Rebroadcast of the long-running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour," a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org

"As Jesus was walking by the sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon who is now called Peter, and his brother Andrew, casting a net into the sea; they were fishermen. He said to them, ‘Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men.’ At once they left their nets and followed him." (Matthew 4:18-20)  Andrew and Simon were the first disciples of Jesus.

As in the case of all the apostles except Peter and John, the Gospels tell us little about the holiness of Andrew. He was an Apostle, personally chosen by Jesus to proclaim the Good News, to heal with Jesus’ power and to share his life and death. Andrew preached in what is now modern Greece and Turkey and was crucified at Patras on an X-shaped cross. The feast day of St. Andrew the Apostle is celebrated on November 30.