Dear
Parishioners and Friends,
Today
we begin a new liturgical year and the season of Advent. If this day did not
fall on a Sunday, the Church would be celebrating the feast of St. Andrew,
Apostle. St. Andrew is a great model of holiness and evangelization and (I don’t
just say this because he is my patron saint) the world needs more Andrews!
Andrew
was the brother of Simon Peter and was the first to be called by Christ to be a
disciple. Exactly for this reason
the liturgy of the Byzantine Church honors him with the nickname: “Protokletos” which means “the first called.”
Andrew was very apostolic. As we learn in
the Gospel of John (1: 40- 42), the day after Andrew meets Jesus he runs to his
brother to tell him the good news that they have found the Messiah. Later in
the same Gospel, a little boy comes to offer some bread and fish and Andrew
brings him to Jesus. Toward the end of Jesus’ earthly life some Greeks come to
see him. They first come to Andrew and then he and Philip lead them to speak
with Christ.
The
life of this apostle makes clear the importance of following Christ and that a
natural result of our discipleship is to bring others to Christ. This is why
the world needs more Andrews.
In
Christ,
Msgr.
Baker
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