Saint Andrew, Apostle
Feast Day
Liturgical Cycle: A, B, C | Lectionary Cycle: I, II
Introduction
Andrew must have been a seeker of God. He first followed John the Baptist, then, when John had pointed out Jesus he transferred to Jesus. He brought several to Jesus: his brother Simon Peter, some Greeks looking for Jesus; at the multiplication he noticed the boy with the loaves and the fish and brought him to Jesus. Tradition says that he was an apostle in the Balkans and Southern Russia; he is the patron of the Church of Constantinople. With Andrew, let us bring people to Jesus.
Opening Prayer
Lord our God,
we honor today your great apostle Andrew.
With him make us restless seekers for you
and bring many to Jesus and to you.
Let Jesus be our life and trust
and when we have found Jesus,
do not let us keep him to ourselves
but share him with all around
with the riches of his love and forgiveness,
his mercy and compassion.
This we ask you through Christ our Lord.
First Reading
You are saved if you confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord, and you believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead.
By believing in your heart, you gain true righteousness; by confessing the faith with your lips, you are saved.
For scripture says: No one who believes in him will be ashamed.
Here, there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; everyone has the same Lord, who is very generous to anyone who calls on him.
Indeed, everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.
But how can they call on the name of the Lord without first believing in him? And how can they believe in him without first hearing about him? And how will they hear about him if no one preaches to them?
And how will they preach about him if no one sends them? As scripture says: How beautiful are the feet of the messenger of good news.
Although not everyone accepted the good news, as Isaiah said: Lord, who has believed our message?
So faith comes from what is heard, and what is heard comes through the word of Christ.
I ask: Have the Jews not heard? But of course, they have, because the voice of those preaching resounded all over the earth, and their voice was heard to the ends of the world.
Responsorial Psalm
R. (10) The judgments of the Lord are true, and all of them are just.
or:
R. (John 6:63) Your words, Lord, are Spirit and life.
The law of the LORD is perfect,
refreshing the soul;
The decree of the LORD is trustworthy,
giving wisdom to the simple.
R. The judgments of the Lord are true, and all of them are just.
or:
R. Your words, Lord, are Spirit and life.
The precepts of the LORD are right,
rejoicing the heart;
The command of the LORD is clear,
enlightening the eye.
R. The judgments of the Lord are true, and all of them are just.
or:
R. Your words, Lord, are Spirit and life.
The fear of the LORD is pure,
enduring forever;
The ordinances of the LORD are true,
all of them just.
R. The judgments of the Lord are true, and all of them are just.
or:
R. Your words, Lord, are Spirit and life.
They are more precious than gold,
than a heap of purest gold;
Sweeter also than syrup
or honey from the comb.
R. The judgments of the Lord are true, and all of them are just.
or:
R. Your words, Lord, are Spirit and life.
Alleluia Verse
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Come after me, says the Lord,
and I will make you fishers of men.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
He Calls His First Disciples
As Jesus walked by the lake of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the lake because they were fishermen.
He said to them:
“Follow me, and I will make you fish for people.”
At once, they left their nets and followed him.
He continued on from there and saw two other brothers, James, the son of Zebedee, and his brother John, in a boat with their father Zebedee, repairing their nets. Jesus called them,
and immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him.
Prayers of the Faithful
– That we may thank the Lord that we have found Jesus, the Messiah and our Savior, we pray:
– That many all over the world may recognize and welcome Jesus as the meaning of their lives, we pray:
– That by the way we live we make Jesus recognizable to others, we pray:
Prayer over the Gifts
Lord our God,
let your Holy Spirit bring us to this table
and unite us with all your apostles and disciples
to celebrate the Last Supper of your Son.
Let this meal unite us closely to him
and make us also eager apostles
who want everyone to know and encounter
Jesus your Son as the center of their lives.
This we ask thorough Christ our Lord.
Prayer after Communion
God our Father,
we have sat at the table of your Son;
we have listened to his challenging word
and eaten his bread of life and strength.
We pray you to hasten the day
when people from all nations and cultures
may sit with us at the same table,
be one with us in your Son
and sing to you with our many voices
one harmonious symphony of praise.
We ask this through Christ our Lord.
Blessing
Let us attract people to Jesus by the way we live. For we too are part of the missionary Church. Do so with the blessing of almighty God, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
REFLECTIONS
Belief in your heart and confess with your lips
Matthew 4:18-22
Today we celebrate the feast of St. Andrew, one of Jesus' twelve apostles. St. Andrew was the first of the Apostles to be called. Tradition says he preached the Gospel to people in faraway countries such as Ukraine, Russia, and Greece. He was martyred in Achaea in Greece by crucifixion on an X-shaped cross, which would later be known as St. Andrew's cross. The war-affected people of Ukraine and Russia need the special intercession of the Apostle Andrew today.
The 12 apostles are the pillars, leaders and teachers of the Church. Bishops are today's successors to the apostles, and we believe they have been entrusted with the apostolic mission of teaching, sanctifying, and governing the Church. Today, let us remember to pray for our bishops.
Discipleship is a call to learn from Jesus. When Jesus calls Andrew and Peter, James and John, and you and me to be disciples, we become students of the one instructor, the Lord. Amid their daily activities, the Lord calls them: the Lord reveals himself to us in the ordinary circumstances of our lives. The response of those fishermen was immediate and willing: “Immediately they left their nets and followed him” (v. 20).
We are also being called by the Lord today! Each day, the Lord walks with us along the paths of our daily lives in the “Galilee” of our times.
As Pope Francis says, "If you feel the Holy Spirit saying to you, "Follow me," be brave, go with the Holy Spirit." The Lord never disappoints. Let’s let his gaze rest on us, hear his voice, and follow him! “That the joy of the Gospel may reach to the ends of the earth, illuminating even the fringes of our world”, says the Pope in Evangelii Gaudium (no.288)
As Andrew and other apostles did, we may be listening to the call of Jesus and following him without knowing exactly what it entails or where we are being led. However, the most important thing is to walk with Jesus and to allow him to accompany us as well.