麻豆社

Spiritual reflection with Ronnie Convery, Director of Communications for the Catholic Archdiocese of Glasgow.

Script:
Hello and good morning to you.
Tomorrow is St Andrew鈥檚 Day 鈥� that鈥檚 Scotland鈥檚 national day, and one that celebrates a man whose story reminds us that friendship and simplicity can matter much more than fame or power.
It鈥檚 a shame that most people, if they know anything about St Andrew at all, just know how he died 鈥� crucified on an 鈥榅-shaped鈥� cross. But like most saints he teaches us more by his life than by his death.
Andrew wasn鈥檛 a man of high social status. He was a fisherman 鈥� practical, ordinary, and unremarkable in worldly terms. But when he met Jesus, his first instinct wasn鈥檛 to keep the discovery to himself, but to go and tell his brother Simon Peter, 鈥淐ome and see鈥�, he said 鈥� 鈥淲e鈥檝e found the Messiah.鈥� His instinct was to invite others, to bring them closer to something greater than himself, and I think there鈥檚 something very human about that.
Most of us don鈥檛 live our lives in the spotlight. We do small, unseen things 鈥� helping out with babysitting, maybe sharing a meal, making time for someone who鈥檚 struggling. And like Andrew, we might never see the full impact of those gestures. But the quiet act of bringing others together, of opening a door rather than closing it, can transform people鈥檚 lives more than we realise.
So on this St Andrew鈥檚 Day, as saltire flags flutter and music fills the air, perhaps we might take a moment to remember that the patron saint of Scotland (and Greece and Russia of course!) was, basically a guy who brought people together.
So maybe a good prayer for today is that we might have the courage to reach out a hand to someone we meet over the next 24 hours and say, like Andrew - 鈥淐ome and see.鈥�
It鈥檚 a simple invitation, but one that can change everything.
Amen. Oh - and Happy Saint鈥檚 Day!