Effie Caldarola
By Effie Caldarola • Catholic News Service • Posted March 4, 2021
My faith-sharing group decided that we would each describe a person who inspires us. This could be a figure from the Gospels, perhaps a favorite saint or a figure from our own lives. Someone even chose his mother-in-law.
But out of 10 people, three of us selected St. Peter. We agreed that of the many people who walk through the Gospels, Peter, besides Jesus himself, is portrayed in the most thorough and three-dimensional way. Peter is a good figure to accompany our Lent.
If I were a Gospel author writing well over 50 years after the events, would I have portrayed Peter, this man who became the leader, in such an authentic way? Or would I have airbrushed out a few flaws? He’s so accessible we even get a glimpse of his mother-in-law.