Pallium Path: Staying ‘In the Boat’
- André Escaleira, Jr.
- 2 hours ago
- 2 min read
(Photos by André Escaleira, Jr./Denver Catholic)
As I knelt surrounded by statues of saints at today’s Mass for the feast of the Holy Roman Martyrs, something resonated in a way it hadn’t before: it’s a blessing to remain “in the boat,” in the Church.
Now, before you scoff too loudly or rage-quit this reflection, let me clarify: the Church is very human; she and her members have caused real harm. But she is also divine, instituted by Jesus and promised his presence always. It’s a strange tension in which we live, to be sure.
But this is the Church for which the Holy Roman Martyrs gave their lives. It’s the same Church for which Sts. Peter and Paul, whose feast we celebrated yesterday, gave their lives. It’s the same Church for which countless other ancient Roman Christians died — at the Colosseum, the Circus Maximus and throughout the streets of the Eternal City, streets we’ve been walking during these pilgrimage days.
It’s the Church that offers us Jesus in the Eucharist. It’s the Church that offers us the forgiveness of sins through the hands of the priest. It’s the Church that offers us new life through the waters of Baptism.
It’s the same Church that has done so for 2,000 years, and in the very place where we had Mass today — the Archbasilica of St. John Lateran. Originally built in 324, 11 years after the Edict of Milan, which legalized Christianity throughout the Roman Empire, it is the cathedral of Rome, where the pope’s cathedra is, and the seat of Catholicism worldwide.
In today’s Gospel, Jesus is asleep in the boat as a storm rages. The apostles, deeply afraid, wake him up and ask him to save them. In response, he says, “Why are you terrified?” (see Matthew 8:23-27).
I think any reasonable person would be terrified if they saw the types of squalls the apostles were seeing, to be sure. But I was struck by the deeper reality Jesus is pointing to. Instead of implying that the apostles shouldn’t have objectively been scared in a scary situation, he was asking them why they were afraid when they were united with him.
He who had already turned water into wine (see John 2). He who had already healed several (see Matthew 8). He who taught “as one having authority” throughout the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 7:29).
When we’re united with Jesus, when we’re in the boat of the Church with him, whether he’s asleep or awake, we’re in a good place. Anything is possible for God (see Matthew 19:26). When we’re with him, we have nothing to fear. He is by our side. He cares for us.
What a blessing it is to remain in the boat, even when the storms may come, the waves may rise, and the thunder may deafen us and shake us to our core. What a blessing it is to remain, to abide, in Jesus and in his Church (see John 15).
