WE HAVE only to look at a stately ship at rest in the harbor, secured to its pier or anchor by sturdy hawsers and know that its crew, confident that their vessel is secure, enjoy a unique freedom, one foot on sea, one on land. The Barque of Peter is my ship. She carries a precious cargo of souls as she sails through time and space to her final destination, the heavenly city Jerusalem. Though I am merely an ordinary seaman, I have not been pressed into this service. Rather, I signed on in freedom to serve the captain of my choice. I enjoy the leave he grants me and the freedom of being in the world but not of the world.
February 10 2004
