Good afternoon. The first item of business this afternoon is time for reflection. Our time for reflection leader today is the Rev Monsignor Paul Conroy of the Sacred Heart parish church in Bridgeton, Glasgow and vicar general of the archdiocese of Glasgow.
Members of the Scottish Parliament, I am grateful for the opportunity to share this reflection with you today. Last Friday, we observed the world day of prayer with a service that was prepared by the women of Cuba and led by women all over the world. On Sunday, we celebrated mothering Sunday, honouring and giving thanks for our mothers, living and dead. Today, we mark international women’s day and we are being encouraged to make the pledge for parity.
Those who devote themselves to public service share with women and men of good will a desire to make a difference and make things better. Together, we share a vision and a dream of a better world and of a safer, more prosperous and kinder future. The electorate place their trust in you.
The gospels give a description of how Jesus took three of his closest disciples into his trust at the top of Mount Tabor, where he was transfigured in their presence and shone with his glory. In that moment, Jesus showed them their future and, through them, he was showing us our future, too.
All of us, women and men together, have been made for glory, and glory is our future. The glory of God is not however something that awaits us only in the future; it becomes visible every time we make a pledge for parity—helping the poor, assisting the disabled, providing for refugees, saving children from exploitation and abuse, sheltering the homeless or promoting equality of opportunity.
In so many ways, God’s plans for us are our plans for ourselves and God’s hope for us is our hope for ourselves. As our elected representatives, you have a unique responsibility and opportunity to help us all to let the glory of God shine out in the society that we want to build. There is surely no greater ambition than that of enabling women and men to be more fully alive. That is a divine ambition and an aim that we share not only among ourselves but with God who, for that reason, raised Jesus Christ from the dead.
I will conclude with some words of Pope Francis, who is full of hope for the glorious and transfigured future of humanity. He encourages us to discover our glory in the mercy that God shows to us and in the mercy that we show to each other, saying:
“May we become the voice of every man and woman, and repeat confidently without end:
‘Be mindful of your mercy, O Lord, and your steadfast love, for they have been from of old’”.
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