The Bark (Barque) of Peter - The Church
from various sources
 The boat itself is a symbol
for the Church, the Bark
of Peter. The boat
holds the apostles, and symbolically all
of Christ's disciples. "The world is a sea in which the Church, like a ship, is beaten by the
waves, but not submerged,". We are doing God's work, fishing for people, in Peter's boat, the Church. However, we are strangers
in a foreign land, i.e. the boat
is on the sea, on the chaos
that is not God. It is a dangerous and storm-swept
place, where even seasoned-fishermen fear.
Yet the place that is not-of-God contains
the people who need God, the people who need
salvation.
Saint Anselm said that the Bark of
the Church may be swept by the
waves, but it can never sink, because Christ
is there. When the Church is in greatest need, Christ
comes to its help by miracles,
or by raising up saintly men to
strengthen and
purify
it. It is the Bark of Peter; when the storm threatens to sink it, the Lord
awakens from His sleep,
and commands the winds and waters
into calm: “Peace; be
still!”
Saint Francis de Sales: In the Royal Galley
of divine Love, there is no galley slave; all rowers are volunteers.
 The Church is also the 'Barque' of Peter. The powers of darkness will never
submerge that Barque.
Come what may - storms, disasters, floods
- the ship to which we belong will never
sink. With
its precious cargo of souls, it will reach its
safe-harbor, the port of eternal-bliss.
Christ guards
the Church He founded,
as it makes its way across the ocean of centuries.
He designated Peter,
and after Peter his successors, to
steer the ship through what have often been very troubled waters. Time-after-time,
century-after-century, the Barque of Peter has been thrown from
side-to-side on the waves of misfortune,
heresy, apostasy
and schism, a long
list of disasters. Yet it never
goes under. The waves never totally engulf
the Church. At
certain times, during twenty Catholic centuries,
it certainly might have seemed as if the light of
the Spirit had been all but extinguished. But never quite. The Church goes on,
saving
souls and journeying to its final harbor.
In that blessed realm, beyond the seas
of this life, all the things which
threaten
God's Church in this world will be gone for
ever. The Church will achieve its final destiny in the
bliss of the communion of saints. There in the
company of Mary, Mother
of the Elect, together with Peter, Paul
and all the saints, the Church Triumphant
will sing for ever the praises of Him Who
calls us out of darkness, into His marvelous light.
Nave ... the sturdy ship that carries us to
Salvation
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The word Nave is derived from the
Latin word navis - a boat - and reflects not only the structure but also the
traditional idea of the church as the Ark of Noah in which God saved those who trusted in
Him.
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The Nave is the main body of a Church, excluding the transepts
(side arms) and the chancel (the altar and choir area). It is where the
people gather to worship. The term
"nave" comes from "navis," the Latin word for ship;
the church building is a symbolic ship for worshippers and the ribbing high above the
floor resembles the inside of an "upside-down"
ship's hull.
Architecturally it is the central, open space of a church, west of the choir or
chancel, and separated therefrom by a low wall or screen. It is divided from the side
aisles by columns, shafts, or piers, is roofed with timber or vaulted in masonry, and
usually rises above the level of the aisle roofs to provide high windows for lighting.
Colloquially, the term is used to indicate that portion of a church reserved for
worshippers, and including the central and side aisles, crossing transepts. The name is
derived from the Latin navis, a ship, with reference to the Bark
of Saint Peter or the Ark of Noah. In this case,
the ship (Church)
transports the faithful from earth to Heaven.
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Noah and his sons build the
Ark of Salvation.
Remember well - No one outside the Ark was saved.
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The Church is where those people desiring
Salvation gather together to make a journey
together, like in a great ship. And whenever people all over the world gather there, they
are all in the same huge ship (the Church) making that same journey towards heaven.
This is a boat of fishermen. Some of the apostles
were fishermen too. Jesus uses this to make
a prophecy.
Matthew 4:17-20. "From that time Jesus
began to proclaim, 'Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.' As He walked by the
Sea of Galilee, He saw two brothers, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother,
casting a net into the sea - for they were fishermen. And He said to them, 'Follow Me, and
I will make you fishers of men.' Immediately they left their nets and followed Him."
