De sancto Andrea apostolo
The Apostle's Name and Vocation
The chapter opens with an etymological reflection on the name Andrew and a description of his three-fold calling by the Lord.
The name Andrew is interpreted as "decorous," "responsive," or "manly," from the word ander, meaning "man"; and he is called Andrew as if from anthropos, that is... ... human, from ana, meaning "upward," and tropos, meaning "turning," as if he were turned upward toward heavenly things and raised toward his Creator. Therefore, he was decorous in his life, responsive in his wise teaching, manly in his suffering, and human in his glory. The priests and deacons of Achaia or Asia wrote down his passion just as they had seen it with their own eyes. A. Andrew and certain other disciples were called by the Lord on three separate occasions. First, he called them to know him, as when Andrew was standing one day with John, his master, and another disciple, and heard John say, "Look, the Lamb of God," and so on. And immediately, with the other disciple, he came and saw where Jesus was staying, and they stayed with him that day. Finding his brother Simon, Andrew brought him to Jesus. The following day, they returned to their fishing, but later he called them a second time to be his close companions. This happened when, on a certain day, crowds were pressing in on Jesus near the Sea of Gennesaret—also called the Sea of Galilee—and he boarded the boat belonging to Simon and Andrew. After a great catch of fish, and having called James and John, who were in another boat, they followed him, though they eventually returned to their own affairs. But later, for the third and final time, he called them to be his disciples, just as when Jesus was walking along that same shore and called them from their fishing, saying, "Follow me, and I will make you..." and so on. They left everything, followed him, and from that time on always stayed with him, never returning to their own affairs again. Nevertheless, he did call Andrew and some of his disciples to the apostolate, a calling mentioned in Mark.
Miracles of Grace and Deliverance
Andrew performs various miracles, including the liberation of Saint Matthew, the conversion of sinners, and the restoration of a repentant old man.
He. He called to himself those he chose, and they came to him, and he made it so that there were twelve with him. After the Lord's ascension, when the apostles were divided up, Andrew preached in Scythia, and Matthew in Margundia. But those men, utterly rejecting Matthew's preaching, gouged out his eyes and threw him in chains into prison, intending to kill him after a few days. Meanwhile, an angel of the Lord appeared to Saint Andrew and commanded him to go to Margundia to Saint Matthew; when he replied that he did not know the way, the angel ordered him to go to the seashore and board the first ship he found. He, fulfilling the command as quickly as possible, came to the aforementioned city with the angel as his guide and a favorable wind blowing. Finding the prison of Saint Matthew open, he saw him, wept bitterly, and prayed at length. Then the Lord restored to Matthew the gift of his two eyes, of which the wickedness of sinners had deprived him. Matthew then left that place and came to Antioch. But because Andrew remained in Margundia, those people, angry that Saint Matthew had escaped, seized Andrew and dragged him through the streets with his hands tied. As his blood flowed, he prayed for them and converted them to Christ through his prayer, before setting off for Achaia. However, I don't consider the story about this liberation of Matthew and the restoration of his two eyes by Andrew to be credible, lest it imply a base diminishment of such a great evangelist, as if he couldn't have obtained for himself what Andrew so easily secured for him. When a certain young nobleman attached himself to the apostle against his parents' wishes, they set fire to the house where he was staying with the apostle. As the flames grew high, the boy took a flask, sprinkled it over the fire, and immediately extinguished it, while his parents cried out that their son had become a magician. When they tried to climb the stairs, God struck them blind so they couldn't see the stairs at all. Then someone shouted, "Why are you wasting your time with such foolish labor? God is fighting for them, and you don't see it." Stop now, before the wrath of God descends upon you. Many people, seeing this, believed in the Lord, but his parents died fifty days later and were placed in a tomb. A woman living with a murderer couldn't give birth, so she told her sister, "Go and call on Diana, our mistress, for me." When she called on him, the devil answered, "Why are you calling on me when I can't help you?" "Go instead to the apostle Andrew; he can help your sister." After she went to him and brought the apostle to her suffering sister, he said to her, "You are suffering this justly because you have lived wrongly, conceived wrongly, and consulted demons." "But still, repent, believe in Christ, and cast away the child." She believed, and she brought forth the aborted fetus, and her pain ceased. An old man named Nicholas approached the apostle and said, "Master, look, I've lived seventy years, and in all that time I've served only my own lusts." Yet, I once received a Gospel book, praying to God that He might grant me the grace of self-control. But, hardened in that very sin and lured by evil desire, I would immediately return to my old ways. So, one time, inflamed by desire and having forgotten the Gospel I had placed upon myself, I went to a brothel, and the prostitute immediately said to me, "Leave, old man, leave! You are an angel of God; don't touch me or dare to come here, for I see wonders upon you." Stunned by the prostitute's words, I remembered that I had brought the Gospel with me. Now, therefore, holy man of God, let your devout prayer intercede for my salvation. Hearing this, the blessed Andrew began to weep and prayed from the third hour until the ninth; then, rising, he refused to eat, saying, "I won't eat until I know if the Lord will have mercy on this old man." And when he had fasted for five days, a voice came to Andrew saying, "You have obtained it, Andrew, for the old man." But just as you have worn yourself down through fasting, let him also afflict himself with fasts so that he may be saved. He did so, and for six months he fasted on bread and water, and afterwards, full of good works, he rested in peace. A voice then came to Andrew, saying: 'Through your prayer, I have regained Nicholas, whom I had lost.'
Trials and Martyrdom
Andrew faces persecution, defends the mystery of the cross, and ultimately suffers martyrdom, followed by miraculous signs at his tomb.
