Meet the Apostle of Christmas—and Pray the Novena, by M.C. Holbrook

There is something about the Feast of St. Andrew that uplifts my heart every year. Perhaps it is simply because this feast day marks the commencement of the Advent season, more or less—not necessarily beginning on the first day of Advent (as it does this year), but always kicking off the first day of the twenty-five-day “Christmas Novena.” The season of joy has begun!

Of course, other than the fact that St. Andrew’s feast day happens to land twenty-five days before Christmas, there is really nothing linking him to the feast of Our Savior’s birth, per se. One could argue that it would make more sense to begin the Christmas Novena on December 8, the Feast of the Immaculate Conception. As great an idea as we might think that would be, it is not what has come to pass. St. Andrew is the one who spearheads this novena; he is the first to point the way to Jesus in the manger. So let’s see if we can understand just what makes this Apostle—who is only briefly mentioned throughout the Gospels—merit the honor. …

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