✍️ The Carrying of the Cross
As they led him away, they seized Simon of Cyrene, who was coming in from the country. They placed the cross on his back and made him carry it behind Jesus.
Luke 23:26
Out of the five Sorrowful Mysteries, this one resonates with me the most. This mystery ultimately led me to change Solomon’s Corner to Pious Reflections.
It was Christmas, and our family was scheduled to be confirmed in the Catholic Church on the feast day of the Holy Family, December 31st, 2023. The year was drawing to a close, but the Christian New Year had just begun, and my parents had arrived for a Christmas visit. The fire was warming the living room, and a Christmas tree and lights throughout the house illuminated the room. My family is protestant, so they were naturally curious about my conversion. With the exception of the Sacraments, the Rosary had made the most impact on my spiritual growth. Naturally, this became a significant part of the conversation with my parents, and it was within this conversation that I was struck with the reflection you’re reading now.
What I discovered in praying the Rosary is that it impacts your worldview far more than merely reading the Bible. When a Christian regularly reflects on the mysteries of Christ’s life, the believer interprets their experiences and scripture through the Gospel’s central themes. When one’s spiritual disciplines are self-made, rather than received, the believer ends up interpreting scripture and reality itself through their own opinions, rather than the central truths of the Gospel.
One example of this was the Carrying of the Cross. In this mystery, we are given the name of another seemingly insignificant character, Simon of Cyrene. As I mentioned in a reflection on the Scourging at the Pillar, whenever the Gospel writers provide you with a person’s name, you should pause and reflect on why they are giving you this information. They don’t have to give you any names, so when they do, pay attention!
In Luke 23:26, we are told that Simon of Cyrene is compelled to help Jesus carry the cross. His name appears in three out of the four Gospels, Matthew, Mark, and Luke (Mt. 27:31-33; Mk. 15:20-22; Lk.23:26), and when we consider Simon of Cyrene’s significance from the perspective that St. Peter is the first pope, some interesting themes emerge. Specifically, that God will never allow the Church to be destroyed even if her leaders stumble.
We know that Peter promised to never leave Christ. But Luke wants us to see the connection between Simon of Cyrene and Simon Peter. When Simon Peter makes his promise to Christ, Christ exhorts him first by his former name, Simon, and then by his new name, Peter.
“Simon, Simon, pay attention! Satan has demanded to have you all, to sift you like wheat, but I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. When you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.” But Peter said to him, “Lord, I am ready to go with you both to prison and to death!” Jesus replied, “I tell you, Peter, the rooster will not crow today until you have denied three times that you know me.”
— Lk. 22:31-34
According to Catholic priest and commentator, Fr. Pablo Gadenz, “They compel a certain Simon, originally from Cyrene in Libya, who is coming in at the time, to carry Jesus’ cross…He thus fills in where another Simon should be — that is, Peter.”1 But there is another pattern that seems to emerge as we consider Peter as the rock. To see it, we must first go to the Matthew’s Gospel.
The Rock Among the Rocks
There is an interesting theme around rocks and the mission of Jesus in the Gospel of Matthew. When we see John the Baptist rebuking the Pharisees, he says,
“…Do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I tell you, God can raise up children to Abraham from these stones.
— Mt. 3:9
Shortly after this, Christ appears and is baptized.
After his baptism, Jesus is led into the wilderness by the Holy Spirit, where his first temptation is to “turn rocks into bread.” Christ rebukes the Devil and famously says “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God” (Mt. 4:3-4).
Continuing through Matthew’s Gospel, we come to Peter’s confession that Jesus is the Messiah. This prompts Jesus to change Simon’s name and make him the first Pope.2 No longer is he Simon, but Simon is now Peter, which means rock in Greek.
And so I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it. 19 I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”
— Mt. 16:18-19
Christ renames Simon, makes a promise that the Church will never be destroyed, and gives Peter the keys of heaven and the power to “bind and to loose.” Some protestants try to argue that this is temporary, but there is nothing in Matthew’s gospel that justifies such an interpretation. For our purposes, it’s important to recognize that even if one has problems with the office of the Pope, we have to admit the context of this passage is that Peter is receiving power and authority that only Jesus can give. Further, for our reflection, we will see that even when our leaders fail, the Church will still prevail.
We now return to Matthew’s account of the Carrying of the Cross,
As they were going out, they met a Cyrenian named Simon; this man they pressed into service to carry his cross.
