Saint Andrew, Apostle
Feast
He was born in Bethsaida, in Galilee, and worked as a fisherman. He became one of the first to follow Jesus and introduced his brother, Simon Peter, to him. He became patron saint of Scotland because according to legend some of his bones were brought and buried at the place where the town of St Andrew’s now stands.
Entrance Antiphon: Mt 4: 18-19
Beside the Sea of Galilee, the Lord saw two brothers, Peter and Andrew, and he said to them: Come after me and I will make you fishers of men.
Collect
We humbly implore your majesty, O Lord, that, just as the blessed Apostle Andrew was for your Church a preacher and pastor, so he may be for us a constant intercessor before you. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.
First reading: Romans 10:9-18
If your lips confess that Jesus is Lord and if you believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, then you will be saved. By believing from the heart you are made righteous; by confessing with your lips you are saved. When scripture says: those who believe in him will have no cause for shame, it makes no distinction between Jew and Greek: all belong to the same Lord who is rich enough, however many ask his help, for everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. But they will not ask his help unless they believe in him, and they will not believe in him unless they have heard of him, and they will not hear of him unless they get a preacher, and they will never have a preacher unless one is sent, but as scripture says: The footsteps of those who bring good news are a welcome sound. Not everyone, of course, listens to the Good News. As Isaiah says: Lord, how many believed what we proclaimed? So faith comes from what is preached, and what is preached comes from the word of Christ. Let me put the question: is it possible that they did not hear? Indeed they did; in the words of the psalm, their voice has gone out through all the earth, and their message to the ends of the world.
Psalm 18(19):2-5
Their word goes forth through all the earth.
The heavens proclaim the glory of God, and the firmament shows forth the work of his hands. Day unto day takes up the story and night unto night makes known the message.
No speech, no word, no voice is heard yet their span extends through all the earth, their words to the utmost bounds of the world.
Gospel Acclamation : Mt 4:19
Alleluia, alleluia! Follow me, says the Lord, and I will make you into fishers of men. Alleluia!
Gospel: Matthew 4:18-22
As Jesus was walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon, who was called Peter, and his brother Andrew; they were making a cast in the lake with their net, for they were fishermen. And he said to them, “Follow me and I will make you fishers of men.” And they left their nets at once and followed him. Going on from there he saw another pair of brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John; they were in their boat with their father Zebedee, mending their nets, and he called them. At once, leaving the boat and their father, they followed him.
Prayer over the Offerings
Grant us, almighty God, that through these offerings, which we bring on the feast day of Saint Andrew, we may please you by what we have brought and be given life by what you have accepted. Through Christ our Lord.
Communion Antiphon: Jn 1: 41-42
Andrew told his brother Simon: We have found the Messiah, the Christ, and he brought him to Jesus.
Prayer after Communion
May communion in your Sacrament strengthen us, O Lord, so that by the example of the blessed Apostle Andrew we, who carry in our body the Death of Christ, may merit to live with him in glory. Who lives and reigns for ever and ever.
Meditation
From natural fishing (fish) to spiritual fishing (souls), Peter and Andrew, James and his brother John, freely made, at the request of the Lord Jesus, a crucial passage for the rest of their lives. “Immediately, leaving their nets, they followed him.” By turning their backs on their past and accepting to follow the Master of the harvest without detour, these men immediately pass from an ordinary life to an extraordinary life. Yes, every vocation is truly a mystery! That is why it is difficult to pinpoint the criteria for missionary recruitment in the Gospels. If we are attentive, we simply notice that God calls us at his own time as we are, but he invites us to be as he wants us. Only God knows why he needs us! It is not we who have chosen him; it is the other way round. Let us pray for all vocations so that they may have God Himself as their source and foundation.