Saint Andrew

The feast of one of the great apostles today reminds me of some great paintings dedicated to St Andrew in the parish dedicated to him at Luqa parish in Malta. These paintings were unveiled a year ago and were done by Paul Camilleri Cauchi. This painting shows an apotheosis of St Andrew as he is taken up into heaven. Various other paintings of apostles and St Andrew were also unveiled in the same church. He was actually the first apostle Jesus called at the Sea of Galilee. At first, the two brothers Peter and Andrew continued to carry on their fishing trade and family affairs, but later, the Lord called them to stay with Him all the time. He promised to make them fishers of men, and this time, they left their nets for good. It is believed that after Jesus ascended into Heaven, St Andrew went to Greece to preach the gospel, as well as along the Black Sea. He is said to have been put to death on a cross, to which he was tied, not nailed. He lived two days in that state of suffering, still preaching to the people who gathered around their beloved Apostle. Various countries have chosen St Andrew as their patron saint, among them Russia, Ukraine, Romania, and Scotland. In fact, Scotland has incorporated his X-shaped cross in their flag, repeated again in the Union Jack, the British flag. Relics of the Apostle Andrew are kept at the Basilica of St Andrew in Patras, Greece; the Duomo di Sant'Andrea, Amalfi, Italy; St Mary's Roman Catholic Cathedral, Edinburgh, Scotland; and the Church of St Andrew and St Albert, Warsaw, Poland. There are also numerous smaller reliquaries throughout the world. Today we end another liturgical year and tomorrow we start a new year with the First Sunday of Advent.