St Andrew, Apostle

[The acts of this apostle's martyrdom, though rejected by Tillemont, &c., are maintained to be genuine by Nat. Alexander, Hist. t. i. and by Mr. Woog, professor of history and antiquities in Leipsic, in learned dissertations, published in 1748 and 1751. The authority of this piece being contested, little stress is laid upon it, and the following account is gathered from the sacred writings, and those of the fathers.]

St Andrew was a native of Bethsaida, a town in Galilee, upon the banks of the lake of Genesareth. He was the son of Jonas, or John, a fisherman of that town, and brother to Simon Peter, but whether elder or younger the Holy Scriptures have not acquainted us. They had afterwards a house at Capharnaum, where Jesus lodged when he preached in that city. It is no small proof of the piety and good inclinations of St. Andrew, that when St. John Baptist began to preach penance in the desert, he was not content with going to hear him as others did, but became his disciple, passed much of his time in hearing his instructions, and studied punctually to practice all his lessons and copy his example; but he often returned home to his fishing trade. He was with his master when St. John Baptist, seeing Jesus pass by the day after he had been baptized by him, said, "Behold the Lamb of God."[1] Andrew, by the ardour and purity of his desires and his fidelity in every religious practice, deserved to be so far enlightened as to comprehend this mysterious saying, and without delay he and another disciple of the Baptist went after Jesus, who drew them secretly by the invisible bands of his grace, and saw them with the eyes of his spirit before he beheld them with his corporal eyes. Turning back as he walked and seeing them follow him, he said, "What seek ye?" They said they desired to know where he dwelt; and he bade them come and see. There remained but two hours of that day, which they spent with him, and, according to several fathers, the whole night following. "O how happy a day, how happy a night did they pass I " cries out St. Austin. "Who will tell us what things they then learned from the mouth of their Saviour!"

Andrew, who loved affectionately his brother Simon, called afterwards Peter, could not rest till he had imparted to him the infinite treasure which he had discovered, and brought him to Christ that he might also know him. Simon was no sooner come to Jesus than the Saviour of the world admitted him as a disciple and gave him the name of Peter. The brothers tarried one day with him to hear his divine doctrine, and the next day returned home again. From this time they became Jesus’ disciples, not constantly attending upon him, as they afterwards did, but hearing him frequently, as their business would permit, and returning to their trade and family affairs again. Jesus, in order to prove the truth of his divine doctrine by his works, wrought his first miracle at the marriage at Cana in Galilee, and was pleased that these two brothers should be present at it with his holy mother. Jesus, going up to Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover, stayed some days in Judea, and baptized in the Jordan. Peter and Andrew also baptized by his authority and in his name. Our Saviour being come back into Lower Galilee in autumn, and meeting one day Peter and Andrew fishing in the lake, before the end of the same year, he called them to a constant attendance upon the ministry of the gospel, saying that he would make them fishers of men. Whereupon they immediately left their nets to follow him, and never went from him again. The year following, the Son of God formed the college of his apostles, in which our two brothers are named by the evangelists at the head of the rest. Not long after Jesus went down to Capharnaum and lodged at the house of Peter and Andrew and, at the request of them both, cured Peter's wife's mother of a fever, by taking her by the hand and rebuking the fever, by which it left her When Christ would not send away the multitude of five thousand persons who had followed him into the desert till they were refreshed with some food, St. Philip said two hundred pennyworth of bread would not suffice. But Andrew seemed to express a stronger faith, saying there was a boy who had five barley loaves and two small fishes—which, indeed, were nothing among so many—but Christ could, if he pleased to exert his power, seeing he was greater than Eliseus who, with twenty loaves, fed a hundred men.[2] When Christ was at Bethania, at the house of Lazarus, a little before his Sacred Passion, certain Greeks who came to worship God at the festival, addressed themselves to Philip, begging him to introduce them to Jesus. Philip did not undertake to do it alone; but spoke to St. Andrew, and they both together spoke to their divine master and procured these strangers that happiness. This shows the great credit St. Andrew had with Christ; on which account St. Bede calls him the Introductor to Christ, and says he had this honour because he brought St. Peter to him. Christ having foretold the destruction of the temple, Peter, John, James, and Andrew asked him privately when that should come to pass, that they might forewarn their brethren to escape the danger.