A young Christian man said privately to Saint Andrew, "My mother, seeing that I am handsome, is tempting me to commit an illicit act. When I refused to go along with her, she went to the judge, wanting to charge me with such a heinous crime." Please pray for me so that I don't die so unjustly. Even if I am accused, I'll remain completely silent, preferring to lose my life rather than shame my mother so disgracefully." The young man was then summoned to court, and Andrew followed him there. The mother persistently accused her son, claiming he had wanted to violate her. When the young man was asked repeatedly if the matter was true, he answered nothing at all. Then Andrew said to the mother, "You most cruel of women, who for your own lust accuse your only son." "Do you want to perish?" Then she said to the judge, "My lord, my son has been attached to this man ever since he wanted to do this but couldn't." The judge, now angry, ordered the boy to be put into a sack coated with pitch and bitumen and thrown into the river, while Andrew was to be kept in prison until he could devise a punishment by which he would die. But as Andrew prayed, a horrible thunderclap terrified everyone, a massive earthquake knocked them all to the ground, and the woman was struck by lightning and fell down, withered. As the others begged the apostle not to let them perish, he prayed for them, and everything stopped; then the governor believed, and his whole household with him. While the apostle was in the city of Nicaea, the citizens told him that outside the city, along the road, there were seven demons who were killing people as they passed by. At the apostle's command, they appeared before the people in the form of dogs, and he ordered them to go where they could harm no one; they vanished immediately. Seeing this, the people embraced the faith of Christ. When he arrived at the gate of another city, he saw a dead young man being carried out. When the apostle asked what had happened, he was told that seven dogs had come and killed the young man in a thicket. The apostle wept and said, "I know, Lord, that these were the demons I drove out of the city of Nicaea." He then asked the father, "What will you give me if I raise your son from the dead?" The man replied, "I possessed nothing dearer than him; therefore, I will give him to you." After the prayer was finished, he stood up and stayed with the apostle. When forty men were traveling by ship to the apostle to receive his teaching on the faith, the devil suddenly stirred up the sea and they were all drowned together. But when their bodies washed up on the shore, they were brought before the apostle, who immediately brought them back to life. They told him everything that had happened to them. This is why it is written in a certain hymn about him: 'He restored to the uses of life the forty young men submerged by the waves of the sea.' While staying in Achaia, the blessed Andrew filled the entire region with churches and converted many to the faith of Christ. He also taught the faith of Christ to the wife of the proconsul Aegeas and regenerated her in the sacred font of baptism. When Aegeas heard this, he entered the city of Patras and forced Christians to offer sacrifices to idols. Andrew met him and said, "It was fitting that you, having earned the position of judge over men on earth, should recognize your own Judge who is in heaven, and once recognized, worship Him, and by worshipping Him, turn your soul away from false gods." —and turn it away completely. Aegeas replied, "Are you the Andrew who preaches the superstitious sect that the Roman leaders have recently ordered to be wiped out?" Andrew answered him, "The Roman leaders haven't yet understood how the Son of God, coming into the world, taught that idols are demons—which teach this very thing, so that God is offended. Being offended, He turns away from them; being turned away, He does not hear them; and by not being heard, they themselves are captured by the devil, and once captured, they are deluded for so long that they depart from the body naked, carrying nothing with them but their sins." Aegeas said to him, "This Jesus of yours, whom you preach, was nailed to the gallows of the cross." Andrew replied, "He willingly took up the gallows of the cross for our restoration, not for any fault of His own." Aegeas said to him, "Since He was betrayed by His own disciple, held by the Jews, and crucified by the soldiers, how can you say that He willingly underwent the punishment of the cross?" Then Andrew began to show, with five arguments, that Christ had suffered willingly. This is clear from the fact that he foresaw his own passion and predicted it to his disciples, saying: 'Look, we're going up to Jerusalem.' It's also clear from the fact that he was fiercely indignant at Peter for wanting to turn him away from this, saying: 'Get behind me, Satan,' and so on. It's clear from the fact that he revealed he had the power to both suffer and rise again, saying: 'I have the power to lay down my soul, and I have the power to take it up again.' It's clear from the fact that he knew his betrayer beforehand, when he gave him the dipped bread, yet didn't avoid him. It's clear from the fact that he chose the place where he knew the betrayer would come, and asserted that he had been present for all these things. Andreas adds that the mystery of the cross was great. Aegeas replied to him: 'It can't be called a mystery, but a punishment.' 'Nevertheless, if you don't obey me, I'll make you experience that mystery yourself.' Andrew replied, "If I were afraid of the cross's gallows, I wouldn't be preaching the glory of the cross." I want to hear the mystery of the cross from you, in case you believe it and honor it once you've understood it, so that you might be saved. Then he began to unfold the mystery of redemption to him and to persuade him with five reasons why it was fitting and necessary. The first reason is that, since the first man brought death through a tree, it was fitting that the second man should drive it away by suffering on a tree. The second is that, since the transgressor was made from immaculate earth, it was fitting that the reconciler should be born of an immaculate virgin. The third is that, since Adam had unrestrainedly stretched out his hands toward the forbidden food, it was fitting that the second Adam should stretch out his immaculate hands on the cross. The fourth is that, since Adam had tasted sweet, forbidden food, it was fitting—because the contrary should be driven away by its contrary—that Christ should be fed with bitter food. The fifth is that, because it was fitting that Christ should confer his immortality upon us, he should assume our mortality for himself. “For if God had not become mortal, man would not have become immortal.” Then Aegeas said, “Tell these empty tales to your own people, and obey me and sacrifice to the almighty gods.” Andrew replied, "I offer the immaculate Lamb to the almighty God every day; though He is eaten by the whole people, He remains alive and whole." When Aegeas asked how this could be, Andrew said, "So that He might take on the form of a disciple." Aegeas said