Overview:

The Memorial of Saint Gregory the Great, Pope and Doctor of the Church

A Reflection for Memorial of Saint Gregory the Great, Pope and Doctor of the Church

While the crowd was pressing in on Jesus and listening to the word of God,
he was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret.
He saw two boats there alongside the lake;
the fishermen had disembarked and were washing their nets.
Getting into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon,
he asked him to put out a short distance from the shore.
Then he sat down and taught the crowds from the boat. (Lk 5:1-3)

Find today’s readings here.

Pope Leo decided to do something different this year during his summer break at Castel Gandolfo. He got on a boat.

The occasion was the annual feast of Our Lady of the Lake on Aug. 29. Every year the local townspeople lead a Marian procession across Lake Albano. This year they had a special guest.

It wasn’t exactly the barque of Peter—more like his pontoon—but it was a stirring image nonetheless: Pope Leo sitting at the bow of the vessel, with a statue of Mary and child at the prow, leading them forward. 

Today’s readings reinforce the connection between popes and boats. For the feast of St. Gregory the Great, pope and doctor of the church, we read about Jesus getting on Peter’s fishing boat. Scripture scholars suggest he may have done so for very practical reasons. Voices travel better over water, so speaking to the crowd from the boat would have made him easier to hear.

But I like to think Jesus also knew a good metaphor when he saw one.

Here, near the start of his ministry, Jesus is inviting his disciples on a journey. And that journey begins on a boat, one provided by Peter, the pope in waiting. You don’t need a Ph.D. to unpack that one. 

I am not a sailor, but here is something I know from my brief outings. A boat—particularly a sailboat—is a rare place of peace. The world seems a little less menacing when you are on the open water. A boat is also a place where you have very little control: The wind and the weather bow to no man.

So it is with our Christian journey. Follow Jesus—really, come aboard!—and you will find peace. Just don’t keep pretending you are in charge.

To paraphrase our current captain: Jesus is in charge and he leads the way.

Tim Reidy joined America’s staff in October 2006 and served as online editor for several years before moving into his current role as the deputy editor in chief. Tim oversees America’s newsroom, directing its daily news coverage as well as working with the editorial leadership team to plan each print issue. Tim also edits the magazine’s Ideas section, where he contributes book reviews and essays. Before joining America, he worked at the Hartford Courant, a newspaper in Connecticut, and Commonweal magazine. In addition to writing for America, he has contributed to The New York Times, the Columbia Journalism Review and the Princeton Alumni Weekly. He has been interviewed about the Catholic Church on WNYC in New York, ABC, Bloomberg TV and other media outlets. Tim also serves on the board of directors of Jesuit Refugee Service USA. He lives in Bronxville, N.Y., with his wife and two children.