Carrying Crosses

The Fifth Station: Unison by Sieger Köder

                I can’t believe it’s already Holy Week.  Just yesterday I realized that I hadn't practiced the Exsultet yet – the eight minute chant proclaimed by a deacon at the Easter Vigil to announce the Resurrection.  I usually practice for weeks beforehand, so you may want to bring earplugs to the Easter Vigil.  Generally speaking, a quick Lent is a good thing for me:  I’m really not into the whole fasting thing.  But this year, Lent went by quickly for me largely because I was distracted by so many goings on, some not so good.  If I learned anything this Lent it’s that we’re all carrying crosses. 

It really hit me that Holy Week was upon us when I was assisting at Palm Sunday Mass yesterday.  Catholics also call Palm Sunday “Passion Sunday” because our readings feature the communal proclamation of the Passion of the Lord.  I was especially moved yesterday by the passage where Simon of Cyrene is pressed into service to help Jesus carry his cross to Calvary.  It made me think of all of the people who've helped carry my family’s crosses, especially in recent weeks.  The outpouring of prayers, food, offers of rides and childcare following my wife’s knee injury has been nothing short of overwhelming and incredibly touching.  We always knew we were blessed.  Now we know how really blessed we are.

I also thought of the people who've asked me to help carry their crosses.  It’s a special privilege of ministry to be able to help people in their most difficult times through prayer, counseling and sometimes just our presence.  I’ll confess that when I was first ordained I was terrified of this aspect of ministry, and I avoided it all costs.  I’m not a touchy-feely kind of guy, so I was afraid that I’d do more harm than good.  But the Hound of Heaven kept nipping at my heels, and I finally had no choice – someone needed me in a dark moment of his life, and I couldn't say no.  He wasn't a touch-feely kind of guy either, so we were perfect for each other.  I can’t tell you what a blessing he was (and is) to me.  In fact, every single person who invited me to help carry a cross has been a great blessing in my life in his or her unique way.

We all need help, and we all need to help each other.  Allowing others to help us carry our crosses and helping others carry their crosses is what life is all about.  These acts of love may mean that we have to swallow a little pride and maybe even step out of our comfort zones every once in a while.  But in the end, we’re always blessed with the gift of service – both on the giving end and on the receiving end.  Carrying crosses is what Holy Week is all about.  So this Holy Week, I’m devoting my prayers to all of the Simons in my life and to all who have invited me to be Simon in their lives.