to him, "I'll force the truth of the matter out of you with torture." He then ordered him to be locked in prison. When morning came, he was brought to the tribunal and began to be invited again to sacrifice to the idols, saying, “Unless you obey me, I will have you hung on the very cross you praised.” When he threatened him with many tortures, he replied, “Devise whatever greater tortures you can think of; for the more constant I am in torments for His name, the more acceptable I will be to my King.” Then he ordered him to be beaten by twenty-one men and, once beaten, to be tied to the cross by his hands and feet so that he might endure a longer torment. As he was being led to the cross, a crowd of people gathered, saying, "His innocent blood is being condemned without cause." The apostle asked them, however, not to hinder his martyrdom. Seeing the cross from a distance, Andrew greeted it, saying, "Hail, O Cross, dedicated in the Body of Christ and adorned with His limbs as if with pearls." Before the Lord ascended into you, you had a worldly fear; but now, possessing heavenly love, you are received according to your desire. I come to you secure and rejoicing, so that you may joyfully receive me as a disciple of Him who hung upon you; for I have always been your lover, and I have longed to embrace you. O good cross, you who have received beauty and splendor from the limbs of the Lord. Long desired, eagerly loved, sought without ceasing, and at last prepared for a longing soul. Take me from men and restore me to my Master, so that He who redeemed me through you may receive me through you. And saying this, he stripped himself and handed his clothes to the executioners, and so they hung him on the cross, as had been ordered. While living on it for two days, he preached to twenty thousand people standing by. Then, as the crowd threatened Aegeas with death and said that such a holy, gentle, and pious man ought not to suffer in this way, he came to take him down. Seeing him, Andrew said: "Aegeas, why have you come to us? If you've come for repentance, you'll find it; but if you've come to take me down, know that I will not come down from this cross alive." For I already see my King, who is waiting for me. And when they tried to release him, they couldn't reach him at all, because their arms immediately went numb. Seeing that the crowd wanted to take him down, Andrew offered this prayer while on the cross, as Augustine says in his book On Repentance. "Lord, do not let me come down alive, but it is time for you to commit my body to the earth; for I have carried it for so long, and for so long I have watched over and labored for what was entrusted to me, that I now wish to be freed from this obedience and stripped of this heavy garment." "I remember how much I labored in bearing what was burdensome, in taming what was proud, in nurturing what was weak, and in restraining what was joyful." "You know, Lord, how often it strove to pull me away from the purity of contemplation, how often it tried to rouse me from the sleep of its most beloved rest, and how much and how often it caused me pain." "Therefore, most kind Father, for as long as I could, I resisted the one fighting against me, and with your help, I have overcome." From you, the just and merciful rewarder, I ask that you entrust this to me no longer; instead, I return the deposit. Entrust it to someone else and don't hinder me with it any longer; may it keep and return what is to be resurrected, so that you may also receive the merit of its labor. Entrust it to the earth, so that I no longer have to keep watch, and so that it doesn't hold me back or hinder me as I anxiously strive freely toward you, the fountain of life and unending joy. These are the words of Augustine. After he said this, an overwhelming radiance from heaven surrounded him for half an hour, so that no one could see him; and as the light faded, he surrendered his spirit along with that very light. Maximilla, the wife of Aegeas, took the body of the holy Apostle and buried it with honor; but Aegeas, before he could return home, was seized by a demon on the road and died in front of everyone. They also say that manna in the form of flour and oil with a sweet scent flows from the holy tomb of Andrew, by which the fertility of the coming year is shown to the inhabitants of the region. For if a little flows out, the earth yields a little fruit; if it flows abundantly, it yields an abundant harvest.
The Bishop and the Deceptive Spirit
A devout bishop is tempted by the devil in the form of a woman, but is saved by the miraculous intervention of Saint Andrew.
That may have been true in the past, but it's now reported that his body has been moved to Constantinople. A certain bishop, who lived a religious life, held the blessed Andrew in such veneration among the other saints that he always placed this title at the head of all his works: "To the honor of God and the blessed Andrew." Envious of this holy man, the ancient enemy applied all his cunning to deceive him and transformed himself into the form of a most beautiful woman; he then came to the bishop's palace, claiming that he wished to make a confession to him. The bishop ordered that she should confess to his penitentiary, to whom he had delegated the fullness of his authority. She replied that she would reveal the secrets of her conscience to no one but him, and so the bishop, convinced, ordered her to come to him. To this she said, "I beg you, my lord, have mercy on me. As you can see, I am still in my youth, raised delicately from childhood, and born of royal blood; I have come here alone in the habit of a pilgrim." For my father, the king, a very powerful man, wanted to join me in marriage to a great prince, but I answered him, 'I abhor every marital bed, because I have dedicated my virginity to Christ forever, and therefore I could never consent to carnal union.' Finally, being so constrained that I had to either obey his will or endure various tortures in the land, I secretly fled, choosing rather to live in exile than to break my faith to my Spouse. Hearing of your holiness, I have fled under the wings of your protection, hoping to find with you a quiet place where I might enjoy the secret silences of contemplation and avoid the shipwrecks of this present life and the turmoil of a clamorous world. Admiring the nobility of her lineage, the beauty of her body, her immense fervor, and the grace of her eloquence, the bishop replied in a pleasant and kind voice: "Be at peace, my daughter, and do not be afraid, for He for whose love you have so courageously turned your back on yourself, your family, and your possessions will reward you for this with a fullness of grace in the present and a fullness of glory in the future. But I, too, as His servant, offer you myself and all I have; choose for yourself whatever place you like for your lodging. I do, however, want you to dine with me today." She replied to him: "Father, I beg you, do not ask me about this, lest some suspicion of evil arise from it and the brightness of your reputation suffer any stain." The bishop said, "There will be many of us, so we won't be alone." And so, no