Some rock! This veteran fisherman lost faith and had to be rescued when Jesus invited him to walk on the water. He rebuked Christ and was himself rebuked more than once. At the Transfiguration, Peter was so overwhelmed that he wanted to build shelters for Jesus, Moses and Elijah. On the Mount of Olives, he fell asleep, then impulsively cut off the ear of the high priest's servant. And finally, in Christ's hour of greatest need, Peter denied him, not once, but three times. As my wise friend likes to remind me, "God does not call the qualified--he qualifies the called." It was Peter, not the calmer, steadier apostles, whom Jesus chose to lead his Church. Maybe it was Peter's open heart and the genuine love he had for Jesus that outshone all his human failings.

- Anne Pushkal