, in approved neighbourhood watch fashion, and peer out. The street, rather well-to-do in a rather rougher neighbourhood, is still. But the dog barks on.

      I look at Ben and he looks at me. He hasn’t even bothered to get out of his basket. He’s not worried about some barky dog. Not when he’s fine and I’m fine and there’s still water in his bowl and Chappie in the fridge.

      I put on my glasses and peer some more. Yes, it’s definitely still barking. I should go back to sleep. That would be sensible. Last night, Next Door, my very musical neighbours (who, as my late father would have said, ‘sing lik linties aa day long’) had a party. By the time the police turned up

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