shadow of suspicion could possibly arise in anyone. When they came to the table, the bishop and she sat opposite each other, with the others seated on either side. The bishop kept looking at her, unable to stop gazing at her face and admiring her beauty. And so, as his eye was fixed and his mind was captivated, and as he could not stop looking at her face, the ancient enemy wounded his heart with a heavy dart. The devil himself perceived this and began to increase her beauty more and more. The bishop was already on the verge of consenting to attempt an illicit act with her whenever the opportunity arose, when suddenly a certain pilgrim came to the door, knocking repeatedly and calling out loudly to be let in. When they refused to open the door, and he became overly insistent with his loud shouting and knocking, the bishop asked the woman if she would accept the entry of that pilgrim. She said to him, "Propose a difficult question to him; if he can solve it, let him be admitted, but if he can't, turn him away from the bishop's presence as ignorant and unworthy." Everyone agreed with her, and they wondered who would be capable of asking such a question. When no one could be found, the bishop said, "Who among us is as capable of this as you, my lady? You surpass us all in eloquence, and you shine more brightly than any of us in wisdom." "You, therefore, propose this question." Then she said, "Ask him what the greatest miracle is that God has ever performed in a small thing." When the stranger was asked this through the messenger, he said, "The diversity and excellence of faces: for among all the people who have lived from the beginning of the world and who will live until the end, no two could be found whose faces are or were exactly alike in every way, and yet God has placed all the senses of the body within that very small face." Everyone who heard his answer was amazed and said, "That is a true and excellent solution to the question." Then the woman said, "Let a second, more difficult question be proposed to him, so we can better test his wisdom: ask him where the earth is higher than all the heavens." When asked about this, the pilgrim replied: “In the empyrean heaven, where the Body of Christ resides.” For the Body of Christ, which is higher than every heaven, was formed from our flesh; and our flesh is a kind of earthly substance. Since, therefore, the Body of Christ is above all the heavens and took its origin from our flesh, and our flesh is fashioned from the earth, it is certain that where the Body of Christ resides, there, without a doubt, the earth remains higher than heaven. The messenger reported the pilgrim's answer, and everyone marveled at his response and highly praised his wisdom. Then she said again: "Let a third, most serious and hidden question be put to him—one difficult and obscure—so that his wisdom may be tested a third time and he may be found worthy to be admitted to the bishop’s table." “Let him be asked how much space there is from the earth to heaven.” When the pilgrim was asked about this by the messenger, he said: “Go to the one who sent you to me and ask him about this diligently. He knows this better than I do, and so he will answer you better, for he measured that distance when he fell from heaven into the abyss. I, however, have never fallen from heaven, nor have I ever measured that distance; for it is not a woman, but the devil, who has taken on the likeness of a woman.” Hearing this, the messenger was terrified and recounted what he had heard to everyone. While everyone was marveling and stunned, the ancient enemy vanished from their midst. The bishop, however, coming to his senses, rebuked himself bitterly and lamented, begging for forgiveness for the sin he had committed. He sent a messenger to bring the pilgrim in, but he could not be found anywhere. Then the bishop called the people together and clearly explained to them the sequence of events, and he commanded that everyone should persist in fasting and prayer, in case the Lord might deign to reveal to someone who that stranger was who had delivered him from such great danger. However, it was revealed to the bishop that night that it was blessed Andrew who had taken on the appearance of a stranger for his deliverance. The bishop’s devotion to Saint Andrew grew significantly, and from that time on, he held him in even greater reverence.
Divine Justice and the Church's Field
A governor who seized church property is struck by divine judgment and forced to restore the land through the bishop's prayers.
When the governor of a certain city had seized a field belonging to Saint Andrew and, because of this, had been struck down by severe fevers while the bishop was praying, he begged the bishop to pray for him and return the field; but when he had recovered his health through the bishop's prayer, he seized the field again. Then the bishop turned to prayer and extinguished all the church's lamps, saying, "This light shall not be lit." He did this until the Lord should avenge Himself upon His enemy and the church should recover what it had lost. And look, the governor was suffering again from severe fevers and sent messengers to the bishop, asking him to pray for him and to return his own field, as well as another one like it. When the bishop kept answering him, "I have already prayed, and God has heard me," the governor had himself carried to him. He forced him to enter the church to pray. As the bishop entered the church, the governor suddenly died, and the field was restored to the church.
Read the original Latin
Andreas interpretatur decorus vel respondens vel virilis ab ander), quod est vir; et dicitur Andreas, quasi anthropos, i. e. homo, ab ana, quod est sursum, et tropos, quod est conversio, quasi sursum ad coelestia conversus et ad snum creatorem erectus fuit. Ergo decorus in vita, respondens in sapienti doctrina, virilis in poena et antropos in gloria. Ejus passionem presbiteri et dyacones Achayae seu Asiae, sicut oculis suis viderant, conscripserunt.
A. Andreas et quidam alii discipuli tribus vicibus a domino sunt vocati, Primo enim vocavit eos ad sui notitiam, Sicut quando stante Andrea die quadam cum Johanne magistro suo et alio cum discipulo, audivit a Johanne: Ecce agnus Dei ejc. et statim cum alio discipulo venit et vidit, ubi manebat Jesus et manserunt apud illum die illo. Inveniensque Andreas fratrem suum Symonem, adduxit eum ad Jesum. Sequenti autem die ad piscationis opera redierunt, postmodum secundo vocavit eos ad sui familiaritatem, Sicut cum die quadam turbis irruentibus ad Jesum juxta stagnum Genesareth, quod dicitur mare Galilaeum, navim intravit Symonis et Andreae et capta multitudine magna piscium vocatisque Jacobo et Johanue, qui erant in alia navi, secuti sunt eum et iterum ad propria redierunt. Sed postea tertio et ultimo vocavit eos ad sui discipulatum, sicut quando ambulante Jesu juxta idem littus 'vocavit eos de piscatione dicens: Venite post me faciam vos etc. Qui relictis omnibus secuti sunt eum eique semper postmodum adhae serunt nec ultra ad propria redierunt. Nihilominus tamen vocavit Andream et quosdam de suis discipuis ad apostolatum, de qua vocatione dicitur Marc.
