- Adoramus te Christe et benedicimus tibi (We adore Thee, O Christ, and we bless Thee)
- Quia per Crucem tuam redemisti mundum (For by Thy holy cross Thou hast redeemed the world.)
If the Lord had just been comforted by the encounter with His Mother, who loved Him with all her heart, He now experiences Simon’s forced help. The Scriptures do not reveal to us what the Cyrenian must have felt when he suddenly found himself so closely bound to the Lord’s destiny. Did he simply do his duty and then go on his way? Or did the Lord touch his heart, so that something happened within him? Was he before a mere spectator of the events surrounding Jesus of Nazareth or was his heart already open to the Lord? We do not know!
But how do we react when we suddenly find ourselves unwittingly involved in someone else’s cross? Do we say: ‘I have nothing to do with this’? Or do we try to help as much as we can, even if only with our prayers?
When we are forced to carry a cross, whatever it may be, help us, Lord, to carry it with our eyes fixed on you and to accept it willingly out of love for you. In this way, the cross will be transformed from within and become a blessing.
Illness, the infirmities of age or other difficult circumstances of life may seem to us to be forced crosses and to weigh us down. But by accepting them for your sake and bearing them with our eyes fixed on you, everything can be transfigured and serve for salvation.
Prayer: “Lord, graciously grant us salvation and peace, that your Church, having overcome all obstacles and errors, may serve you in full freedom, through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit and is God for ever and ever. Amen.”
Our Father, Hail Mary and Glory Be
