On November 30, the Church celebrates the feast of St. Andrew the Apostle, the first Apostle to recognize Christ, to whom he took his brother Peter, the future first head of the Church.
Newsroom (07/12/2023 09:38, Gaudium Press) Saint Andrew, the first Apostle to recognize Christ, to whom he took his brother Peter, the future first head of the Church, always had a great love for the Cross. At the hour of his death, when he saw the tree on which he was to be nailed, he greeted it with joy.
After he had been scourged and bloodied, the martyred Apostle stood before his cross, which was in the shape of an “X” – hence it being known as St. Andrew’s Cross. In front of it he uttered the following words:
“O most beautiful Cross, you have been glorified by the contact you have had with the Body of Christ! Great Cross, sweetly desired, ardently loved, always sought after, and finally prepared for my hasty heart, longing for you.
“Cross prepared for my heart, longing for you, gather me, O Cross! Really embrace me, take me away from men, lead me quickly, diligently, to the Master. Through you he will receive me, he who redeemed me through you.”
People run away from suffering in every way. Suffering is exactly what they don’t want. Any form of struggle against the passions, any form of renunciation of evil, horrifies them. The prevailing idea is that life has been given to man so that he can obtain profits and advantages, and that it is necessary to enjoy it, and what is not to enjoy life is to die.
On the contrary, St. Andrew ardently loved his cross, understanding that the true meaning of a man’s life is not the enjoyment or pleasure he has, but the sacrifice he makes. This gives meaning to a man’s life and, therefore, every truly supernatural man, truly man, longs to meet his great Cross, his great martyrdom.
For three days he was nailed to the cross, and for three days, from the top of the cross, he taught men.
“Lord, Eternal King of glory, receive me, hanging as I am on the tree, on the sweet Cross. You are my God, you whom I have seen. Do not allow me to be disconnected from the Cross; do this for me, Lord, who have known the virtue of your Holy Cross.”
And with these words he expired.
St. Andrew has always been the object of great devotion on the part of Catholics. So it was with indescribable enthusiasm that the saint’s head was received in Rome by Pius II on April 11, 1462. The Pope went to meet the precious relic. The Greek cardinal Besarion presented him with the box containing it, which was placed on a platform. Before receiving the sacred deposit, Pius II gave a touching speech. Then he tearfully kissed the Apostle’s head, prayed before it, then took it in his hands, held it high and turned it around on the platform to show it to all those present. At this point, the chants and cries of the immense crowd rose from all sides as one great voice, imploring God’s mercy.
The Apostle’s head was taken to St. Peter’s Basilica and placed in a reliquary embedded in one of the columns of the Vatican Basilica. However, by decision of Pope Paul VI in 1964, the relics that were still kept in the Vatican, a finger, part of the skull and small pieces of the cross, were sent back to Greece – where they are kept in the Orthodox Church of St. Andrew.
St. Andrew has the Eastern primacy in the Holy Church, as he was the brother of the head and foundation of the Church, St. Peter.
Text taken, with adaptations, from Fr. Rohrbacher and Abbé Daras, and from lectures given by Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira on November 30, 1964 and November 29, 1965.
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