The reference to the Kingdom fits too,
because Jesus compares the Kingdom to a net.
Matthew 13:47-50. "Again, the kingdom
of heaven is like a net that was thrown into the sea and caught fish of every kind; when
it was full, they drew it ashore, sat down, and put the good into baskets but threw out
the bad. So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come out and separate the
evil from the righteous and throw them into the furnace of fire, where there will be
weeping and gnashing of teeth."
The Calling of Simon Peter [Luke 5:1-11]
In the following Gospel Story of Luke, note that of the two available boats, Jesus
selected Simon's
boat. Here the spotlight is on Simon Peter, who would
later lead the early Church, but his
companions are always in the shadows, ready
to help. Simon's boat is seen as a symbol of the pilgrim
Church
on earth. Jesus
gets into Peter's boat in order to
teach the crowds; and from the Bark of Peter, the Church, He continues
to teach the whole
world. The vastness of the catch is a symbol
of the many nations to whom the gospel
will be preached.
Luke 5:1-11. As the crowd pressed in on
Jesus to hear the word of God, He saw two boats moored by the side of the lake; the
fishermen had disembarked and were washing their nets. He got into one of the boats, the one
belonging to Simon, and asked him to pull out a short distance from the shore;
then, remaining seated, He continued to teach the crowds from the boat. When He had
finished speaking He said to Simon, "Put out into deep water and lower your nets for
a catch." Simon answered, "Master, we have been hard at it all night long and
have caught nothing; but if You say so, I will lower the nets." Upon doing this they
caught such a great number of fish that their nets were at the breaking point. They
signaled to their mates in the other boat to come and help them. These came, and together
they filled the two boats until they nearly sank.
At the sight of this, Simon Peter fell at the knees of Jesus
saying, "Leave me, Lord. I am a sinful man." For indeed, amazement at the catch
they had made seized him and all his shipmates, as well as James and John, Zebedee's sons,
who were partners with Simon. Jesus said to Simon, "Do not be afraid. From now on you
will be catching men." With that they brought their boats to land, left everything,
and became His followers.
Luke's Gospel Story is a lesson about the future. The Lord sends His
Apostles out on to the lake in a boat, and in that boat
there are many roles to fill. There is the captain,
there are men to row, men to mind the sail
- there are men to cast the nets, to haul in the fish - and when
the boat returns to shore, there are men and women to clean the fish,
to salt some of the catch for preserving, and to take the rest for cooking, so that
everyone may feast, and their hunger be
assuaged.
This is not the only time in the Gospels,
when the boat, the fishing
boat, the Bark of Peter
figures in Our Lord's teaching to His Apostles. One time, while He sleeps, a storm rages, putting the fear of death into the Apostles. But Our
Lord wakes up and calms the storm. Another time, His
desire to be with His men moves Him to walk upon the waters,
and He challenges Peter to
do the same. Both times, Our Lord chides His men about their lack
of faith - for if
we have faith in Him, in His
care for us, then no storm
will overturn the boat in which we sail, and
no water will open to swallow us up in darkness.
 The boat, dear friends, is the Church,
and Peter is its captain -
but always above, more powerful than the storm or the deep, and always ready to provide
the food we need, is the Holy Spirit, the protecting arm of the Lord, the invincible strength, against which, as He promised, the gates
of Hell will not prevail. And in the boat
and upon the shore waiting are the men and women of the
Church - bishops, priests,
deacons, religious, lay men and women, each
with their function, each with their work to make the boat work, to haul in the catch, and to provide
for the needs of all whose life depends upon the boat,
and the boat's payload.
We all are in the boat together. What
does this mean for each of us?
