Jesus Carrying the Cross

Sometimes I watch little videos of the Rosary on "youtube.com".  It helps me pray when I am not feeling so well, or when my mind is unsettled and meditation becomes difficult.

Sometimes these videos include a picture of each mystery.  In one particular presentation they show a scene of Jesus Carrying the Cross -- for the 4th Sorrowful Mystery.

The artist has depicted Christ with a rope around his neck, being dragged along like an animal.  It's horrifying, but likely accurate.  A sign of the incredible suffering the Son endured on our behalf...

St. Simon of Cyrene

Many of us know the story of St. Simon of Cyrene (Matthew. 27:32, Mark 15:21, Luke 23:26). 

Already exhausted and on his way home from a hard day's work in the fields, he happens upon an unexpected scene. It was a Roman crucifixion in-progress. Soldiers single him out, demanding he assist a political prisoner. It must have been extremely annoying! 

 A number of questions must have come to mind -- What is this?  Who is this?  Why am I being asked to help carry this cross? The whole affair was likely a source of frustration, perhaps even anger for Simon. But after picking up the cross and walking with this stranger a while, things gradually began to become clearer. Some of the answers began coming into focus.

What is this? -- This is an unpleasant experience -- but something God has picked out for me.
Who is this? -- This is Jesus, the savior.
Why am I being asked to help carry this cross? -- It doesn't really matter; I'm so glad to be able to help Jesus with his cross.

In the same way, we may encounter difficult, unexpected challenges in our life. In the beginning these things will seem a source of frustration, perhaps even anger. We may ask the same kind of questions St. Simon of Cyrene did. But let us try to answer those questions as Simon did:

What is this? -- This is an unpleasant experience -- but something God has picked out for me.
Who is this? -- This is Jesus, the savior.
Why am I being asked to help carry this cross? -- It doesn't really matter; I'm so glad to be able to help Jesus with his cross...

Welcome to Our Celebration!

We're glad you made it...

There's some good food over there,

Please feel free to partake.

Thank you for coming, and hope you enjoy yourself!

Divine Mercy Theme -- Revised!

I love the Divine Mercy theme: “Jesus, I trust in you.”

But there’s a little problem.
Sometimes I doubt.
Sometimes I try to manage things by myself,
and don’t think of Jesus as I should.
Maybe it’s sinful behavior on my part.
Or maybe it’s just human weakness.
But I feel guilty claiming I trust in the Lord fully,
when in fact sometimes I don’t. . .

Now it’s important to be honest with God.
So I’ve tweaked the wording of this prayer just a bit.
I hope St. Faustina won’t mind.
When praying I like to say “Jesus, I trust in you! Help me to trust you more!”

Jesus and the Rosary

Went to St. Joseph's church in Eureka, CA this week.

At the rear of the church there is a statue of Jesus with a rosary. Perhaps the rosary wasn't part of the original statue, and someone had just placed a rosary in Jesus's hand...

But it was a little surprising and shocking to me. One might expect to see Mary or one of the saints holding a rosary. But Jesus? Is there any precedent for that?

After thinking about things, the placement of the rosary seems right on-target. The mysteries of the rosary are all about Jesus.

Paraphrasing St. Paul's passage from Ephesians, Our Lord -- who was "... in the form of God, did not deem equality with God as something to be grasped at. But emptied himself..." and chose to unite with us in our practice of reciting the Holy Rosary...

Two Reflections

Two reflections today.

The first is from St. John of the Cross.

The discreet lover does not care to ask for what she lacks and desires, but only indicates this need so the Beloved may do what he pleases. When the Blessed Virgin spoke to her beloved Son at the wedding feast at Cana in Galilee, she did not ask directly for the wine, but merely remarked: “They have no wine”.
- Commentary on The Spiritual Canticle 2.8

Not much more to say here. St. John pretty much summarizes things nicely. Mary provides us with the perfect model (and example) of intercession.

Then there is this short phrase we find in St. John's gospel -- it's from the Wedding at Cana. Our Lady's words are:

Do whatever he tells you.
-- Jn. 2:5

Interestingly, these words of Mary are almost exactly those of God the Father at Jesus's Transfiguration. As yesterday (8/6/2022) was the Feast of the Transfiguration, it is timely:

This is my beloved Son. Listen to him.
-- Mark 8:7


Mary echoes the words of God. It occurs to me (please forgive me if what I say is theologically flawed or lacking / Me disculpo si digo algo que no tiene razon), she becomes a feminine impersonation of the Divine, of God. An "image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation" as St. Paul says (Col. 3:15).

Therefore we must listen to her.

Our Lady of Mt. Carmel

Today is the feast of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel.

Found this picture on the web by Josef Bosáček -- it's in the public domain and available here:

Our Lady of Mt. Carmel By Bosacek