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Sunday, November 30, 2014

Feast of St. Andrew, November 30

Today is the First Sunday of Advent and also is the feast of St. Andrew the Apostle, the brother of St. Peter.

Here is the Calling of Saints Peter and Andrew by the great Sienese artist Duccio. This particular painting will be featured in the upcoming The Holy Gospels of St. Luke and St. John from the Sacred Art Series (which will be released later this week!).
























What a great saint is Andrew, the disciple of St. John the Baptist who brought Simon Peter--the first Pope--to Jesus Christ.

Like his brother Peter, Andrew would leave behind his fishing nets and become a fisher of men, and ultimately, Andrew would give his very life for Christ. In art, St. Andrew is regularly shown with his distinctive X-shaped cross. Here is St. Andrew by the great baroque artist Peter Paul Rubens.







































Two years ago on the feast of Saint Andrew, I had the opportunity to sing the Mass Propers for an Extraordinary Form Mass at the Church of the Resurrection in Lansing, Michigan. These Mass Propers are beautiful, and I particularly like the Alleluia. I was hoping to share this Alleluia chant, as these Gregorian chants are truly the pinnacle of sacred art, but I could not find a version on the Internet. Since I could not find a version on the Internet, I recorded my own. I'm sure it would sound better in a church and with several other male voices, but until I can manage to record it under better conditions, here it is: