ST. ANDREW
St. Andrew is the patron saint for fishermen.
The first call that shaped Andrew's life was the very timing and place of his birth. Born as a Hebrew child in the time of Christ, Andrew grew up with his brother, Simon Peter, in Bethsaida, a city on the Northern edge of the lake of Galilee. It was a wealthy city because of its flourishing fishing industry. Bethsaida literally means House of Fishermen.
The second call that shaped Andrew's life came through John the Baptist. Andrew was an alert young man longing for the coming of the Messiah when he first heard the preaching of John.
His third call came from Jesus himself. Among the followers of John, Andrew and another disciple were the only ones we know of who responded when the Baptist pointed to Jesus as the Messiah. They went and asked Jesus where he was staying, and he invited them to come and see. Andrew is the Protoclete, the first to be called by Jesus to deeper intimacy, and the first to bring the invitation to someone else, his brother, Simon Peter.
The fourth call that shaped Andrew's life was to follow Jesus, to be his disciple, a student in daily contact with Jesus, walking and talking with him, listening and learning from the Master, as from a Rabbi. His commitment to follow Jesus was without reserve, without regret, without recall.
The fifth call that changed Andrew's life was his selection by Jesus as one of the twelve apostles, to give witness, to preach, to bring others to Christ. Andrew, the student, was chosen to become a teacher sent by Christ.
His sixth call St. Gregory Nazianzen, St. Jerome, and St. Paulinus tell us that after Pentecost Andrew became an apostle to people in the land of Greece and bordering countries.
The final call in Andrew's life was to martyrdom by crucifixion on an X shaped cross in Achaia. Here his untapped potential for making the ultimate sacrifice, the supreme witness to Christ, was fully realized. Andrew lived up to the meaning of his name with manly courage. "O good cross," he said, "I have ardently loved you, long have I desired and sought you, receive me gladly into your arms, take me from among men, present me to my Lord."
In addition to this scanty information, we learn from the fourth Gospel that on the occasion of the miraculous feeding of the five thousand, it was Andrew who said: "There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fishes: but what are these among so many?" (John 6:8-9); and when, a few days before Our Lord's death, certain Greeks asked Philips that they might see Jesus, Philip referred the matter to Andrew as to one of greater authority, and then both told Christ (John 12:20-22).
It is believed that after Our Lord ascended into Heaven, St. Andrew went to Greece to preach the gospel. He is said to have been put to death on a cross, to which he was tied, not nailed. He lived two days in that state of suffering, still preaching to the people who gathered around their beloved Apostle. Two countries have chosen St. Andrew as their patron - Russia and Scotland. It is believed that after Our Lord ascended into Heaven, St. Andrew went to Greece to preach the gospel. He is said to have been put to death on a cross, to which he was tied, not nailed. He lived two days in that state of suffering, still preaching to the people who gathered around their beloved Apostle. Two countries have chosen St. Andrew as their patron - Russia and Scotland.
Andrew's vocation, and ours as well, wasn't given all at once, but gradually. Seven calls from the Lord built one upon the other throughout the course of his life. Andrew's response to each call gave new shape to his life and prepared him for the next gift of God. This courageous boy, by purity of heart and docile obedience to God's will became in St. Bede's words, "The Introducer to Christ." He not only introduced his brother to Jesus, and the Greeks and Scythians, but each year his feast introduces us to the season of Advent, reminding us to wonder at our place in the great scheme of things, our untapped potential, and how Jesus will call us to even greater intimacy with him.