After Christ's resurrection and the descent of the Holy Ghost, St. Andrew preached the gospel in Scythia, as Origen testifies. Sophronius, who wrote soon after St. Jerome and translated his catalogue of illustrious men and some other works into Greek, adds Sogdiana and Colchis. Theodoret tells us that he passed into Greece; St. Gregory Nazianzen mentions particularly Epirus and St. Jerom Achaia. St. Paulinus says this divine fisherman, preaching at Argos, put all the philosophers there to silence. St. Philastrius tells us, that he came out of Pontus into Greece, and that in his time people at Sinope were persuaded that they had his true picture, and the pulpit in which he had preached in that city. The Muscovites have long gloried that St. Andrew carried the gospel into their country as far as the mouth of the Borysthenes, and to the mountains where the city of Kiou now stands, and to the frontiers of Poland. If the ancients mean European Scythia, when they speak of the theatre of his labours, this authority is favourable to the pretensions of the Muscovites. The Greeks understand it of Scythia, beyond Sebastopolis in Colchis, and perhaps also of the European; for they say he planted the faith in Thrace, and particularly at Byzantium, afterwards called Constantinople. But of this we meet with no traces in antiquity. Several Calendars commemorate the feast of the chair of St. Andrew at Patrae, in Achaia It is agreed that he laid down his life there for Christ. St. Paulinus says, that having taken many people in the nets of Christ he confirmed the faith which he had preached by his blood at Patrae. St. Sophronius, St. Gaudentius, and St. Austin assure us that he was crucified; St. Peter Chrysologus says, on a tree; Pseudo-Hippolytus adds, on an olive-tree. In the hymn of Pope Damasus it is barely mentioned that he was crucified. When the apostle saw his cross at a distance, he is said to have cried out, "Hail, precious cross, that hast been consecrated by the body of my Lord, and adorned with his limbs as with rich jewels. I come to thee exulting and glad: receive me with joy into thy arms. O good cross, that hast received beauty from our Lord's limbs; I have ardently loved thee; long have I desired and sought thee: now thou art found by me, and art made ready for my longing soul; receive me into thy arms, taking me from among men, and present me to my master; that he who redeemed me on thee, may receive me by thee." The body of St. Andrew was translated from Patrae to Constantinople in 357, together with those of St. Luke and St. Timothy, and deposited in the Church of the Apostles, which Constantine the Great had built a little before. St. Paulinus and St. Jerome mention miracles wrought on that occasion. The churches of Milan, Nola, Brescia, and some other places, were at the same time enriched with small portions of these relics, as we are informed by St. Ambrose, St. Gaudentius, St. Paulinus, &c.

It is the common opinion that the cross of St. Andrew was in the form of the letter X, styled a cross decussate, composed of two pieces of timber crossing each other obliquely in the middle. That such crosses were sometimes used is certain; yet no clear proofs are produced as to the form of St. Andrew's cross. It is mentioned in the records of the duchy of Burgundy, that the cross of St. Andrew was brought out of Achaia and placed in the nunnery of Weaune, near Marseilles. It was thence removed into the abbey of St. Victor, in Marseilles, before the year 1250, and is still shown there. A part thereof, enclosed in a silver case gilt, was carried to Brussels by Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy and Brabant, who, in honour of it, instituted the Knights of the Golden Fleece, who for the badge of their Order, wear a figure of this cross, called St. Andrew's cross, or the cross of Burgundy. The Scots honour St. Andrew as principal patron of their country, and their historians tell us that a certain abbot, called Regulus, brought thither from Patrae in 369, or rather from Constantinople some years later, certain relics of this apostle, which he deposited in a church which he built in his honour with a monastery called Abernethy, where now the city of St. Andrews stands. Usher proves that many pilgrims resorted to this church from foreign countries, and that the Scottish monks of that place were the first who were called Culdees.[3] Hungus, King of the Picts, soon after the year 800, in thanksgiving for a great victory which he had gained over the Northumbrians, gave to this church the tenth part of all the land of his dominions. Kenneth II, King of the Scots, having overcome the Picts, and entirely extinguished their kingdom in North Britain, in 845, repaired and richly endowed the Church of St. Regulus, or Rueil, in which the arm of St. Andrew was reverently kept. The Muscovites say he preached the faith among them, and honour him as the principal titular saint of their empire. Peter the Great instituted under his name the first and most noble order of knighthood, or of the blue ribbon; leaving the project of a second Order of St. Alexander Newski, or of the red ribbon, to be carried into execution by his widow.

