November 30, 2017

Andrew

November 30, 2017:  St. Andrew, Apostle

Find 14 connections with today?
Legend below
Listen

For Psalm 19
Pope Francis in Myanmar
Homily for young people:  It's hard to talk about the Good News when injustice, poverty, and misery surround us, but you must be messengers of hope, unafraid to believe in God’s mercy and show solidarity with the suffering.  Listen to the Lord despite the noise and distractions of your lives.  Don't be afraid to cause a stir, or ask thought-provoking questions.  Be courageous, generous, and joyful; the Gospel always grows from small beginnings.  Full text
To bishops:  Healing:  We preach a gospel of healing, reconciliation and peace.  God has reconciled the world to himself and sent us to be messengers of that healing grace.  For you, whose flocks bear the scars of conflict and bear witness to their faith, your preaching must be both a source of strength and a summons to unity, charity, and healing.  Our unity is born of diversity, valuing people’s differences as a source of mutual enrichment and growth, and inviting them to come together in a culture of encounter and solidarity.  May the Lord help you foster healing and communion, so that God's people by their forgiveness and love may be salt and light for hearts longing for peace.  Thanks to all who bring healing to those in need.  May your efforts to build bridges and join followers of other religions in weaving peaceful relations bear rich fruit.
Accompaniment:  A good shepherd is present to his flock, guiding them, walking at their side.  The shepherd should smell like the sheep.  Bring Christ to every periphery.  Model missionary outreach by visiting your parishes and communities; it's a privileged means for you to accompany your priests, imbue laypeople with a spirit of missionary discipleship, and seek inculturation of the gospel in your communities.  Make it a priority to form and enrich your catechists.  Accompany the young.  Be concerned for their moral formation so they may confront today's challenges.  Engage and support them in their faith journey; they're called to be joyful and convincing evangelizers of their contemporaries.
Prophecy:  Witness to the gospel through works of education and charity, defense of human rights, and support for democratic rule.  Make your voices heard on issues of national interest, insisting on respect for the dignity and rights of all, especially the most vulnerable.  Protect the environment and use natural resources to benefit future generations. Never separate the protection of creation from sound human and social ecology, fraternity, and justice.

May our presence together make us more faithful shepherds and servants.  Maintain balance between your spiritual and physical health, and show concern for your priests' health.  Grow in prayer and the experience of God’s reconciling love, the basis of your priestly identity, guarantee of sound preaching, and source of pastoral charity.
Read
  • Rom 10:9-18  All, Jew or Gentile, who confess Jesus as Lord, believe God raised him, and call on the Lord will be saved.  People need to be sent to preach so others can hear, believe, and call on the Lord.  Faith comes from what is heard, through Christ's word.  How beautiful the feet of those who bring good news!  Their voice has gone forth to all the earth.
  • Ps 19:8-11  "The judgments of the Lord are true, and all of them are just." or "Your words, Lord, are Spirit and life."  The law of the Lord is perfect, trustworthy, right, clear, pure, true, just, precious, and sweet, giving refreshment, wisdom, joy, and light.
  • Mt 4:18-22  Jesus to fishermen Simon and his brother Andrew:  “Come; I'll make you fishers of men.”  They followed him.  He called James and John; they left their boat and father and followed him.
Reflect

  • Creighton:  Today’s gospel is about trust.  Jesus first calls brothers Peter and Andrew, and they follow.  Then he calls brothers James and John, and they leave their boat and also go.  In gospel stories with a message of trust, there's a demonstration of trust by one or more people.  Jesus doesn't just say, “Trust me”; there's follow-up.  I imagine the four called today felt moved by the Spirit and acted on that feeling.  How often has the Spirit called me to action, but I didn't have the trust to respond, maybe because I was unsure or afraid of what lay ahead?  Maybe Peter, Andrew, James and John were afraid too, but they listened and trusted....
    St. Andrew icon
  • One Bread, One Body:  "The left-out can reach out":  Andrew was one of the first two disciples to follow Jesus.  Andrew even led his brother, Simon Peter, to Jesus, who called them with James, and John to become fishers of men.  But Andrew didn't remain prominent; only Peter, James, and John, sans Andrew, were included at the raising of the daughter of Jairus, the Transfiguration, and the agony in the garden.  When #4 of a threesome, a tripod's 4th leg, or the 4th member of a trio, it's easy to be jealous, unforgiving, or fall into self-pity, but Andrew persevered, continuing to abandon everything to be a fisher of men.  When Greeks asked Philip to take them to Jesus, Philip took them to Andrew to take them.  When you're left out, reach out.  Share your love for Jesus, who was left out and rejected throughout his earthly life (from manger to cross), and still is, but still reaches out to us in love.
  • Passionist:  The most amazing thing about feet is that they can be the feet of Christ:  “Christ has no body but yours.  Yours are the feet with which he walks to do good… No hands, no feet on earth but yours” (Teresa of Avila).  “How beautiful are the feet of those who announce the good news.”  In today's gospel, Jesus, walking, calls Peter, Andrew, and others; they walked with, listened to Jesus, and learned from him. Once they witnessed his death and resurrection, he sends them to preach to the whole world, and they put their feet (and mouths) in action, and the “message goes out through all the earth.”  At Mass we listen to and learn from Jesus’ words and example and remember his death and resurrection, then, nourished, become apostles sent to preach the good news....
    • DailyScripture.net:  "Fishers of people":  Jesus gave his disciples the mission to catch people for God's kingdom.  He chose ordinary people who could do his work extraordinarily well under his direction and the Spirit's power.  When the Lord calls you, don't think you have nothing to offer; he'll use what we can offer to do great things.  We can catch people for God's kingdom if we allow Christ's light to shine through us, in how we live, speak, and witness gospel joy.  "Thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumph, and through us spreads knowledge of him.  We're the aroma of Christ among those being saved and those perishing...."
    Today's saints, from Universalis
    • Andrew, fisherman, apostle, one of the first to follow Jesus, introduced his brother, Simon Peter, to him.
    • Cuthbert Mayne, priest, martyr
    Dress legend
    • 'Feet' pin: How beautiful are the feet of those who bring the good news! (1st reading)
    • 'Phone' tie bar:  All who 'call' on the Lord will be saved (1st reading); Jesus called fishermen (gospel)
    • 'Heart' pin:  One believes with the heart and so is justified (1st reading); the Lord's precepts rejoice the heart,... (psalm)
    • 'Olympics' tie pin:  Their voice has gone forth to all the earth (psalm)
    • 'Owl' tie pin:  ...give wisdom to the simple,... (psalm)
    • 'Eyeball' pin:  ...and enlighten the eye;... (psalm)
    • Gold-colored accessories:  ...they're more precious than gold... (psalm)
    • Comb (in pocket):  ...and sweeter than honey from the 'comb' (psalm)
    • 'Fishes' tie:  Jesus called during fishing expedition (gospel)
    • 'Fishing pole' tie bar: Peter and Andrew were fishermen (gospel)
    • 'Boat' tie bar: James and John were in a boat with their dad (gospel)
    • "What would Jesus do" pin:  "They left their nets and followed him" (gospel)
      • Red shirt:  St. Andrew, apostle
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