An invitation from St Andrew

Available for over a year

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’s Day — that’s Scotland’s 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’s a shame that most people, if they know anything about St Andrew at all, just know how he died – crucified on an ‘X-shaped’ cross. But like most saints he teaches us more by his life than by his death. Andrew wasn’t a man of high social status. He was a fisherman — practical, ordinary, and unremarkable in worldly terms. But when he met Jesus, his first instinct wasn’t to keep the discovery to himself, but to go and tell his brother Simon Peter, “Come and see”, he said … “We’ve found the Messiah.” His instinct was to invite others, to bring them closer to something greater than himself, and I think there’s something very human about that. Most of us don’t live our lives in the spotlight. We do small, unseen things — helping out with babysitting, maybe sharing a meal, making time for someone who’s 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’s lives more than we realise. So on this St Andrew’s 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 - “Come and see.” It’s a simple invitation, but one that can change everything. Amen. Oh - and Happy Saint’s Day!