St. Andrew, by conversing with Christ, extinguished in his breast all earthly passions and desires, and attained to the happiness of his pure divine love. We often say to ourselves that we also desire to purchase holy love, the most valuable of all treasures, and the summit of dignity and happiness. But these desires are fruitless and mere mockery unless we earnestly set about the means. We must first, with the apostle, leave all things; that is to say, we must sincerely and in spirit forsake the world (though we live in it), and must also renounce and die to ourselves before we can be admitted to the familiar converse of our Redeemer and God, or before he opens to us the treasure of his choicest graces. In the same proportion that the world and self-love are banished from our hearts shall we advance in divine love. But this great virtue is learned, exercised, and improved by conversing much with God in holy meditation, reading, and assiduous prayer and recollection; also by its external acts, in all manner of good works, especially those of fraternal charity and spiritual mercy.[4]

4 On the panegyrists on St. Andrew, see Fabricius in Biblioth. Graeca, t. ix. p. 54; and in Codice Apocryphe Novi Testimenti, p. 707.

(Taken from Vol. III of "The Lives of the Fathers, Martyrs and Other Principal Saints" by the Rev. Alban Butler.)

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Women of Faith and Family

Saint Andrew, Apostle
Feast
November 30th

Saint Andrew - El Greco
1606 - Oil on Canvas
Museo del Greco - Toledo

Venite post me, faciam vos fieri piscatores hominum.
Come and follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.

- Matthew 4:19
History - Readings -Prayer for Fishermen -Family Celebration: A Biblical Dinner - St. Andrew Scones - Christian fish decoration

We humbly entreat thy majesty, O Lord,
that the blessed apostle Andrew may be as constant an advocate for us in Thy court as he was eminent in preaching and ruling over Thy Church. Amen.
- Collect for the Feast of Saint Andrew

Saint Andrew, the first apostle

The Church celebrates the feast of Saint Andrew on November 30, an important date in the annual liturgical calendar, because it determines the date of the First Sunday of Advent, which is the Sunday nearest this Feast. Saint Andrew is the patron saint fishermen, and of both Scotland and Russia.
Andrew, the first Apostle called by Jesus, was a fisherman from Bethsaida and the brother of Simon Peter. A follower of John the Baptist, Andrew recognized Jesus as the Messiah when John baptized Our Lord in the Jordan River, and he introduced his brother Simon to Jesus. The two brothers continued as fishermen until Jesus called them as Apostles.
After Pentecost, it is believed that Andrew went to Greece to preach the Gospel of Christ Jesus.
Saint Andrew, called the "Protoclet" (or "first called") by the Greeks, was crucified at Achaia by order of Roman Governor Aegeas during the reign of Nero. He was bound, not nailed, to the X-shaped cross in order to prolong his sufferings. According to tradition, he preached from the cross for two days, and died on the third day.
This saint is the patron of Greece and Scotland. Below is a replica of the Great Seal of Saint Andrew, Scotland. The Cross of Saint Andrew, an X shaped cross, is visible in the center.

Scripture reading

We read of the first encounter of the future apostle with Christ in John 1:35-42:
The next day again John was standing with two of his disciples; and he looked at Jesus as He walked, and said, "Behold, the Lamb of God!" The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus. Jesus turned, and saw them following, and said to them, "What do you seek?" And they said to Him "Rabbi" (which means Teacher), "where are you staying?" He said to them, "Come and see". They came and saw where He was staying; and they stayed with Him that day, for it was about the tenth hour. 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. Jesus looked at him, and said, "So you are Simon the son of John? You shall be called Cephas "(which means Peter).
(Revised Standard Version - Catholic edition)
Readings for Mass:
Collect:
Lord,
in your kindness hear our petitions.
You called Andrew the apostle
to preach the gospel and guide your Church in faith.
May he always be our friend in your presence
to help us with his prayers.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son,
who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
First Reading: Romans 10:9-18
If you confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For man believes with his heart and so is justified, and he confesses with his lips and so is saved. The scripture says, "No one who believes in Him will be put to shame." For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; the same Lord is Lord of all and bestows His riches upon all who call upon Him. For, "every one who calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved."
But how are men to call upon Him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in Him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without a preacher? And how can men preach unless they are sent? As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who preach good news!" But they have not all obeyed the gospel; for Isaiah says, "Lord, who has believed what he has heard from us?" So faith comes from what is heard, and what is heard comes by the preaching of Christ.
But I ask, have they not heard? Indeed they have; for "Their voice has gone out to all the earth, and their words to the ends of the world."
Gospel reading: Matthew 4:18-22
As He walked by the Sea of Galilee, He saw two brothers, Simon who is called Peter and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fisherman. And He said to them, "Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men." Immediately they left their nets and followed Him. And going on from there He saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets, and he called them. Immediately t they left the boat and their father, and followed Him.

