Feast day: November 30
Matthew tells us that Andrew was a fisherman, along with his brother Peter. In the Gospel of John, we learn that Andrew was also a disciple of John the Baptist (see 1:40). With John the Baptist, Andrew was waiting for the arrival of the Messiah. And now here was Jesus, inviting Andrew to follow him. Andrew’s hope had come true.
Saint Andrew’s patronage of Scotland derives from a legend that his relics were brought from Constantinople to the village of Saint Andrews in Scotland. It is also said that a Scottish warrior won a battle against the English in 832 because, after seeing the cross of Saint Andrew in a cloud formation in the sky, he promised that, if he won, he would make Saint Andrew the patron of Scotland. And so it came to be.
The cross of Saint Andrew is in the form of an X. It forms the basis for the Russian naval flag and for the national flag of Scotland. The oldest golf course in the world is in Scotland and is where the game of golf was invented. It is named St Andrews Links. Of the seven courses available, the “Old Course” remains a public course, open to all. (From Take Ten: Daily Bible Reflections for Teens [Saint Mary’s Press])
(Image Artus Wolffort, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons)