The first item of business this afternoon is time for reflection. Our time for reflection leader today is Father Krzysztof Garwolinski, parish priest of St Patrick鈥檚 Shieldmuir and St Thomas鈥 Wishaw.
Abraham Lincoln is often credited with coining the saying:
鈥淵ou can please some of the people all of the time, you can please all of the people some of the time, but you can鈥檛 please all of the people all of the time.鈥
In fact, it was first created by Lydgate, and its development has led to some people concluding with:
鈥淪o just please yourself.鈥
In contrast to that, Adrian Galbas, the Archbishop of Katowice in my homeland, addressed young men preparing for the priesthood by saying:
鈥淪omeone who is incapable of offering himself as a sacrifice should not be a priest.鈥
Those words are very relevant for our age, which is often characterised by the spirit of individualism鈥攅goism, even. We compete with others to be noticed, to have a better job or a higher salary, and to be first and best. That is how many people gauge success.
That spirit of competition鈥攃onceit, even鈥攊s opposite to the vision of life preached by Jesus Christ. His life was not a life of collecting but a life of giving away; it was a life of service that ended in crucifixion鈥攁 seeming failure by worldly standards. Yet his life, death and resurrection enriched life for countless people in every time and space. Other giants from the past, from St Francis of Assisi to the great Mahatma Gandhi, lived and proclaimed the same enriching message.
This truth should be understood by all of us. The words spoken by Archbishop Galbas to his seminarians are also pertinent to you who serve in public life, and who do so in such a privileged way. You are here not to enrich yourselves but to sacrifice yourselves each day for the improvement of all the people of Scotland. Let us remember that those who make sacrifices can gain much more. Whether we are priests or parliamentarians, we must all make sacrifices.
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