Prayer for Fishermen

O God, who brought our fathers through the Red Sea and carried them safely through the deep as they sang the praises of Thy name, we humbly beseech Thee to guard Thy servants aboard ship and having repelled all adversities, bring them to the desired port after a calm voyage.
Through Our Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Son, who lives and reigns with Thee in unity of the Holy Spirit, world without end. Amen.
Sacred Heart of Jesus have mercy upon all seafarers.
Our Father....Hail Mary...
Our Lady, Star of the Sea, pray for us.
St. Peter, Pray for us.
St Andrew, pray for us.
Lord save us or we perish.
(This traditional prayer came to us from Lafitte, Louisiana. It was published in the St. Anthony Catholic Church Parish Bulletin, Aug.4, 1991)

Family Celebration of the Feast of Saint Andrew

A Biblical Dinner - St. Andrew Scones - Christian fish decoration

A Biblical Dinner

Saint Andrew is the patron saint of fishermen. An appropriate way to celebrate his feast is with a fish dinner. This can be as simple as buying fried fish carryout, or as special as the menu (below, with recipes) that appears in A Continual Feast by Evelyn Birge Vitz, originally published by Harper & Row in 1995, now available in paperback from Ignatius Press.
At the blessing, it would be good to add the collect for the feast printed above.

"A Biblical Dinner"
from A Continual Feast

Menu

Broiled Fish, Biblical Style
Lentils with Cumin and Coriander
Cucumbers with Cumin and Yogurt
Wheat and Barley Loaves, Flavored with Mint and Olive Oil
Biblical Fruitcakes

Broiled fish, biblical style

2 pounds fresh or defrosted fish: any small fish, fish fillets, fish steaks or larger fish split
Salt
4 cloves garlic, chopped
Olive Oil
Red Wine Vinegar or Lemon Juice
Lettuce
Greek Olives or other strongly flavored olives
Optional: 1/2 cup chopped fresh mint leaves.

Clean, rinse, and salt the fish. Rub with garlic, and brush with oil. Preheat the broiler. Place the fish in an oiled pan. Broil small fish about 3 inches from the flame, larger fish about 5 inches away. Broil split fish skin side down. During the cooking, baste generously with olive oil and a little vinegar or lemon juice.
Serve the fish on a bed of lettuce, surrounded by Greek olives. Sprinkle with mint leaves, if you wish. Yield 4-6 servings

Cucumber with cumin and yogurt

2 cucumbers, peeled and grated
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 teaspoon cumin seed, heated briefly in a dry skillet, or 1 teaspoon ground cumin
3 cups plain yogurt, lightly whipped
Salt to taste
Freshly ground pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients and chill for 1 hour or more. Yield 6-8 servings

Lentils with cumin and coriander

1 cup dried lentils
5 cups water
2 medium onions, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1/4 cup olive oil
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground pepper

Rinse the lentils and carefully pick over to remove any pebbles. Bring 5 cups of water to boil in a large saucepan. Add lentils, and boil for 2 minutes, then remove them from the heat and set aside for 1 hour. In the meantime, sauté onions and garlic in olive oil. When the lentils have soaked for 1 hour, add the onions, garlic, cumin, and coriander to the pan with the lentils. Cook, partly covered, for 1 hour or more, stirring occasionally, until the lentils are quite soft and the water is mostly absorbed. Add more water if necessary to keep dish from drying out too much, but the mixture should be very thick. Add salt and freshly ground pepper; taste for seasoning. Yield 4-6 servings
Wheat and barley loaves
1 teaspoon honey
2 cups warm water (100-110 °F)
1 envelope dry yeast
1 cup barley flour
2 teaspoons salt
about 5 cups flour
1/4 cup olive oil
2-3 teaspoons crushed dried mint leaves
Mix the honey with the water in a large bowl. Sprinkle in the yeast and let sit until foamy.
Stir in the barley flour and the salt. Gradually add the all purpose flour, mixing well between additions. Add the olive oil and the mint. Mix thoroughly.
Place the dough on a lightly floured work surface. knead it for about 15 minutes, or until it is shiny and elastic. Add more flour, while you are kneading, if the dough is too sticky.
Form the dough into a ball, and place it in a greased bowl. Cover with oiled wax paper and a towel, let the dough rise until approximately doubled in volume-1 1/2 to 2 hours. When a finger inserted into the dough leaves a hole that remains, the dough is ready.
Punch the dough down with your fist. Put the dough on your work surface and cut in half with a knife. Knead each half into a ball. Cover the balls, and allow them to rise for 15 minutes.
Form each ball into a large flattish loaf and place on an oiled pan. Make several slashes or a cross with a very sharp knife on the top of each loaf.
Bake for 45 minutes at 350 °F. The loaves are done if they sound hollow when tapped on the bottom. (These loaves won't brown as much as regular bread.)
Yields 2 eight inch flattish loaves.
Variations: For a more pronounced barley flavor, increase the proportion of barley flour. Just remember that the bread won't rise as much. Substitute cinnamon or coriander for the mint.

