On Good Friday the Church puts the figure of Simon of Cyrene before our mind’s eye. The Fifth Station of the Cross invites us to contemplate Simon and his uncomfortable burden; perhaps this is the only time of the year that we think about him. Along the via dolorosa divine providence saw fit to offer Simon a special role in the Passion. He accompanied Christ in His agony, helping Him to bear the weight of the Cross.
The blood of Jesus, already smeared on the wood, surely rubbed itself on Simon’s back. Simon saw Christ’s mangled body limping towards Golgotha; presumably he saw the Crucifixion, too. Did this experience change him? Was he numbered among the earliest disciples? I like to think so. Why, after all, do all three synoptic Gospels – Matthew, Mark, and Luke – tell us the name of this inconspicuous figure pulled off the street, seemingly at random, by the Roman guards? In fact, each Gospel tells us something distinct about him.
