📜Saint Andrew, the "Protokletos" or "First Called," brother of Simon Peter and native of Bethsaida, was initially a disciple of John the Baptist before recognizing Jesus as the Lamb of God and following Him promptly, becoming one of the twelve Apostles; after Pentecost, tradition indicates that he evangelized regions such as Scythia, Epirus, and Thrace, sealing his testimony with his blood in Patras, Achaia, around 60 AD, where he was martyred on an X-shaped cross, which he greeted with reverent love for having held the body of Christ, this liturgical vigil being a moment of spiritual preparation and penance anticipating his feast and the beginning of the Advent cycle.
⚔️Epistle (Ecclus 44, 25-27; 45, 2-4 and 6-9)
The blessing of the Lord is upon the head of the just man. Therefore, the Lord gave him an inheritance and assigned him a part among the twelve tribes; and he found grace in the eyes of all flesh. And the Lord magnified him in the fear of his enemies, and with his words he soothed prodigies. He glorified him in the presence of kings, gave him orders before his people, and showed him his glory. In his faith and meekness, he made him holy and chose him from among all flesh. And he gave him, before all, the precepts and the law of life and discipline, and exalted him. He established with him an eternal covenant, girded him with the belt of justice, and the Lord crowned him with a crown of glory.
✝️Gospel (John 15, 12-16)
At that time, Jesus said to his disciples: This is my commandment: that you love one another, as I have loved you. Greater love than this no man has, that a man lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends, if you do the things that I command you. I will not now call you servants, for the servant knows not what his lord does. But I have called you friends, because all things whatsoever I have heard of my Father, I have made known to you. You have not chosen me, but I have chosen you; and have appointed you, that you should go and should bring forth fruit; and your fruit should remain: that whatsoever you shall ask of the Father in my name, He may give it you.
🕯️Reflections
⚓The liturgy of this vigil introduces us to the mystery of divine election, a central theme for understanding the vocation of Saint Andrew and the dynamics of grace in the Christian life. The Gospel of Saint John is emphatic in affirming the primacy of divine initiative: "You have not chosen me, but I have chosen you." This doctrinal truth highlights that holiness is not a human achievement but a response to God's loving predilection. Saint Augustine, meditating on this passage, teaches that the Lord does not choose us because we are good, but chooses us to make us good, infusing in us the charity that enables us to bear fruit. The Epistle corroborates this view by describing the just man who "found grace" and with whom God established an "eternal covenant," demonstrating that Andrew's apostolic dignity derives entirely from the eternal decree of God's saving will, which prepares his elect for glory through faith and meekness (Saint Augustine, Tractate on the Gospel of John, 86).
🩸The pinnacle of this election is friendship with Christ, sealed by the supreme sacrifice, according to the commandment of love: "Greater love than this no man has, that a man lay down his life for his friends." The distinction Jesus makes between servants and friends is fundamental; the servant obeys out of fear or obligation, unaware of the master's plans, while the friend obeys out of love and participation in the divine will. Saint Thomas Aquinas clarifies that charity is essentially the friendship of man for God, and martyrdom is the most perfect act of this virtue, as it demonstrates total detachment from temporal life in favor of the Divine Friend. Saint Andrew perfectly understood this doctrine by embracing his cross, not as an instrument of torture, but as the means of definitive configuration to the beloved Christ, transforming suffering into liturgy and witness (Saint Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologica, II-II, q. 23, a. 1).
🍇The purpose of this choice and friendship is spiritual fruitfulness: "that you should go and should bring forth fruit; and your fruit should remain." The fruit that remains is operative charity and the salvation of souls, a mission entrusted to the Apostles and perpetuated in the Church. The Epistle's reference to the "law of life and discipline" indicates that apostolic fruit requires order, doctrine, and fidelity to the precepts. Saint Teresa of Avila reminds us that works are the true sign of love and that union with God must overflow into service to the Church. In this vigil, we are invited to examine whether our Christian life is producing fruits of eternity or remaining sterile in selfishness, remembering that Christ's promise to grant what we ask of the Father is intrinsically linked to our abiding in His love and fulfilling His missionary mandate (Saint Teresa of Avila, Interior Castle, VII, 4).
🇺🇸See English version of the critical articles here
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