The Feast of St Andrew the Apostle.

“Love is acceptance. When you love someone . . . you take them into your heart, and that is surely why it hurts so much when we lose someone we love, because we lose a part of ourselves. (St Andrew the Apostle).

"As Jesus was walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon who is called Peter, and his brother Andrew, casting a net into the sea; they were fishermen. He said to them, “Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men.” At once they left their nets and followed him." (Cf Matthew 4: 18 - 22).

Wednesday 30th November 2022 of the First Week of Advent is the feast of St Andrew the Apostle. (+ 60). He is the brother of Simon Peter, the Chief Apostle. 

Who is Andrew?
Andrew was a disciple of St John the Baptist. Andrew saw John point to Jesus: “Behold the Lamb of God!” (John 1:36).  Andrew said to his brother Simon: “We have found the Messiah” (John 1:41).  Andrew was a seeker and an evangelist at heart.

After the Resurrection and  Pentecost, Andrew embarked on his apostolic missions.  St Andrew was martyred in Greece circa 60 AD.  Tradition says that he died in an X shaped Cross. He is the Patron saint of Greece, Russia and Scotland.

Andrew is my Evangelist par excellence. He hears the divine command in the Gospel. He believes it and obeys it instantly. Immediately he goes to share this treasure with the first person he meets who happens to be his brother Simon Peter. How do we respond at once to the call of Jesus like Andrew and become committed and enthusiastic evangelist? There are two necessary steps:

#1. Formation or Training: Spending time with Jesus in prayer and His word. This enables us to become like Jesus. Before we can start acting like Jesus, we must spend time listening to Him and watching His every move in order to imitate Him.

#2. Field training: The student teacher or student nurse needs to be grounded in the theory he learns in the classroom before he steps into  the real world. This is the practicum.

The core mission of the Church is to evangelize. Pope St Paul VI writes that the Church exists in order to evangelize. This is a profound statement. Where is your place in this scheme? In the first Reading we hear:

"For 'everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.'
But how can they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how can they believe in him of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone to preach?  And how can people preach unless they are sent? (Romans 10: 13 - 15).

How can people hear of a new product unless there is a salesman or advertising? Friend, Jesus invites you to be the sales person. You can do this through word of mouth, text messaging, emails and sharing social media Catholic Blogs. One of the best faith sharing apps on social media is WhatsApp. It provides many platforms: Text, audio, images and graphics, music, video and movie. It is completely free.

"When I choose a soul for a work of Mine, I begin always by drawing that soul very close to Me with the leading bands of My most sweet love. I have given you the gift of My divine friendship, just as I gave it to John and to the other apostles in view of the great work that I entrusted to them: the foundation and growth of My Mystical Body, the Church on earth. Every work of Mine begins in this way." (IN SINU JESU, Thursday, April 10, 2008).

Daily Bible Verse @ SeekFirstcommunity.com