November 30, 2025 - The First Sunday of Advent

[00:00:07] Welcome. [00:00:08] Today is November 30th, the first Sunday of Advent and the feast of St. Andrew. [00:00:23] Advent includes four Sundays, and the first of which is always determined by the Sunday that falls closest to St. Andrew's feast day. [00:00:33] Long before Scotland became known as the birthplace of golf and home to legendary fairways, the town of St. Andrews was deeply connected to faith and legend. [00:00:44] Its name comes from St. Andrew the Apostle. [00:00:48] A fisherman by trade and the first to leave everything behind to follow Jesus. [00:00:54] St. Andrew traveled far and wide after the Resurrection to share the good news of Jesus Christ. [00:01:01] He died a martyr's death on an X shaped cross in Greece on this day in 60 AD. [00:01:10] Centuries later, an angel warned a monk named Regulus in a dream that the Roman emperor Constantine the Great was about to move the relics of St Andrew from Patra, Greece, to Constantinople in modern day Turkey. [00:01:26] The angel told the monk to take as many of St. Andrew's bones as possible to the western ends of the earth. [00:01:35] Regulus set sail with the relics and eventually found himself shipwrecked near what is now the harbor of St. Andrews on the North Sea. [00:01:45] Welcomed by the king, Regulus built a church to house the sacred relics. [00:01:52] Over time, the town became a major pilgrimage site and was renamed St. Andrews. [00:02:00] In the mid-1500s, during the Scottish Reformation, the church and relics were destroyed and Catholic worship was outlawed for nearly three centuries. [00:02:12] In the 1800s, Catholics regained their religious freedom. [00:02:18] Today, several relics of St. Andrew are housed in Scotland's National Shrine of St. Andrew. [00:02:38] So here it is. Advent. [00:02:41] The church's calendar begins on the first Sunday, Sunday of Advent, which means I'm starting a whole new church year. [00:02:49] I'm also starting to get ready for the Feast of Christmas. [00:02:54] A good beginning to both of these right now could go a long way toward a good Christmas and a good year. [00:03:03] Christmas feels a bit distant right now, but within a week or so, it'll seem like it's just around the corner and things will become busy, even hectic. [00:03:15] Advent is meant to help me keep my perspective. [00:03:18] The point is to focus on what is important so that we can enjoy the Feast of Christmas even more. [00:03:26] Advent is not meant to take the fun out of this season. [00:03:30] This is a wonderful time of year one that is dear to me, rich in memories and customs, with sights, sounds and smells all around that gladden my spirit.