The Feast of St. Andrew
Saturday, November 30th Readings Reflection: Feast of Saint Andrew, Apostle
Today is the Feast of St. Andrew. Known as the First Called Apostle, St. Andrew was the first of the Twelve Apostles to hear and answer Christ’s call to follow Him. Today’s Epistle contains a beautiful verse that is appropriate for the feast: “How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, of them that bring glad tidings of good things!” (Rom 10:15 DRB).
This mention of “glad tidings” calls to mind the quickly approaching feast of Christmas. Today is the eve of a new liturgical year; tomorrow starts a new year in the Church’s calendar as we begin the penitential season of Advent. For the next three and a half weeks, the Church calls us to prepare our hearts to celebrate the birth of Our Lord. This great event is, in the words of the angels to the shepherds, “good tidings of great joy” (Lk 2:10). St. Andrew’s feast always occurs just before or near the beginning of Advent, so in a very literal way, his feast brings us “glad tidings of good things.”
The Church has a beautiful tradition of praying a 25-day novena in preparation for Christmas, starting on the Feast of St. Andrew and ending on Christmas Eve. The origin of this novena is unknown, although it is believed to have started over a century ago, possibly in Ireland. Starting on the Feast of St. Andrew and ending on Christmas Eve, Catholics pray the following short prayer 15 times each day: “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, [here mention your request(s)] through the merits of Our Saviour Jesus Christ, and of His blessed Mother. Amen.”
This novena is sometimes called the St. Andrew Novena, since it begins on the Apostle’s feast day. However, the novena itself makes no reference to St. Andrew, instead making its petitions through the merits of Christ’s holy Nativity. However, such a silence seems fitting for the First Called Apostle, whose earthly life was spent tirelessly spreading the Gospel and ultimately ended in martyrdom. St. Andrew, like all the saints, understood the divine Source of his life and mission. Rather than keeping any attention on himself, St. Andrew instead points us to the One by Whom we receive glad tidings and the good news (Gospel) of our hope for eternal life.
St. Andrew, ora pro nobis!
