Feast of Saint Andrew the Apostle

St. Andrew was the brother of St. Peter and a follower of St. John the Baptist and was the first of the apostles to follow Christ. He preached the Gospel in Greece. St. Andrew was crucified in 60 A.D. in Patras on an X-shaped cross. He is Patron Saint of Fisherman, Old Maids, Russia, Scotland, and Singles.

The First Called

From the Fourth Gospel we know an important

detail: Andrew had previously been a disciple of John

the Baptist: and this shows us that he was a man who

was searching, who shared in Israel's hope, who

wanted to know better the word of the Lord, the

presence of the Lord. He was truly a man of faith

and hope; and one day he heard John the Baptist

proclaiming Jesus as: "the Lamb of God" (Jn 1:36);

so he was stirred, and with another unnamed disciple

followed Jesus, the one whom John has called "the

Lamb of God." Thus, Andrew enjoyed precious

moments of intimacy with Jesus. The account

continues with one important annotation: "One of

the two who heard John speak, and followed him, was

Andrew, Simon Peter's brother. He first found his

brother Simon, and said to him, 'We have found the

Messiah' (which means Christ). He brought him to

Jesus" (Jn 1:40-43), straighaway showing an

unusual apostolic spirit. Andrew, then was the first

of the Apostles to be called to follow Jesus. Exactly

for this reason the liturgy of the Byzantine Church

honors him with the nickname: "Protokletos,"

[protoclete] which means, precisely, "the first called."

Pope Benedict XVI

when i was an atheist, i didnt understand how a person can have faith; i thought it must be something a person is born with, like blue eyes or brown skin; but then i discovered that faith is'nt something we are born with, but that it is a gift from God, given to all, but a gift that only some accept, open and share.

i was stirred as St. Andrew was when i discovered, as an adult, that i could forgive someone who had committed a great injury to me when i was a child.

I discovered that i always had God's gift of faith, but i set it aside, unopened, turning my attention instead toward my tormentor; a slow tortuous death by fear, anger and hate.

By God's grace i found God's gift of faith, unconditional love. A love, that for me took the form of forgiveness, for myself and my tormentor that reconciled me with God and his church after a long exile.

i hope and pray that i continue to be stirred.