Feast Day of St. Andrew the Apostle – November 30

11-26-2023Weekly Reflection

St. Andrew, the brother of St. Peter, was a native of the town of Bethsaida in Galilee, and a fisherman by profession. Being first a disciple of St. John the Baptist, he later joined Jesus, and also brought to Him his brother Simon, with whom he became a member of the Apostolic College. After the dispersion of the Apostles, St. Andrew preached the Gospel in Scythia, as we learn from Origen; and, as Sophronius says, also in Sogdiana and Colchis.

According to Theodoret, St. Gregory Nazianzen, and St. Jerome, he also labored in Greece. It is even believed that he carried the Gospel as far as Russia and Poland, and that he preached at Byzantium. He suffered martyrdom at Patras in Achaia, and according to ancient authorities, by crucifixion on a cross in the form of an X.

The body of the Saint was taken to Constantinople in 357, and deposited in the Church of the Apostles, built by Constantine the Great. In 1270, when the city fell into the hands of the Latins, the relics were transported to Italy and deposited in the Cathedral of Amalfi.

Novena to St. Andrew

Recite the above prayer 15 times a day from Nov 30 - Dec 24

Hail and blessed be the hour and moment in which the Son of God was born of the most pure Virgin Mary, at midnight, in Bethlehem, in the piercing cold. In that hour vouchsafe, I beseech Thee, O my God, to hear my prayer and grant my desires, (mention your request here) through the merits of Our Saviour Jesus Christ, and of His blessed Mother. Amen.