It means first, that we are to
trust the Lord
to show us the way, to bring us to our goals safely, and to feed our souls
on the journey. You will no doubt encounter problems
- there will be days when you cast out your nets all day long, and at the end of the day,
you will think there is nothing to show for it. At those times, you must listen to the Lord, as Saint Peter did, and
cast again - for it is your faith that is
being tested - not as to whether you profess it or not - but as to whether you are ready to do something about it or not. These years are given you to
learn to trust the Lord, and you should take full advantage of the
time you have - to learn from Scripture
everything the Lord says to do - to study as
well, the holy rites of our Church with which you are to be trusted, for they are the link between Heaven
and earth, and deserve all our attention,
all our devotion, and the best we are able to bring to their
practice - and to increase in every way, your willingness to serve others, to see and to
solve the needs of those you are to serve,
and to find in every situation, no matter how hard, a way to love,
to show the charity of God for
those who are your brothers and sisters. By doing these things, you will be learning your
own futures, as Peter learned about the future of the Church he was to lead, and doing it, as he did,
"at the word" of the Lord.
And last, we all ride in the Bark of Peter,
the Church - we all face the storms and the fear
of sinking together - but together, we also shelter under the
powerful and over-arching wings of the Holy Spirit. We do not win
by ourselves - we win by pulling together, by manning the boat
according to our individual talents, and working as a team
to stay afloat. We pray for one
another - we take care of one another in
times of illness, of trouble,
of doubt. That is how the Lord expects us to work in this boat together.
 Finally, let
us remember that Saint Peter did not hesitate, when he realized the weakness of his faith,
to fall down at the feet of
the Lord, and call himself what he was, and
what we all are, saying: "Depart from me, O Lord, for I am
a sinful man."
We cannot be proud - pride was the undoing of our first
parents - we must be humble, for only then can we remain
united to one another in Christian love,
only then can we be together in that Bark
which sails across the sea of life, only then can we be the same
in the eyes of the Lord. And only
then, can we be saved together by His strong arm - from hunger,
from the storm, from the abyss.
For the Lord does not
abandon those who come seeking His mercy, His
forgiveness. He walks upon
the waters, He
calms
the storm, He
guides the boat
into safe harbor, and brings with Him the great catch,
the great feast, to which we are all
summoned - the Feast of His Body and Blood,
our food for eternal life.
Apostolic Constitutions
A fourth-century pseudo-Apostolic
collection, in eight books, of
independent, though closely related, treatises on Christian
discipline, worship, and doctrine, intended to serve as a manual of
guidance for the clergy, and to some extent for the laity.
As explained previously, the term Nave derives
from the Latin navis meaning a 'ship'. The comparison of a Church
building to a ship was made at an early date
(circa 367 AD) in the Apostolic
Constitution which says:
When thou callest an assembly of the Church as one that is
the commander of a great ship, appoint the assemblies to be made with all
possible skill, charging the deacons as mariners to prepare places for
the brethren as for passengers, with all due care and decency. And first, let the building
be long, with its head to the east, with its vestries on both sides at the east end, and
so it will be like a ship.
Jesus at the Sea of Tiberias [John
21:1-14]
 John 21:1-14 "Jesus
showed himself to the disciples [once again] at the Sea of Tiberias. This is how the
appearance took place. Assembled were Simon Peter, Thomas ("the Twin"),
Nathanael (from Cana in Galilee), Zebedee's sons, and two other disciples. Simon Peter
said to them, "I am going out to fish." "We will join you," they
replied, and went off to get into their boat. All through the night they caught nothing.
Just after daybreak Jesus was standing on the shore, though none of the disciples knew it
was Jesus. He said to them, "Children, have you caught anything to eat?"
"Not a thing," they answered. "Cast your net off to the starboard
side," he suggested, "and you will find something." So they made a cast,
and took so many fish that they could not haul the net in. Then the disciple Jesus loved
cried out to Peter, "It is the Lord!" On hearing it was the Lord, Simon Peter
threw on some clothes -- he was stripped -- and jumped into the water.
Meanwhile the other disciples came in the boat,
towing the net full of fish. Actually they were not far from land -- no more than a
hundred yards.
When they landed, they saw a charcoal fire there
with a fish laid on it and some bread. "Bring some of the fish you just caught,"
Jesus told them. Simon Peter went aboard and hauled ashore the net loaded with sizable
fish -- one hundred fifty-three of them! In spite of the great number,
the net was not torn.