Ill. Vocavit ad se quos voluit ipse et venerunt ad eum et fecit ut essent duodecim cum eo. Post ascensionem domini divisis apostolis Andreas apud Scythiam, Matthaeus vero apud Margundiam praedicavit. Viri autem illi praedicationem Matthaei penitus respuentes ei oculos eruerunt et vinctum incarceraverunt post paucos dies occidere eum disponentes. Interea angelus domini Sancto Andreae apparuit et Murgundiam ad sanctum Matthaeum ire praecepit; quo respondente, se viam nescire, jussit ut ad ripam maris iret et ad primam navem, quam igveniret, intraret. Qui vel ocius jussa complens ad urbem praedictam venit angelo duce et prospero vento flante:. et imvento aperto carcere Sancti Matthaei eoque viso flevit, plurimum et oravit. Tunc dominus Matthaeo reddidit beneficium duorum luminum, quibus eum privaverat nequitia peccatorum.
Matthaeus antem ab inde recessit et Antiochiam venit. Andrea vero Margundia remanente irati illi de evasione Sancti Matthaei Andream apprehendunt et per plateas ligatis manibus pertrahunt: cumque ejus sanguis efflueret, pro iis oravit et ad Christum eos sua oratione convertit, inde in Achayim proficiscens. Hoc autem quod dicitur de hujusmodi liberatione Matthaei et restitutione duorum luminum per Andream nom puto dignum fidei, ne in tanto evangelista minoratio infima denofetur, quasi sibi non potuerit obtinere, quod Andreas ei tam facile impetravit.
Quidam juvenis nobilis dum invitis parentibus apostolo adhaesisset, parentes ejus domum in qua morabatur cum apostolo, succenderunt. Cumque Jam in altum flamma succresceret, puer accepta ampulla super ignem sparsit et statim ignem exstinxit, illis autem dicentibus: filius noster magus est effectus. Dum per scalas vellent ascendere, a Deo sunt excaecati, ut ipsas scalas penitus non viderent. Tunc quidam exclamans ait: ut quid vos stulto labore consumitis, Deus pugnat pro iis et vos non videtis. Gessate jam, me in vos ira Dei descendat. Multi ergo videntes domino crediderunt, parentes vero ejus post quinquaginta dies mortui in monumento sunt positi.
Quaedam mulier cuidam homicidae conjuncta cum parere non posset, sorori suae dixit: vade et pro me Dyanam dominam nostram invoca. Cui invocanti ait dyabolus: cur me invocas, cum tibi prodesse non possim? Sed vade ad Andream apostolum, qui sororem tuam poterit adjuvare, Ad quem cum ivisset et apostolum ad sororem periclitantem duxisset, dicit ei apostolus: recte hoc pateris, quia male duxisti, male concepisti et daemones consuluisti. Sed tamen poenitere et in Christum crede et puerum projice, Qua credente abortivum protulit et dolor cessavit.
Senex quidam nomine Nicolaus adiit apostolum dicens: domine, ecce septuaginta anni vitae meae sunt, in quibus semper luxuriae deservivi. Accepi autem aliquando evangelium orans Deum, ut mihi amando continentiam largiretur. Sed in ipso peccato inveteratus et a mala concupiscentia illectus statim ad opus solitum revertebar. Quadam igitur vice concupiscentia inflammatus oblitus evangelium, quod super me posueram, ad lupanar ivi statimque meretrix dixit mihi: egredere senex, egredere, quia angelus Dei es, tu ne me contingas neque huc accedere praesumas: video enim superte mirabilia. Stupefactus ad verba merericis recolui, quod mecum evangelium detulissem. Nunc igitur, Sancte Dei, pro salute mea tua pia oratio intercedat. Audiens hoc beatus Andreas flere coepit et a tertia'usque ad nonam oravit et surgens noluit comedere, sed ait: non comedam, donec sciam, si dominus miserebitur hujus senis. Cumque diebus quinque jejunasset, venit vox ad Andream dicens : obtines Andrea pro sene.
Sed sicut per jejunium macerasti te, sic, se et ipse aflligat jejuniis út salvetur. Sicque fecit et in sex mensibus in pane ct aqua jejunavit ct postmodum plenus bonis operibus in pace requievit. Venit igitur vox ad Andream dicens: per orationem tuam Nicolaum, quem perdideram, acquisivl.
Quidam juvenis Christianus secretius Sancto Andreae dixit: mater mea pulchrum me videns de opere me illicito tentat: cui dum nullatenus , assentirem , judicem adiit, volens in me crimen tantae nequitiae re. torquere, sed ora pro me, ne moriar tam injuste, nam et accusatus penitus reticebo malens vitam perdere, quam matrem meam tam turpiter infamare. Juvenis igitur ad judicium vocatur et illuc eum Andreas prosequitur. Accusat constanter mater filium, quod se voluerit violare. Interrogatus pluries juvenis, an res taliter se haberet, nihil penitus respondebat. Tunc Andreas matri dixit: crudelissima feminarum, quae pertuam libidinem unicum filium. vis perire. Tunc illa praeposito dixit: domine, huie homini filius meus adhaesit, postquam hoc agere voluit sed nequivit.
Iratus itaque judex jussit puerum in saccum linitum pice et bitumine mitti et in flumine projici, Andream vero in carcere reservari, donec excogitaret supplicium, quo periret. Sed orante Andrea tonitruum horribile omnes terruit et terrae motus ingens cunctos prostravit et mulier a fulmine percussa et arefacta corruit. Orantibus autem caeteris apostolum, ne perirent, oravit pro iis et omnia cessaverunt, Tunc praepositus credidit et domus ejus tua.
