Our Parish motif
A good crew will be faithful to their Captain, no matter how difficult
and life threatening the paths through the waters may be, they will
never abandon the ship – and neither must we for she is our Mother.
Many of the early church Fathers refer to the Barque, the ship of Peter,
the symbol of the ship represents Holy Mother Church upon the high seas
of life.
It is the nature of a ship that it is always on a journey, it has a
destination and a purpose. It will traverse many dangerous waters and
pass through many trials but with Jesus (our Compass) we will arrive
upon the Eternal Shore.
Mary, the Mother of God depicted as a ship is also an image of the
Church.
The following medieval carol expresses this very well. It is profoundly
beautiful and well worth reflection.
The Ship
with angels flying fast;
She bears a splendid cargo
and has a mighty mast.
This Ship is fully laden
Right to her highest board;
She bears the Son from heaven
God's High Eternal Word.
Upon the sea unruffled
The Ship moves into shore
To bring us all the riches
She has within her store.
And that Ship's name is Mary
Of flowers the rose is she
And brings us to her baby
From sin to set us free.
The Ship made in this fashion
In which such store was cast
Her sail is love's sweet Passion
The Holy Ghost her mast.