"Come and eat your meal," Jesus told
them. Not one of the disciples presumed to inquire "Who are you?" for they knew
it was the Lord. Jesus came over, took the bread and gave it to them, and did the same
with the fish. This marked the third time that Jesus appeared to the disciples after being
raised from the dead.
The boat in John's
Gospel Story once again symbolizes the Church.
The net thrown by the disciples
symbolizes the "evangelization (fishing) of all peoples"
by the Church. The quantity of
fish netted, one hundred
and fifty-three (153), is the total number of
species of fish known by the Greek
civilization at that particular time in
history. Therefore, this number represents all
of mankind to which the saving power
of
God's Word will be made known by Christ's
Church on earth, before the end
of time..
The Bark of Peter and
The Vision of the Two Columns
Three Swiss Guard lie wounded near the dead
Pontiff, as the new Pontiff
maintains a steady course toward the safety of Jesus and Mary.
On May 30, 1862 , Saint Don Bosco
recounted that in a dream he had seen an immense sea on which a great many ships were
arranged for battle against a larger and taller ship. He also saw others which were
defending the tall ship. Here are his words:
"In the midst of this endless sea, two solid columns,
a short distance apart, soar high into the sky. One is surmounted by a statue of the Immaculate Virgin, at whose feet a large inscriptions
reads:" 'Auxilium Christianorum' ('Help of Christians') . The other, far loftier and
sturdier, supports a Host of proportionate
size, and bears beneath it the inscription: 'Salus credentium'
('Salvation of believers').
"The flagship commander - the Roman Pontiff- standing at the helm, strains every
muscle to steer his ship between the two columns,
from whose summits hang many anchors and strong hooks linked to chains. The entire enemy fleet closes in to intercept and sink the
flagship at all costs. They bombard it with everything they have: books and pamphlets,
incendiary bombs, firearms, cannons. The battle rages ever more furious. Beaked prows ram
the flagship again and again, but to no avail, as, unscathed and undaunted, it keeps on it
course. At times, a formidable ram splinters a gaping hole in its hull, but immediately, a
breeze from the two columns instantly seals the gash.
 "Meanwhile, enemy cannons
blow up; firearms and beaks fall to pieces; ships crack up and sink to the bottom. In
blind fury, the enemy takes to hand-to-hand
combat, cursing and blaspheming.
Suddenly the Pope falls, seriously wounded.
He is instantly helped up, but struck a second time, dies.
A shout of victory rises from the enemy, and
wild rejoicing seeps their ships. But no sooner is the Pope dead
than another takes his place. The captains of the auxiliary ships elected him so quickly
that the news of the Pope's death coincides
with that of his successor's election. The enemy's
self-assurance wanes.
"Breaking through all resistance, the new Pope steers his ship safely between the two columns; first,
to the one surmounted by the Host, and then the other, topped by the statue of the Virgin. At this point, something unexpected
happens. The enemy ships panic
and disperse, colliding with and scuttling each other.
"Some auxiliary ships, which had gallantly fought alongside their flagship, are
the first to tie up at the two columns. Many
others, which had fearfully kept far away from the fight, stand still, cautiously waiting
until the wrecked enemy ships vanish under
the waves. Then they too head for the two columns,
tie up at the swinging hooks and ride safe
and tranquil beside their flagship. A great calm now covers the sea. "
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Our Lady of the Eucharist
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Saint John Bosco explained that the Church
will endure grave trials and persecutions. The Church's
enemies will try their utmost to
destroy Her.
But two things will preserve the Church in that hour:
 Devotion to Mary and
Frequent Communion.
Saint Anselm said that the Bark of the
Church may be swept
by the waves,
but it can never sink,
because Christ is there. When the Church is in greatest
need, Christ comes to its help by miracles,
or by raising up saintly men to
strengthen and
purify
it. It
is the Bark of Peter; when the storm
threatens to sink it, the Lord
awakens from His sleep, and
commands the winds
and waters
into calm:
“Peace; be still!”
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