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Click here for information on the Knights of Columbus Charity Golf Tournament held on Saturday, June 15, 2024.
“It seems as though through purely earthly accidents we are made responsible for what is heavenly and divine."
Karl Rahner, a German Jesuit theologian, wrote those words to describe what happened to Saint Joseph when he was asked by an angel to be the husband to Mary and support her in the birth and raising of Jesus. Something of God was entrusted into his care, not because he wanted it, planned it, or because he himself was central to the event. He was asked to do something simply because of circumstance. And, what he was asked to do radically reshaped his life in a way not of his own choosing.
We can certainly apply those words to Simon of Cyrene. We heard that when Jesus was too weak and wearied to carry the cross Simon of Cyrene was forced to help him carry it. We aren't given any details as to how this happened other than that Simon was someone who just happened to be there, a "passer-by,” a victim of circumstance. This was not something for which he had planned or volunteered. Helping Jesus carry his cross was not something Simon wanted. It was unpleasant, embarrassing, unfair. Just plain bad luck. Yet this unplanned for, forced, humble service became the most important thing he ever did.
Sometimes the same thing happens to us: something we had not planned for, something we don’t even want to do, forces us to carry a cross. Whenever we are the one to whom the emotionally needy person chooses to reach out; whenever we are the one whose gentle nature makes it difficult to say no and people take advantage of us; whenever we are the one whose plans and dreams can be sacrificed because everyone else's are deemed more important; whenever we’re the one whose life is disrupted by unwanted circumstance; we are Simon of Cyrene, helping Jesus carry the cross.
Simon was not central to the drama or meaning of Jesus' passion and death. He was an unimportant figure who happened to be standing at the roadside when the drama unfolded around him. His own agenda and plans had to be sacrificed and his response was, no doubt, less than fully enthusiastic. We don’t know the names of any of those people that were waving palm branches when Jesus rode by but two thousand years later we know Simon’s name - and for the right reason, he helped carry the cross of Jesus.
There's a lesson here: all those interruptions to our life, all those times when our plans have to be put on hold, just may be the opportunity for us to do something divine.
Karl Rahner, a German Jesuit theologian, wrote those words to describe what happened to Saint Joseph when he was asked by an angel to be the husband to Mary and support her in the birth and raising of Jesus. Something of God was entrusted into his care, not because he wanted it, planned it, or because he himself was central to the event. He was asked to do something simply because of circumstance. And, what he was asked to do radically reshaped his life in a way not of his own choosing.
We can certainly apply those words to Simon of Cyrene. We heard that when Jesus was too weak and wearied to carry the cross Simon of Cyrene was forced to help him carry it. We aren't given any details as to how this happened other than that Simon was someone who just happened to be there, a "passer-by,” a victim of circumstance. This was not something for which he had planned or volunteered. Helping Jesus carry his cross was not something Simon wanted. It was unpleasant, embarrassing, unfair. Just plain bad luck. Yet this unplanned for, forced, humble service became the most important thing he ever did.
Sometimes the same thing happens to us: something we had not planned for, something we don’t even want to do, forces us to carry a cross. Whenever we are the one to whom the emotionally needy person chooses to reach out; whenever we are the one whose gentle nature makes it difficult to say no and people take advantage of us; whenever we are the one whose plans and dreams can be sacrificed because everyone else's are deemed more important; whenever we’re the one whose life is disrupted by unwanted circumstance; we are Simon of Cyrene, helping Jesus carry the cross.
Simon was not central to the drama or meaning of Jesus' passion and death. He was an unimportant figure who happened to be standing at the roadside when the drama unfolded around him. His own agenda and plans had to be sacrificed and his response was, no doubt, less than fully enthusiastic. We don’t know the names of any of those people that were waving palm branches when Jesus rode by but two thousand years later we know Simon’s name - and for the right reason, he helped carry the cross of Jesus.
There's a lesson here: all those interruptions to our life, all those times when our plans have to be put on hold, just may be the opportunity for us to do something divine.