Meeting of the Parliament

Meeting date: Wednesday, June 29, 2011

Official Report 667KB pdf

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Time for Reflection

Good afternoon. The first item of business this afternoon is time for reflection. Our time for reflection leader today is Canon George Bradburn, Parish of St Gildas, Rosneath.

Today is a big day in the Catholic Church. It is the feast of St Peter and St Paul and is what we call a holiday of obligation. I am spending it here, which is a working day for you, and a memorable day for me, simply to be here. That said, 29 June is always a special day for me. It was on this date 46 years ago that I became a priest. At that time, many priests were ordained on the feast of St Peter and St Paul. Indeed the present Pope was ordained a priest on this day 60 years ago.

St Peter and St Paul are important figures in our church because they were there at the start and were chosen by Christ for special duties. Peter, as we say in today’s mass, was chosen to be “our leader in faith”, and Paul, “its fearless preacher”.

In St Peter’s Square in Rome, there are two massive statues of Peter and Paul. Both men stand facing the crowd and each carries the scriptures in his left hand, but in his right hand Peter has a key—the symbol of authority or the keys of the kingdom; he is a man of authority. In his right hand, Paul is holding a huge sword, which is a symbol of the power of the word, or as scripture calls it

“the sword of the spirit”,

which is a reminder surely that words can penetrate the hardest hearts and the most reluctant minds. Paul is a man of the word.

As a parish priest, I know about authority—Church authority. I exercise it moderately, I hope; I certainly live under it. As a preacher, following St Paul, I realise the importance of words. We call our preaching role the ministry of the word.

As I prepared this reflection, it occurred to me that in my job I share at least two things with politicians: an awareness of the use of authority; and a respect for the use of words. Politicians seek authority, they win it and hopefully they administer it justly. Of course, they deal in words too, in a big way.

Two things are worthy of note about the use of authority and the use of words. The one who uses authority hopes to be obeyed. Obedience can be respectful and constructive, but it can also be blind, unthinking, reluctant, submissive, deceptive or prompted by ulterior motives. Persons with authority look for not submissive obedience but support and loyalty. They seek a following—perhaps disciples.

People of the word—orators—use words skilfully, but that does not mean to say that they are true. Despite a skilful performance, orators should not primarily seek congratulations; they seek to be heard for the message that they wish to convey.

The Pope, addressing diplomats recently, exhorted them to be loyal rather than crafty. My prayer on the feast of saints Peter and Paul is:

“Lord, help me to be loyal, not crafty!”