Fifth Station - Jesus is helped by Simon of Cyrene to carry his cross
(A friendly, supportive hand)
(A friendly, supportive hand)
Scripture Reading
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).
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).
Reflection
Most probably Pharisees thought they will never get Jesus to the place of execution alive. Now they found Simon of Cyrene, a pagan that happened to pass by, accompanied by his children. He was forced to help Jesus.
Simon must have thought “Why should I help this criminal? I haven’t done anything wrong?”
My Jesus what had gone through your mind at that point? Up to now you have carried the cross by yourself. Now you had fallen to the level of accepting help from another human. King of Kings, accepting help from another Human. What was going through in your mind my sweet Jesus?
Jesus Speaks
My Son, My Daughter you don’t know the other side of the story; neither did Simon at that time. Yes he thought I was a criminal. My Father asked me to love him too.
There was no shame on my side. Just love. When I looked at him with love he couldn’t refuse. He was changed. Some people from the crowd requested him too. Most importantly he accepted the task using his own free will. But he didn’t know one other thing though. His help of carrying the cross was his part of salvation too. He could have said no but he said yes. Should I be humiliated for saving another soul? And remember you have to carry your part always. It is your duty to help others to carry theirs too.
Now I understand Jesus. You were so humble to get down from your thrown and help others for their salvation. Your love changed Simon and gave him strength. But look at us, Jesus. Most of the time we are in our situations that we have virtually created or other people have created for us. We are so used to them that we don’t even think of getting down from these places to help others. We don’t have that kind of a clean heart. Jesus, forgive us.
Personnel Reflection
When a request of help arises we naturally scrutinize the request. Is this person known to us? Has he/she helped us before? Am I free at that time of the day? etc. These are some of the questions that might go through our mind when help is needed. If this request is coming from an unknown person, there will be more questions to this list. If the request is from our own family member, we would easily say later. There is a normal tendency to ignore the weak and the poor and let them struggle.
Dear Lord, Grant us the grace to open our hearts to these people who need our help. Please don’t let next opportunity pass away.
We may wash a dish, help the poor, teach/help the ignorant, our name will be Simon.
Most probably Pharisees thought they will never get Jesus to the place of execution alive. Now they found Simon of Cyrene, a pagan that happened to pass by, accompanied by his children. He was forced to help Jesus.
Simon must have thought “Why should I help this criminal? I haven’t done anything wrong?”
My Jesus what had gone through your mind at that point? Up to now you have carried the cross by yourself. Now you had fallen to the level of accepting help from another human. King of Kings, accepting help from another Human. What was going through in your mind my sweet Jesus?
Jesus Speaks
My Son, My Daughter you don’t know the other side of the story; neither did Simon at that time. Yes he thought I was a criminal. My Father asked me to love him too.
There was no shame on my side. Just love. When I looked at him with love he couldn’t refuse. He was changed. Some people from the crowd requested him too. Most importantly he accepted the task using his own free will. But he didn’t know one other thing though. His help of carrying the cross was his part of salvation too. He could have said no but he said yes. Should I be humiliated for saving another soul? And remember you have to carry your part always. It is your duty to help others to carry theirs too.
Now I understand Jesus. You were so humble to get down from your thrown and help others for their salvation. Your love changed Simon and gave him strength. But look at us, Jesus. Most of the time we are in our situations that we have virtually created or other people have created for us. We are so used to them that we don’t even think of getting down from these places to help others. We don’t have that kind of a clean heart. Jesus, forgive us.
Personnel Reflection
When a request of help arises we naturally scrutinize the request. Is this person known to us? Has he/she helped us before? Am I free at that time of the day? etc. These are some of the questions that might go through our mind when help is needed. If this request is coming from an unknown person, there will be more questions to this list. If the request is from our own family member, we would easily say later. There is a normal tendency to ignore the weak and the poor and let them struggle.
Dear Lord, Grant us the grace to open our hearts to these people who need our help. Please don’t let next opportunity pass away.
We may wash a dish, help the poor, teach/help the ignorant, our name will be Simon.