Saint Andrew, Pray for us!
Saint Andrew is a priest after my own motherly heart,
as he seems to have a real way with family dynamics.
He brings his own brother, Peter, to the Lord
and is happy to receive his place behind him in the Lord's plan.

He brings the loaves and fishes with the little boy
and is happy to share in the miracle of bountiful nourishment.

Mostly, Saint Andrew's special way of expressing his love
speaks to me of how completely he conformed
to the will of his long-awaited Savior.
To even reach martyrdom by being crucified on the X-shaped cross,
reveals the pain and agony of conforming even his very bones
to the shape of that which means 'Christ' in Greek, 'X'!
Was there anything that he would not give to the Lord?
In my motherly encounters today,
I turn to this priestly patron Saint of the conforming will.
I ask Saint Andrew this day to assist me,
should any expression of my own will
not be in conformity to the Lord's plan.
During the very first Advent,
over 2000 years ago,
I wonder if Our Lady prayed for those whom
Our Lord, her Son, would invite into
abiding apostolic friendship,
in the years to come.

This Novena, although not directed to Saint Andrew,
reveals tender, attentive love to the details of that moment in time,
there in the manger in Bethlehem.
The tradition invites one to pray this 15 times a day
until Christmas Eve.
Some have recommended a family pray by dividing up the recitation
as necessary, perhaps five times at each meal.

Saint Andrew Christmas Novena
November 30th-December 24th

~Hail and Blessed be the Hour and Moment~
in which the Son of God was born of
the most pure Virgin Mary

...at midnight...
...in Bethlehem...
...in piercing cold...

In that hour, vouchsafe, O my God!
to hear my prayers and grant my desires,
through the merits of Our Savior, Jesus Christ,
and of His Blessed Mother.
Amen.