Good afternoon. The first item of business is time for reflection. Our time for reflection leader today is Father Jeremy Bath of SS John Cantius and Nicholas Catholic church in Broxburn.
Presiding Officer, members of the Scottish Parliament, St Andrew’s day has just ended for another year, and coincidentally the month of November has just ended a period of time when we traditionally remember our loved ones who have died, including the war dead. Now we have entered the Christian season of Advent, which ends with the celebration of Christmas.
There are some things in life that we wish would never end: the perfect summer’s day or that winning round of golf, or the reunion at the bedside of someone you love who is dying. There are other times that we wish it was all over: the disastrous football match or the delayed flight home at the airport, or—dare I say it?—the boring meeting that is going nowhere.
Through it all, the human heart is restless, or yearning perhaps for that which is better than what is being perceived at that very moment. Perhaps we are even reluctant to take time for reflection because we believe that we have too much on our minds at present. How often do we allow ourselves merely to take time to think about nothing, and to be content just to be where we are? How hard it is for busy-minded people to be calm, still and open to the unexpected, or to just treasure life itself.
The short phrase that expresses the golden moments is “having the time of our lives”. Now is the time for you as MSPs to debate the key issues that affect the nation of Scotland and beyond. I hope and pray that you are able to value this time together, and that it will not drag or fly by too quickly.
That reminds me of a brave lady I once met in St John’s hospital in Livingston. I was giving her the last sacraments, and she said to me, “Thank you for taking the time to come and see me. I hope you get the chance to appreciate your life and the memorable moments before they come to an end.”
Members of the Scottish Parliament, try today to be content just to live here and now. I will end with the words of St Ignatius, who said:
“Take, O Lord, and receive all my freedom, my memory, my understanding, and my whole will. All that I am, all that I have, you have given me and I give it back again to You, to be disposed of according to your good pleasure. Give me only Your love and Your grace: for this is sufficient for me. Amen.”