Feast of St. Andrew, Apostle, Nov.30,2006

Our apostle for today is Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter. His name, however, unlike that of his brother is Greek and means the "man." Probably, it was he who dealt with the Gentiles in the bargaining that was done for the fish he and his brother hauled in from the Lake of Galilee. Tradition has him dying in Achaea or Greece and he is honored there today as a principal patron saint as well as in Scotland where the cross of St.Andrew is seen on the Union Jack flag of Scotland. This dates back to the tenth century. I relate to the saint because my confirmation name is Andreas or Andrew. I was baptized and confirmed on the same day since I was of the Byzantine Reuthenian rite. This happened on June 25 of the year 1934 in the Church of Saints Peter and Paul in Braddock, Pennsylvania. Our readings are directly related to the call of our apostle and his responsibility to preach and to witness to the person of Jesus the Messiah or Christ. The selection from Romans is compelling and my founder Blessed William Joseph Chaminade loved this passage since it led him to instill a "faith of the heart" in his followers in the Marianist Family of brothers, sisters, priests and lay persons. It is through this faith of the heart that one is led by the Spirit to say that Jesus is Lord just as Andrew did and then led his brother to the Lord. This is seen in the first chapter of John where Jesus' disciples were first followers of the Baptist but then through Andrew a new teacher or master was found in Jesus. This passage from John was not chosen for the feast; instead we turn to Matthew for the call of the first four disciples of Jesus: Peter, Andrew, James and John. These four will continue to be always the first set of four in the listing of the twelve and Peter will be named first throughout the narratives of Matthew, Mark, Luke, our Synoptic Gospels, but it is John's Gospel that names Andrew first! Today I am led to thank God for the gift of this Apostle and to pray for my brothers and sisters as he did. There is no greater love than to lay down one's life for a friend. Andrew and the other apostles did this. Their witness leads me to at least pray and do some good deed for a "brother" or "sister" just as Andrew did for Peter his brother when he led him to meet Jesus for the first time. Amen.