Angels with Hairy Faces: Spiritual Reflections on Dogs

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.