Saint Andrew was one of the fishermen of Bethsaida, and brother,
perhaps elder brother, of Saint Peter, and became a disciple of
Saint John Baptist. He seemed always eager to bring others into
notice; when called himself by Christ on the banks of the
Jordan, his first thought was to go in search of his brother,
and he said, “We have found the Messias,” and he brought him to
Jesus. It was he again who, when Christ wished to feed the five
thousand in the desert, pointed out the little lad with the five
loaves and fishes. Saint Andrew went forth upon his mission to
plant the faith in Scythia and Greece, and at the end of years
of toil to win a martyr’s crown. After suffering a cruel
scourging at Patrae in Achaia, he was left, bound by cords, to
die upon a cross. When Saint Andrew first caught sight of the
gibbet on which he was to die, he greeted the precious wood with
joy. “O, good cross!” he cried, “made beautiful by the limbs of
Christ, so long desired, now so happily found! Receive me into
thy arms, and pres