St. Andrew - Nov. 30th

 

 Today we celebrate the Feast of St. Andrew!

Peter and his brother Andrew, must have thought they were having an ordinary day, as they were casting their net into the sea. But on this particular day, Jesus called out, “Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men.” Immediately, they left their boat, and followed the Lord, and so became disciples and fishers of men.

Later they would learn to “catch men”, by preaching about Jesus, and His teachings. Just as Jesus caught Peter and Andrew, so to speak, while they were fishing, so Peter and Andrew would do all they could, to catch as many as possible, so that others would come to know, to love, to believe in Our Blessed Lord, and to follow His teachings.

St. Paul said, “How can anyone believe in Him if they had not heard about Jesus”. “How can anyone hear without someone to preach?” Therefore, Peter and Andrew went about preaching everywhere, so they could get as many as possible to believe in Jesus, because they knew no one could hear about Him and come to know about Him, unless someone preached about Him.

St. Andrew went about preaching Jesus in the countries of Turkey and Greece.  St. Andrew would eventually be martyred in Greece, by being crucified on an X-Shaped cross.

All of us are called to proclaim the Gospel. Proclaiming the Gospel is not only proclaiming the life and death of Jesus by our words. St Francis of Assisi indicated another kind of preaching, that we are called. He said, we should “Preach the Gospel, and if necessary, use words.” In another words, our actions speak much louder than our words. Our actions are the strongest proclamation of the Gospel. Who would believe us, if we failed to put into action, what we preached?

The Blessed Virgin Mary was the perfect follower of Jesus, and by Her prayers many have come and will follow Her Divine Son.

On this feast of St. Andrew, let us implore his prayers and with the help of the Blessed Virgin Mary, others will come to know, to believe, to love, and to follow Her Divine Son, especially by our actions, and if necessary by our words.