Cum autem esset apo, Stolus in civitate Nicaea, dixerunt ei cives, quod extra civitatem secus viam septem daemones erant, qui praetereuntes homines occidebant. Quibus ad jussum apostoli ante populum in specie canum venientibus praecepit, ut illuc irent, ubi nulli hominum nocere possent, Qui statim evanuerunt. Illi autem homines hoc viso fidem Christi receperunt. Et cum venisset ad portam alterius civitatis ecce quidam juvenis mortuus ferebatur. —Quaerente apostolo quid ei accidisset, dietum est ei, quod septem canes venerunt et eum in rubiculo necaverunt. Et lacrimans apostolus ait: scio domine, quod faerunt daemones, quos a Nicaea urbe repuli. Dixitque patri: quid dabis mihi, sisuscitavero filium tuum? Cuiille: nil carius ego possidebam, ipsum ergo tibi dabo.
Et facta oratione surrexit et apostolo adhaesit.
Cum quidam viri numero quadraginta ad apostolum navigio venirent, ut ab eo fidei doctrinam reciperent, ecce a dyabolo inare concitatur et omnes pariter submerguntur. Cum autem eorum corpora ad litus delata fuissent, ante apostolum deportantur et ab eo continuo suscilantur. Qui omnia, quae sibi acciderunt narraverunt. Unde in quodam hymno ipsius legitur: quaterdenos juvenes submerx sos maris fluctibus vitae reddidit usibus ).
Beatus igitur Andreas in Achaya consistens totam cum ecclesiis implevit et plurimos ad fidem Christi convertit. Uxorem quoque Aegeae proconsulis fidem Christi docuit et-sacro baptismatis fonte ipsam regeneravit Audito hoc Aegeas Patras civitatem ingreditur compellens Christianos ad sacrificia ydolorum, cui occurrens Andreas dixit: oportebat ut tu qui judex hominum esse meruisti in terris, judicem tuum qui in coelis est, agnosceres et agnitum coleres et colendo animum a falsis Diis. penitus revocares. — Cui Aegeas: tu es Andreas, qui superstitiosam praedicas sectam, quam Romani principes nuper exterminare jusserunt. Ad quem Andreas: Romani principes nondum cognoverunt, quómodo filius Dei veniens docuerit ydola esse daemonia, quae hoc docent, unde offendatur Deus, ut offensus ab iis avertatur et aversus non exaudiat et non exaudiendo ipsi a dyabolo captiventur et captivati tamdiu deludantur, donec nudi de corpore exeant, nihil secum praeter peccata portantes, Cui Acgeas: ista vana Jesus vester praedicans crucis patibulo est affixus. Cui Andreas: pro restauratione nostra non pro culpa sua crucis patibulum sponte suscepit. Ad quem Aegeas dixit: cum a suo discipulo fuerit traditus et a Judaeis tentus, et a militibus crucifixus, quomodo tu dicis, eum sponte crucis subiisse supplicium? Tunc Andreas quinque rationibus coepit ostendere Christum voluntarie passum fuisse.
Scilicet ex eo quod passionem suam praevidit et discipulis futuram praedixit; ecce, inquiens, ascendimus Hierosolyma ete. Et ex eo quod Petro eum ab hoc avertere cupienti dure indignatus fuit dicens: vade post me Satana etc. et ex eo quod utriusque scilicet patiendi et resurgendi se potestatem habere manifestavit dicens: potestatem habeo ponendi animam meam et iterum sumendi eam. Et ex eo quod proditorem praecognovit, cum panem intinctum ei dedit, nec tamen vitavit. Et ex eo, quod locum, in quo proditorem venturum sciebat, elegit et his omnibus se interfuisse asseruit. Addit Andreas, quod mysterium crucis magnum esset. Cui Aegeas: mysterium dici non potest, sed supplicium. Verumtamen ubi mihi non obtemperaveris, ipsum mysterium te faciam experiri.
Cui Andreas: si crucis patibulum expavescerem, crucis gloriam non praedicarem. Audire a te volo mysterlum crucis, si forte credas ipsum agnitum colas ut salveris. Tunc coepit ei mysterium redemtionis pandere et quam congruum et necessarium fuerit, quinque rationibus persuadere. Prima ratio est, quod quia primus homo per lignum mortem suscitavit ), congruum fuit, ut secundus eam per lignum pelleret patiendo. Secunda quod quia de immaculata terra factus fuerat praevaricator, congruum fait, nt de immaculata nasceretur virgine reconciliator. Tertia quod-quia Adam ad cibum vetitum incontinenter manus extenderat, congruum fuit, ut secundus Adam in cruce immaculatas manus extenderet. Quarta quod quia Adam cibum suavem vetitum gustaverat, congruum fuit ad hoc, quod contrarium pelleretur contrario, ut Christus esca fellea Ccibaretur. Quinta quia ad hoc quod Christus nobis suam immortalitatem conferret, congruum fuit, ut nostram sibi mortalitatem assumeret.
Nisi enim Deus factus fuisset mortalis, homo non fieret immortalis, Tune Aegeas dixit: haec vana tuis narra et mihi obtempera diisque ommipotentibus sacrifica. — Cui Andreas: omnipotenti Deo agnum immaculatum quotidie offero, qui postquam a toto populo comestus fuerit, vivus et integer perseverat. Aegea, quomodo hoc fieret, requirente, dixit Andreas: ut formam discipuli assumeret. Cui Aegeas: ego cum tormentis a te exigam rei notitiam. lratugque jussit eum in carcere recludi. Mane facto tribunali sistitur et ad sacrificia ydolorum iterum invitare coepit dicens: nisi mihi obtemperaveris, in ipsam, quam laudasti, crucem faciam te suspendi, Cumque ei multa supplicia minaretur, respondit: quidquid tibi videtur in suppliciis majus excogita; tanto enim regi meo ero acceptior, quanto fuero pro nomine ejus in tormentis constantior. Tunc jussit eum a viginti uno hominibus caedi et caesum manibus et pedibus cruci alligari ut sic longiorem reciperet cruciatum, Cumque duceretur ad crucem, factus est concursus populorum dicentium: innocens sanguis ejus sine causa damnatur. Quos tamen rogavit apostolus, ne suum martirium impedirent, Videns antem Andreas a longe crucem salutavit eam dicens: salve crux, quae in corpore Christi dedicata es et ex membris ejus tanqnam margaritis ornata.