Biblical Fruitcakes
1 cup coarsely chopped dried figs
1 cup coarsely chopped pitted dates
1/2 cup honey
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
2 cups chopped walnuts

Mix the fruits, the honey, and the cinnamon. Form the fruit mixture into small cakes (about 2 inches across) or into little balls. Roll the balls or press the cakes onto the chopped nuts, coating them well.
Yields about 12 cakes or 20 balls.
Variations: Use chopped toasted almonds instead of the walnuts; substitute dried apricots for one of the other fruits.

Saint Andrew Scones

Saint Andrew is revered by Catholics in Scotland as their patron, and the saint's X-shaped cross appears as an emblem on the Scottish arms.
The following recipes for scones (the Scottish "ancestor" of American biscuits) -- both traditional and simplified -- are variations adapted for the saint's feast.

Traditional scones
2 cups flour
1/3 cup butter or margarine
1/4 cup sugar
3 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 cup dried currants
1 egg, slightly beaten (optional, reserving about 1 tablespoon for glaze)
3/4 cup milk
2 tablespoons granulated sugar (for sprinkling on scones)

Cut the butter into the flour with a pastry blender (or two knives) until mixture looks like very coarse meal. Add the sugar and the baking powder and stir well. (Follow the remaining directions.)

Easy scones
2 cups prepared biscuit baking mix
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup dried currants
1 egg (optional)
3/4 cup milk
2 tablespoons granulated sugar (for sprinkling on scones)

Combine the egg with the milk and add to the dry ingredients; then add the dried currants and mix well. The dough should be fairly stiff.
Turn the dough out onto a well floured pastry board, and knead about ten times, adding more flour if necessary, to keep the dough from sticking. Reflour the surface, and roll the dough into a circle about 3/4" thick. Cut with a round biscuit cutter about 3" in diameter. Place the scones about an inch on a baking sheet, greased or sprayed with cooking spray.
Cut a large "X" in the top of each scone (to represent Saint Andrew's cross) and brush them all with the reserved beaten egg (or with milk) and sprinkle them generously with granulated sugar.
Bake the scones in a 350º oven for about 20 minutes, or until golden. Serve hot, with butter and honey or jam.

Christian fish sun catcher

The fish is a symbol of the Christian faith because the letters of the Greek word for fish, "ichthys" form an acronym for the Greek phrase, "Jesus Christ, Son of God, Savior". Early Christians, during the time of persecutions when it was not safe to be a known as a Christian, drew a fish in the ground in order to secretly identify themselves to other believers. Even today one sees this fish symbol, often containing the Greek letters spelling "fish", on religious articles and even on bumper stickers.
Our project for children for the Feast of Saint Andrew -- especially appropriate for the patron of fishermen -- is to make a sun catcher of the Christian fish symbol.. (The fish might also simply be colored by children, or used as a pattern to decorate a cake or large cookie to celebrate this feast.)
To make the sun catcher, you will need paper, colored markers, colored pencils or crayons, scissors, cooking oil, paper towel, yarn or ribbon for hanging.

Click on the fish image above for the full-size picture to color.

Directions:

1. Print out copies of the fish design on plain white paper (even better, use white card or cover stock).

2. Have the children color the fish with markers or crayons. Markers are brighter, but crayon will work. (Note: While they are coloring the fish, explain to them the meaning of the Greek letters on the side of the drawing, and tell the children what Jesus meant when he said to Saint Andew and Saint Peter, "I will make you fishers of men" -- and that all Christians are called to withess, to spread message of salvation through Jesus Christ to others, as the apostles and disciples did.)

3. Wad up the paper towel and dip it in a saucer containing a small amount of oil, and apply the oil all over the colored drawing generously (but not dripping), letting it soak into the paper. Use a dry paper towel to remove excess oil. The oil will make the paper translucent, giving it a stained-glass effect.

4. Cut out the fish and make a small hole about half an inch from the top. Cut the yarn or ribbon about 12" long and thread it through the hole, then tie it to make a hanging loop.

5. Hang the Christian fish in a window so the light can shine through it, where it will be a daily reminder during the season of Advent of our life as Christians permeated by the Light of Christ.

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