March 30, 2009

Online Stations of the Cross

Paintings, by David O’Connell, are the stations that hang in St. Richards, Chichester, England.

The Fifth Station: The cross is laid on Simon of Cyrene

We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you:
Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.

They compelled a passer-by, who was coming in from the country, to carry his cross;
it was Simon of Cyrene, the father of Alexander and Rufus.
Mk 15:21

Was there willingness on the part of Simon? We have no way of knowing. We know that he was on his way from the country. He was probably one of the thousands that came to Jerusalem each year for Passover. He probably had some concrete plans about how his visit to Jerusalem would unfold. He had is sons with him. Perhaps he hoped that this would be a teaching moment for them, to help them understand their heritage in the Jewish faith.

In the midst of well-laid plans, Simon was snatched from the crowd, an anonymous face in the wrong place at the wrong time, and forced to carry the cross of Christ.

We do not always choose the cross God gives us to bear. Sometimes, we, like Simon, are asked to carry something that we never expected. And, like Simon, we are sometimes temporary carriers of the burdens of another. Each time we pick up our cross, whether chosen by us, or for us, we come face to face with the suffering Christ. We, like Simon, share in his sufferings.

How will those experiences change us? Will we willingly pick up the cross? Are we willing to look into the face of the suffering Christ, and see the pain and sorrow that he carries?

O truthful and kind Jesus,
What soul who is devoted to you,
when it sees and hears this,
can restrain itself from tears
and hide the sorrow
of its inner compassion?
St. Bonaventure

Holy God
Holy and Mighty
Holy Immortal One
Have mercy upon us.

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