Advent always invites us into a deeper posture of longing – a stretching of the heart toward Christ. And tucked gently into the opening days of this season is a devotion many Catholics love, yet others haven’t discovered until someone asks the question:

“Do you know St. Andrew?”

A Dream That Became An Invitation

About a year ago, I had a dream that felt less like a story and more like a gentle nudge from heaven. I was leaving church with a small group of people, walking down a hill toward an open field where families were gathered, talking, and laughing. A man with a calm, welcoming presence approached us engaged in conversation then, with simple confidence, said, “Follow me.”

We walked with him to a wooden enclosure that felt both rustic and peaceful. After a while, the man turned from his conversation with the others to me and asked with a playful smile,

“Do you know St. Andrew?”

In the dream I answered, “I’ve heard of him,” and then – suddenly – I woke up.

Lying there in the early stillness of morning, the question echoed in my mind:

Who exactly is St. Andrew?

It felt like the beginning of something – an invitation to learn, to notice, to follow.

Who Is St. Andrew?

St. Andrew, the first-called apostle, is the one who recognized Jesus before nearly anyone else. He heard the Lord’s voice and immediately brought others to Him. Andrew teaches us the beauty of responding with readiness, of living in hopeful expectation.

That’s why the St. Andrew Christmas Novena – which begins on his feast, November 30 – is not a novena of petition alone but a novena of holy desire. It’s prayed 15 times a day through Christmas Eve, preparing the heart to welcome Christ with renewed trust and longing.

Traditional Intentions for the St. Andrew Novena

While you can pray this novena for anything upon your heart, Catholics often lift intentions such as:

• A holy, Christ-centered marriage (for oneself or a loved one)
• A long-awaited pregnancy or the healthy arrival of a child
• Family healing, reconciliation, or restoration
• Conversion of a loved one
• Discernment – vocation, calling, next steps, or clarity
• Financial stability or provision during a season of uncertainty
• Courage to follow God’s will with Andrew-like readiness

You can also offer it simply as a longing for Christ Himself – to enter the Christmas season with a pure, uncluttered, surrendered heart.

How Our Family Is Incorporating It This Year

This year, my family is choosing to end each day by praying the St. Andrew Novena together. Alongside it, we’re reading one chapter of the Gospel of Luke every night, so by Christmas morning, we will have walked through the entire life of Jesus.

It feels like a beautiful pairing:

Andrew invites; Luke reveals.

One prepares the heart; the other fills it.

More Ways to Weave This Devotion Into Advent

Here are a few gentle ideas if you want to incorporate the St. Andrew Novena into your own Advent rhythm:

1. Create a Quiet Corner for Daily Prayer

Set a small space with your Advent wreath, a candle, or an icon of St. Andrew. Even just two minutes of silence before or after the prayer helps keep your heart anchored through the rush of December.

2. Tie It to a Daily Act of Hope

Since the first Advent candle symbolizes Hope, choose one small, concrete action each day that aligns with your intention.

For example:

If you’re praying for healing → write down one gratitude each evening.

If you’re praying for vocation clarity → journal one question to bring God the next morning.

If you’re praying for a child or new life → practice a daily act of nurturing (yourself, your home, or someone in your life).

Let the novena shape not just your words but your posture.

The Prayer

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, I beseech Thee, O my God, to hear my prayer and grant my desires, through the merits of our Savior Jesus Christ, and of His Blessed Mother.

Amen.

May this novena draw you into the quiet holiness of Advent—into the field, the laughter, the gentle invitation, and the whispered question that still echoes:

Do you know St. Andrew?

Maybe this year, we follow him a little more closely.