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November 30, 2009
St. Andrew, Apostle

Read

Read about how “God Reveals His Loving Plan to Save Us” from the United States Catholic Catechism for Adults (USCCA).

Daily Readings

Pray

Learn the rosary as a family and pray the Joyful Mysteries together for peace in your home and in our world.

Reflect

Pope Benedict XVI, Saints, p. 6 (First century; November 30)
The “First-Called”
Andrew had previously been a disciple of John the Baptist: and this shows us that he was a man who was searching, who shared in Israel’s hope, who wanted to know better the word of the Lord, the presence of the Lord. He was truly a man of faith and hope; and one day he heard John the Baptist proclaiming Jesus as “the Lamb of God” (Jn 1:36); so he was stirred, and with another unnamed disciple followed Jesus, the one whom John had called “the Lamb of God.” The Evangelist says that “they saw where he was staying; and they stayed with him that day . . .” (Jn 1:37-39). Thus, Andrew enjoyed precious moments of intimacy with Jesus. The account continues with one important annotation: “One of the two who heard John speak, and followed him, was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. He first found his brother Simon, and said to him, ‘We have found the Messiah’ (which means Christ). He brought him to Jesus” (Jn 1:40-43), straightaway showing an unusual apostolic spirit. Andrew, then, was the first of the Apostles to be called to follow Jesus. Exactly for this reason the liturgy of the Byzantine Church honors him with the nickname: “Protokletos” [protoclete], which means, precisely, “the first called.”

General Audience
June 14, 2006

Act

Kids make dinner night!
Older children do the cooking; younger children set the table.