Reflections
“I will make you fish for people.”Joan Caroll-Cruz wrote a book entitled “Mysteries, Marvels and Miracles in the Lives of the Saints. It is a 581-page compendium of facts and recorded stories of 289 beatified and canonized saints. Concerning St. Andrew, we find this account: On the first anniversary of his martyrdom (crucified on an X-shaped cross in Greece), Novem- ber 30, 61, perfumed oil flowed from his sepulcher. For years it was so abundant that at times it flowed from the tomb down to the aisle of the church. In the year 357, his re- lics were transferred from Greece to Constantinople; the perfumed oil continued to flow. In 1204, his bones were transferred into a silver urn. A century later, the perfumed oil was replaced by a white granu- lar substance. When this was ap- plied to a blind man, his vision was restored.The miracles surrounding his relics are living testimonies that even after death, this blessed apostle continues to strengthen others’ faith in the Lord; many have been healed and many have been reconciled to Jesus. It is indeed the vocation of St. Andrew to in- troduce people to Jesus (cf. John 1:42; John 6:8ff; John 12:20ff). And in the course of his life he travelled to many lands facilitating an en- counter between people and Jesus through his preaching. In other words, we have in St. Andrew an ex- cellent model in evangelization. He labored with dedication for others to know Jesus. May we have the same inspiration.
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