— Mt. 27:32
Here we have a man, pulled from the crowd of people, and “pressed into service” to carry Christ’s cross. Does he possess the keys of heaven? Does he appear to be a rock? What we see in Simon of Cyrene, is that God’s divine will cannot be thwarted by our failures. This is not to imply that there are no consequences for the failures of Church leaders. After all, only God knows what Church history would have looked like if Peter had remained steadfast. So we continue our reflection based on what happened, not what could have happened.
Just as God can create Sons of Abraham from “these very stones”, or make a man, Simon, into a “rock”, or find “another” Simon from the crowd to accomplish his divine will, God’s plan cannot be thwarted, even when his chosen ones abandon him. We are one body, and both the laity and the clergy are vessels in the hands of a loving and merciful God. God will fulfill his promise to the Church, even when her leaders fail to follow Christ. As Gadenz points out,
“As the Cyrenian carries the cross behind Jesus, he does what the model disciple is called to do: ‘If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.’ And again: ‘Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple.’”3
This does not imply that his Church can be led by any person. Simon of Cyrene does not possess the authority and power that Christ gives Simon Peter. After all, even Simon Peter was called to “carry the cross”, so what Simon of Cyrene fulfills is not the office of the Pope, but rather the posture of all disciples are required to take as disciples of God. The roles of the faithful and the Pope may be different, but they are still one body and they need each other. Should the head slumber, the hands and feet of his body can continue the work of Christ, so long as they remain within the body. There are examples throughout history of the leaders of the Church going astray, and the faithful, specifically laymen, remaining faithful to the Church just as Christ remains faithful despite his first pope not being by his side. Similarly, there are great examples of Popes shepherding the flock and preventing the faithful from going into moral decline. Humanae Vitae from Pope Paul IV is an example that demonstrates that God will use the Pope to correct the wayward desires of the faithful.
Given that the Gospel writers all knew who the man was who carried the Cross, it’s beyond doubt that he became a Christian in the early Church. In fact, he was declared a saint by the Catholic Church. This means that St. Peter, most likely, would have met him during the early days of the Church.
Imagine for a moment, what would it be like for Peter to meet St. Simon of Cyrene for the first time.
Simon Meets Simon
Did Peter baptize him? Who knows? But one can imagine. It’s far more likely that Peter would have learned of Simon of Cyrene within days of the crucifixion than that he would have gone throughout his ministry as Pope and never known the man that carried the cross of Christ. We can also recognize that there would be a bittersweet moment when these two men meet.
As I contemplate this moment, I see Peter approaching a man at night. They are still in hiding in these early days. Simon of Cyrene is looking up at the night sky, having just been brought into the Church. Simon Peter speaks in a low and humble whisper, “What was it like, Simon?”, he asks.
Simon of Cyrene pauses, and clarifies, “What was what like?”
“To carry his Cross? What was it like?”
What Simon of Cyrene says next, is better left to your own imagination. But it’s reflections like this, though not set in stone as dogma, are still able to teach us humility and the beauty of our faith. This is what happens when one prays the rosary.
Solomon’s Corner → Pious Reflections
As planned, my wife and I were confirmed on December 31, 2023. We had a party at our home and the priest who confirmed us and a theologian were the last ones to leave. I recounted this interpretation to the two of them, this time not permitting a tear to roll down my cheek and maintaining my masculine image. Their responses were mixed.
One said they didn’t think it was an accurate interpretation, the other said “Well it could be a pious reflection.” Honestly, I wasn’t a fan of either response. But then upon further reflection, I thought “You know, ‘Pious Reflection’ probably is the right way to think about my spiritual life at this point.” There is just enough to hang on to to say it’s not false, but at the same time, my reflections are no longer at the level of arguing for the sake of proving my personal dogmas. As a Catholic, it is no longer my job to define doctrine. What it means to be a Christian is settled. It is my job to live according to it.
So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, 32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
— Jn. 8:31-32.
Keep praying.
— DR.
Gadenz, Pablo T. (2018). The Gospel of Luke (Ser. The Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture). Baker Academic. 378.
This is a hotly debated passage between Protestants and Catholics. For our purposes, this article is not a defense of the Pope. That said, it is clear from Catholic and Protestant commentators that the natural reading of the passage is that Peter is given authority to “loose and to bind”. Further, Peter is exhorted in Luke’s Gospel to “strengthen his brothers” after he is restored. Regardless of the Protestant objections to the office of the Pope, it’s clear from this passage that Peter is elevated to a unique office that the other apostles are not.
Ibid.