Walking with Him/Ep3

This post is part of an extended 7 part Lenten series, involving meditations on the Stations of the Cross, as we walk towards Calvary with Jesus, step-by-step.

As of late, I’ve been reading “The Privilege of Being a Woman”, by Alice von Hilderbrand and I was surprised to see a reference to the Stations of the Cross in a volume on Catholic feminism. In the 5th Station, we see Simon of Cyrene help Jesus carry the cross. As I meditated on this station, I reflected on how Simon felt “compelled” to help Jesus as he trudged along the road to Calvary and how indeed as Alice reflects, men prefer to “solve” problems. Sometimes it is true, that when we see the ones we love struggling in our lives, we feel compelled to help them, to do something tangible to help them. We feel the need to intervene directly and moved by their struggle. I have been one of these people. I feel the need to sometimes “fix” the problems in the lives of those I love. Yet I’ve also learned that that may not what people need all the time. In other times, I have been blessed by friends who have come to my aid in my hour of need and not hesitated to go the extra mile to render assistance. The beauty of this station lies in how Simon shouldered part of the burden of the cross that weighed down on Jesus. To be a friend sometimes means taking on part of the burdens of others and letting them “unload” their struggles. It may mean that we may need to forgo our own comforts and to step out of our comfort zones. Sometimes that is the openness that Jesus desires of us. To run to the aid of those who need us and to not fear the task itself, but to face the task with courage. As Simon shouldered the burden of the cross with Jesus, he may also have been subjected to ridicule by the crowds as they viewed him as a supporter of Jesus. Sometimes, being a friend means “sticking our neck” out for them and not letting the words of the rest of the world affect us. To keep our eyes fixed instead on being of help to our friend and to let judgement and criticism flow over our backs like water.

Alice contrasts Simon’s “problem solving” with Veronica’s equally beautiful response to Jesus’ struggles in the 6th Station, where Veronica wipes the face of Jesus. In Veronica, we see the feminine tenderness, how women tend to be attuned to the emotions, the finer details. Veronica sees Jesus in His hour of need. She knows that she cannot shoulder His burden like Simon, but she can love Him in her own way. She approaches Him gently and offers her gift of presence and her heart is moved with sorrow. Sometimes, instead of “solving” the problems of the people we love, they only need us to be there for them, a physical presence. They simply need us to sit with them in their pain and to hold them up. We may not have the means to “solve” their problems directly, but we can still give them the gift of our presence. It may seem the “inferior” response to His struggle to some. Yet, I see these 2 stations in a new light, for they are complementary. Simon and Veronica show us how we can reach out to our fellow brothers and sisters in need. We can sometimes help to shoulder their emotional burdens and help to alleviate their situation. We can also simply hold them in a tender embrace and offer them our gentle spirits, reminding them they are not alone in their struggle. I marvel at the beauty of these 2 stations and how they have revealed to me that Jesus desires a genuine heart from us, and all of us may have a different “path” towards Him. Let us reflect then on how we have reached out to others this Lent. Have we sometimes taken the “active” path of intervening directly or have we sometimes chosen the “passive” path of empathy and presence? It is in giving of ourselves, that we receive boundless grace. Let us pray for a generosity of spirit, as Simon and Veronica have shown us, to see the needs of others and to respond in the way Spirit calls us to.