Sailing to Heaven

The Church is often referred to as the Bark (or Barque) of Peter, or in other words, the Ship of Peter. It’s a beautiful metaphor, but there’s a lot to unpack and learn by pondering it. Thinking of the Church as a ship sheds light on what the Church really is. 

To continue the metaphor, the Bark of Peter is said to be traveling to an island...to Heaven, to eternity with God. And, there are forces that are working against the ship. But, notice that to thwart the Bark of Peter, the enemy doesn’t have to put the boat in reverse. The enemy simply needs to take the ship off course, just by a slight degree, and it’ll miss its mark. 

What’s this mean for us? Evil can present itself as very similar to Good, but just slightly ‘off.’ The Devil doesn’t need us to become Satan worshippers, he just needs us to fall a little off course. Those little compromises, those little false justifications — that’s what steers our ship away from its destination. “So be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect.” (Matthew 5:48)

Be vigilant, return to the sacraments (especially Confession), and maintain the course.