MASS READINGS
November 30, 2022 (Readings on USCCB website)
COLLECT PRAYER
Feast of St. Andrew, Apostle: 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, God, for ever and ever.
Recipes (17)
Activities (6)
Prayers (13)
Library (4)
Blog & Podcasts (4)
» Enjoy our Liturgical Seasons series of e-books!
Mass Propers for the Feast of St. Andrew:
Entrance Antiphon, Cf. 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.
Alleluia Verse, Mt 4:19:
Come after me, says the Lord, and I will make you fishers of men.
Preface of the Apostles:
It is truly right and just, our duty and our salvation,
always and everywhere to give you thanks,
Lord, holy Father, almighty and eternal God.For you, eternal Shepherd, do not desert your flock,
but through the blessed Apostles
watch over it and protect it always
so that it may be governed
by those you have appointed shepherd
to lead it in the name of your Son.And so, with Angels and Archangels,
with Thrones and Dominions,
and with all the hosts and Powers of heaven,
we sing the hymn of your glory,
as without end we acclaim.
Communion Antiphon, Cf. Jn 1:42-42:
Andrew told his brother Simon: We have found the Messiah the Christ, and he brought him to Jesus.
Today the Church celebrates the Feast of St. Andrew the Apostle, a native of Bethsaida in Galilee, a fisherman by trade, and a former disciple of John the Baptist. He was the one who introduced his brother Peter to Jesus, saying, "We have found the Messiah." Overshadowed henceforth by his brother, Andrew nevertheless appears again in the Gospels as introducing souls to Christ. After Pentecost, Andrew took up the apostolate on a much wider scale, and is said to have been martyred at Patras in southern Greece on a cross which was in the form of an "X". This type of cross has long been known as "St. Andrew's cross."
St. Andrew's feast is a signal of the beginning of Advent (plus or minus a few days). Beginning on his feast, the following beautiful prayer is traditionally recited fifteen times a day until Christmas. This is a very meditative prayer that helps us increase our awareness of the real focus of Christmas and helps us prepare ourselves spiritually for His coming.
+Hail and blessed be the hour and moment in which the Son of God was born of the most pure Virgin Mary, at midnight, in Bethlehem, in piercing cold. In that hour vouchsafe, O my God! to hear my prayer and grant my desires, [here mention your request] through the merits of Our Saviour Jesus Christ, and of His blessed Mother. Amen.
Jesse Tree, Day 4 ~ Noah
Jesse Tree Overview
St. Andrew (or Andreas) the Apostle
Andrew, Peter's brother, and John were the first disciples to follow the Lord. With tender delicacy the Gospel (John 1:35-42) describes their first meeting with Jesus. Andrew did not belong to the inner circle of the apostles, Peter, James and John, and the evangelists narrate nothing extraordinary about him (John 6:8); but tradition (resting on apocrpyhal Acts) extols his great love of the Cross and of the Savior; and the Church distinguishes him both in the Mass (his name occurs in the Canon and in the Libera since the time of Pope St. Gregory I who had a special devotion to him) and in the Breviary.
- Today's feast traditionally marks the end of the Church year and beginning of Advent. Advent always begins on the Sunday closest to November 30, with this day being the last possible day of the old Liturgical Year. Christmas is right around the corner. An old saying reflected this:
St Andrew the King
Because weddings were not allowed during Advent and Christmas and Andrew is the patron of unmarried maidens, many countries have marriage-related superstitions connected to this day. See CatholicSaints.Info for a few traditions.
Three weeks and three days
before Christmas begins. - See the various churches dedicated to St. Andrew and where you can find his relics.
- Beginning today the Christmas Anticipatory Prayer, also known as the "Novena to St. Andrew" (Hail and Blessed be the hour...) is prayed every day until Christmas.
- Read Anticipating Christmas, Beginning with the Saint Andrew by Jennifer Gregory Miller.
- Read The Meaning and Misconceptions of The Saint Andrew Christmas Novena by Renata Grzan Wieczorek.
- View some of the art depictions of St. Andrew. Here's another Gallery of Images of Andrew.
- Remember to pray for fishermen and all who make their livelihood by the sea.
- Andrew is the patron saint of Scotland, Russia, and Romania. The flag of Scotland (and the Union Flag and the arms and Flag of Nova Scotia) feature a saltire (X-shaped cross) in commemoration of the shape of St. Andrew's cross.
- Read more about St. Andrew from Butler's Lives of the Saints and The Golden Legend.
- Foods connected with this feast: St. Andrew was a fisherman, so fish dishes and biblical themes would reign supreme. Women for Faith and Family have reprinted Evelyn Vitz's suggested "Biblical Dinner" menu. But there are other foods connected with this day:
- Scotland: St. Andrew is the patron of Scotland. Scones, haggis, sheepshead and fish dishes are traditional. The scones are called "wigs", although their shape is rectangular.
- England: St Andrew is a patron of lace-makers. On his feast, sometimes known as "Tander", areas such as Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire and Northamptonshire celebrate by feasting, drinking elderberry wine, sports and serving a special cake called the Tandra Cake, particularly in Bedfordshire. It has a bread dough base to which lard, sugar, currants, lemon peel and eggs are added. This is also a day for squirrel hunting in England, so Brunswick Stew would be another dish on the table in England.
- Slovakian Countries: Halushky (pasta dish) is cooked. Unmarried girls place slips of paper with names of single young men into the dish.