Antequam in te adscenderet dominus, timorem terrenum habuisti: modo vero amorem coelestem obtinens pro voto susciperis. Securns igitur et gaudens venio ad te, nt tu exsultans suscipias me discipulum ejus, qui pependit in te: quia amator tuus semper fui et desideravi amplecti te. O bona crux, quae decorem et pulchritudinem de membris domini suscepisti. Din desiderata, sollicite amata, sine intermissione ) quaesita, aliquando concupiscenti animo praeparata. Accipe me ab hominibus et redde me magistro meo, ut per te me accipiat, qui per te me redemit. Et haec dicens se exuit et vestimenta carnificibus tradidit sicque eum in crucem , ut jussum fuerat, suspenderunt. In qua biduo vivens viginti ) millia hominum adstantium praedicavit. Tune minitante turba Aegeae mortem et dicente, virum sanctum mansuetum et pium non debere ita pati, venit ut ipsum deponeret.
Quem videns Andreas dixit: quid tu ad nos venisti, Aegea, si pro poenitentia, ipsam consequeris, si autem ut me deponas, scias, quod ego vivus de cruce non descendam. Jam enim video regem meum, qui me exspectat. Et cum vellent eum solvere, nullo modo poterant ad eum pertingere, quia statim eorum brachia stupida reddebantur. Videns autem Andreas, quod plebs volebat eum deponere, hanc orationem in cruce fecit, ut dicit Augustinus in libro de poenitentia. Ne me permittas domine descendere vivum, sed tempus est, ut commendes terrae corpus meum: tamdiu enim portavi jam, tamdiu super commendatum vigilavi et laboravi, quod vellem jam ab ipsa obedientia liberari et isto gravissimo indumento spoliari. Recordor quantum in pertando onerosum, in domando superbum, in fovendo infirmum, in coercendo laetum laboravi. Scis, domine, quoties a puritate contemplationis retrahere me contendebat, quoties a dilectissimae quietis suae somno me excitare obtendebat, quantum et quoties ) dolorem ingerebat. Qui igitur tamdiu, ut potui, pater benignissime pugnanti restiti et tua ope superavi.
A te justo remuneratore et pio posco, ne mihi id ultra commendes: sed depositum reddo. Commenda alii nec me illo ultra impedias, et resurrecturum servet et reddat, ut ipsum quoque meritum sui laboris recipias. Terrae id commenda, ut me amplius vigilare non oporteat et libere ad te fontem vitae indeficientis gaudii tendere anxiantem non retrahat nec impediat. Haec Augustinus. His dictis splendor nimius de coelo veniens dimidia hora eum circumdedit, ita ut nullus enm videre posset, et abscedente lumine simul cum ipso lumine piritum tradidit. Maximilla vero uxor Aegene tulit corpus Apostoli sancti et honorifice sepelivit, Aegeas vero antequam domum suam rediisset, arreptus a daemone in via coram omnibus expiravit. Ajunt quoque de sepulchro sancto Andreae mannam in inodum farinae et oleum cum odore emanare, à quo, quae sit anni futuri fertilitas, incolis regionis ostenditur. Nam si exiguum profluit, exiguum terra exhibet fructum, si copiose, copiosum.
Hoe forte antiquitus verum fuit, sed modo ejus corpus apud Constantinopolitanos translatum esse perhibetur.
Episcopus quidam religiosam habens vitam beatum Andream inter caeteros sanctos in veneratione habebat, ita quod in cunctis suis operibus hune semper titulum praeponebat: ad honorem Dei et beati Andreae. Invidens igilur viro sancto, hostis antiquus, ad eum decipiendum tota se calliditate contulit seque in formam mulieris pulcherrimae transformavit, Venit igitur ad palatium episcopi asserens se velle confiteri eidem. Mandat episcopus, ut suo poenitentiali confiteatur, cui plenitudinem tradiderat potestatis. Renuntiat illa, quod nulli hominum nisi sibi secreta suae conscientiae revelet, sicque convictus epis copus eam ad se venire praecepit. Cui illa: obsecro domine miserere mei, ego vero in annis puellaribus, ut cernitis, constituta et a pueritia delicate nutrita, nec non et regia stirpe progenita huc in peregrino habitu sola veni. Nam pater meus rex, itaque valde potens cuidam magno principi me volebat in conjugium sociare, cui respondi: omnem torum abominor maritalem, quia virginitatem meam Christo in perpetuum dedicavi et ideo nunquam possem in carnalem copulam consentire. — Denique sic artata quod oportebat me aut ejus voluntati ) obedire ant ) terrae diversa subire sup plicia latenter fugam inii, magis eligens exulare quam sponso meo fidem infringere. Audiens vero vestrae sanctitatis praeconium sub alas vestrae protectionis confugi, sperans me apud vos locum re perire quietis, ubi possim contemplationis ) carpere secreta silentia praesentisque vitae vitare naufragia et perturbationem mundi fagere perstrepentis.
