QualitiesOfPeterEssaySS15

At the time of Christ's life, Jesus had 12 loyal Apostles. It has been known that Peter had been Jesus' favorite Apostle. Peter was made the first ever Pope of the Church, one of the most remarkable achievements of his life time. Peter was a great leader and was a man of God, and that is why Jesus chose him to be the first ever Pope. St. Peter "sets the bar" or creates a standard to meet for all popes and every single pope can learn something from this great man.

Peter joined Jesus when he was introduced to him by Andrew, his brother who was also an Apostle, and Jesus asked Peter to come and be a "fisher of men." Peter joined and got the chance to witness all of Jesus' miracles and teachings. Peter was a great leader, because when Jesus died, he took on a burden. This was a good type of burden. Peter was afforded the chance to carry on Jesus' teachings with the other Apostles and be the first leader of the Catholic Church. He spread the good news and made many persons into faithful people of God. Peter, the spokesman of the Apostles, or the chief of the Apostles, didn't always carry the burden with ease. He denied Jesus twice, ultimately leading him to a death by crucifixion in Rome. Although he did this, he was forgiven by God and continued to lead until his death. In my opinion, Peter was born to do what he did. That is why Jesus chose him.

Peter was also chosen because he was a man of God. He witnessed Jesus throughout the time span where he performed miracles and went around spreading the good news. Jesus tested Peter. Christ would always ask Peter questions about the son of man or the son of God, or who was the Messiah or who his savior was. The Apostle Peter always responded with wise words or of how Jesus was the Messiah. St. Peter was also known for always referring to Jesus as the Messiah. Although Peter declares this, he denied Jesus, but listened to him in the end of his life, resulting in his death. What happened was Peter fled from Rome after denying Jesus but then had a vision of Jesus telling him to go back to Rome. St. Peter was crucified upside down when he returned to the city because he felt that he wasn't worthy enough to be crucified like Jesus.

Popes also look up to Peter. Every Pope in history is the successor of Peter and it is known this way because Peter makes a standard for every Pope to live up to. They can learn from St. Peter and some have been ruling the catholic church like Peter had. Popes can spread the word of God like Peter worldwide, especially to atheists and people who aren't close to God, which has been done, but needs to be demonstrated more. Popes can also use Peter's qualities of being a good leader in the Church by leading the hierarchy and leading themselves away from mistakes and temptation, something that is infamously known throughout church history. Popes can strive to be like Peter to become better leaders of the church, but also should learn from his mistakes, something that will impact the Church more than anything.

Peter is a great leader and a man of God through his actions and what people think and know about him. Peter also sets an example for all popes to lead the Catholic Church like he did. Peter, in some cases, is the best Pope in history, but had room for improvement. Through ups and downs, he plays a major role model in the church and will always for eternity.