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Chamber and committees

Plenary, 03 Nov 1999

Meeting date: Wednesday, November 3, 1999


Contents


Time for Reflection

The first item of business this afternoon is our time for reflection. I have much pleasure in inviting His Eminence Thomas Cardinal Winning to lead our time for reflection.

His Eminence Thomas J Cardinal Winning (President of the Bishops Conference of Scotland):

Thank you, Mr Presiding Officer. Before we begin our short time of prayer and reflection, I thank you for your invitation on my own behalf and on behalf of the Catholics of Scotland. I bring with me the good wishes and prayers of all Scotland's Catholics for the success of the new Parliament, for which we have waited so long. I pray every day for the Parliament's success.

Let us gather our thoughts and place ourselves in the presence of God.

Our Lord and our God,

We firmly believe that you are here

That you see us

That you hear us.

We worship you and give you thanks.

We ask you to make this time of prayer fruitful

For us and for all the people of Scotland.

As children, we learned that prayer was "talking to God". For any conversation to have value, it must be two-way, and so, before speaking to God, let us listen to His word.

It was before the festival of the Passover, and Jesus knew that the hour had come for him to pass from this world to the Father.

He knew that the Father had put everything into his hands and that he had come from God and was returning to God. He got up from the table, removed his outer garment and, taking a towel, wrapped it around his waist. He then poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples' feet and to wipe them with the towel he was wearing.

When he had washed their feet and put on his clothes again, he went back to the table. "Do you understand," he said, "what I have done to you? You call me Master and Lord, and rightly; so I am. If I then, the Lord and Master, have washed your feet, you should wash one another's feet. I have given you an example so that you may copy what I have done to you."

That was a reading from St John's gospel. Those words and actions of Jesus are a reminder to all of us called to public service that our work is a work of service first and foremost, a work of serving our fellow citizens and our God. Let us recommit ourselves to our calling to serve the people of Scotland.

Let us pray.

We thank you, O God, for the call you address to us To serve the people of Scotland Accept the prayers we offer for our nation.

In the guiding principles of our Parliament By the wisdom of our leaders And integrity of our citizens May compassion and justice be secured.

May our land enjoy and promote lasting prosperity Respect for life at all stages And educational opportunities for all.

Bless our families: May our people witness to stable family life and our children enjoy the blessings of a happy home.

Give us the courage to be the kind of Scots You want us to be. We ask this through Christ our Lord.

As children of the one Father, let us pray together in the words our Saviour gave us.

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory, for ever and ever.

Before debates begin for the day, let us call down God's blessing on this Parliament of ours and on the people of Scotland in the words of the ancient Celtic blessing.

May the road rise to meet you, May the wind be always at your back, May the sun shine warm upon your face, May the rains fall gently upon your fields. Until we meet again May God hold you in the palm of his hand.

May the peace and blessing of Almighty God, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, come down on all of us, and remain with us for ever.

Amen.