Admirans in ea episcopus nobilitatem generis, pulchritudinem corporis, tam immensum fervorem et tantae eloquentiae venustatem placita et benigna voce respondit: esto secura, 9 EN tilia, ne formides, quia ille, ob cujus amorem te et tuos et tua tam viriliter contemsistl, tibi ob hoc et in praesenti cumulum gratiae et in fnturo plenitudinem gloriae largietur, Sed et ego servus ejus me et mea tibi offero, eligasque tibi, ubi placuerit, mansionem : volo autem hodie mecum prandere debeas. Cui illa ): noli inquit, pater, noli de hac re me rogare, ne forte ex hoe aliqua mali suspicio perveniat et nitor famae vestrae denigrationem aliquam patiatur. Ad quam episcopus dixit: plures erimus et non soli. Et ideo nullum mali suspicionis scrupulum in aliquo poterit generari. Venientes itaque ad mensam episcopus et illa ex opposito consederunt caeteris residentibus hinc et inde. Intendit in eam crebro episcopus ejusque faciem non desinit intueri et pulchritudinem admirari. Sicque dum oculus figitur, animus sanciatur, et dum ejus faciem non desinit intueri, antiquus hostis cor ejus gravi jaculo vulneravit. Perpendit hoc ipse dyabolus et pulchritudinem suam coepit magis ac magis augere jamque episcopus proximus erat consensui, ut eam de illicito opere attentaret, quando possibilitas se offerret, tunc subito quidam peregrinus venit ad ostium crebris ictibus pulsans et magnis clamoribus postulans sibi aperiri, cumque aperire nollent et ille magnis clamoribus et ictibus nimis iis fieret importunus, interrogat episcopus mulierem, si ingressum illius peregrini hominis acceptaret?
Cui illa dixit: proponatur sibi aliqua quaestio gravis, quam si enodare sciverit, admittatur, si autem nescierit, tamquam inscius et indignus ab episcopi praesentia repellatur. Favent ejus omnes sententiae et quis sufficiens esset hanc quaestionem proponere sciscitantur. Cumque nullus inveniretur, episcopus dixit: quis enim nostrum ad hoc tam sufficiens est, quam vos o domina, quae caeteros nos et eloquentia práeceditis et sapientia nobis omnibus amplius rutilatis. Vos igitur hanc proponite quaestionem. Tunc illa dixit: interrogetur, quod est majus mirabile, quod Deus unquam in parva re fecerit. Interrogatus de hoc peregrinus per nuntium dixit: diversitas et excellentia facierum: inter tot enim homines, qui fuerunt ab initio mundi et usque in finem faturi sunt, duo reperiri non possent, quorum facies per omnia similes sint ) vel essent, et in ipsa quoque tam minima facie omnes sensus corporis Deus collocavit. Audientes omnes ejus responsiouem admirantes dixerunt: vera et optima est solutio quaestionis. Tunc mulier ait: proponatur sibi secunda quaestio gravior , in qua melius possumus sapientiam ejus experiri: quaeratur ab eo, ubi terra sit altior omni coelo.
— Percunctatus de hoc peregrinus respondit: in coelo empyreo, ubi residet corpus Christi. Corpus enim Christi, quod est altius omni coelo, est de nostra carne formatum: porro caro nostra quaedam terrea substantia est; cum ergo vorpus Christi super omnes coelos sit et de nostra carne originem duxerit, caro autem nostra de terra sit condita, constat, quod ubi corpus Christi residet, ibi procnl dubio terra altior coelo manet. Refert nuntius, quod responderat peregrinus, et ecce omnes responsionem ejus mirabiliter approbant et magnifice sapientiam ejus laudant. Tunc illa iterum dixit: fiet ei tertia quaestio gravissima et occulta et ad solvendum difficilis et obscura, ut sic ejus sapienfia tertio comprobetur et dignus sit, ut ad mensam episcopi merito admittatur. Quaeratur ab eo, quanti spatii sit a terra usque in coelum. — Requisitus de hoc peregrinus nuntio dixit: vade ad eum, qui te misit ad me et de hoc diligenter percunctare; ipse enim melius me hoc novit et ideo tibi de hoc melius respondebit, nam ipse illud spatium mensuravit, quando de coelo in abyssum cecidit, ego autem de coelo nunquam cecidi et illud spatium nunquam mensuravi: non enim est mulier, sed dyabolus, qui se posuit in similitudinem mulieris. Audiens hoc nuntius vehementer expavit et ea, quae audierat, coram omnibus recitavit. Mirantibus itaque omnibus et stupentibus, antiquus hostis de medio eorum evanuit Episcopus autem rediens ad se redarguit amare semet ipsum et de perpetrata culpa veniam lamentabiliter precabatur, misitque nuntium, ut peregrinus introduceretur, sed nequaquam amplius inveni tur.
Tunc episcopus populum convocavit et iis evidenter exposuit ordinem gestae rei praecepitque,, ut omnes jejuniis et orationibus iusisterent, si forte dominus revelare alicui dignaretur, quisnam ille peregrinus fuerit, qui eum a tanto periculo liberavit. Revelatum autem est illa nocte episcopo, quod beatus Andreas fuerit, qui pro liberatione ipsius se posuerit in habitu peregrini. Coepit igitur episcopus in devotione Sancti Andreae magnifice crescere ac eum exinde in reverentia plus habere.
Cum praepositus cujusdam civitatis agrum Sancti Andreae abstulisset et ob hoc gravissimis febribus orante episcopo fuerit correptus, ille episcopum rogavit, ut pro se oraret, et agrum sibi redderet, sed cum orante episcopo sanitatem recepisset, agrum iterum usurpavit. Tune cpiscopus orationi se dedit et omnes lampades ecclesiae fregit dicens : hoc lumen non accendetur, . donec dominus se de suo inimico vindicet et ecclesia, quod amisit, recuperet. Et ecce praepositus gravissimis iterum febribus laboravit misitque nuntios episcopo, ut pro se oraret, et agrum suum et alium sibi similem redderet. Cui cum episcopus semper responderet: jam oravi et exaudivit me Deus, ipse ad eum se portari fecit et ut. ecclesiam intraret ad orandum, coegit. Episcopus dum ecclesiam ingreditur, subito moritur et ager ecclesiae restituitur.
The Golden Legend (Legenda Aurea) companion
Continue through all 240 chapters, one saint a day
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The Legenda Aurea was organized for day-by-day use across the liturgical year, and Chosen Portion restores that original one-feast-per-day reading rhythm
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