- Rosary and The Way
- The Way
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- Our Lady of Mount Virgin 05
Our Lady of Mount Virgin Station 5
Path 2 · The Way · Our Lady of Mount Virgin
Middlesex, New Jersey · Station 5 of 14
Simon Helps Jesus Carry the Cross
A stranger is pulled from the crowd, and a burden meant for one becomes a burden for two.
Here at Our Lady of Mount Virgin, we come upon a moment that captures something achingly human about the whole Passion. Simon of Cyrene is pulled from the crowd and told to help — a stranger, unsure of what he’s being asked to do, unsure if his help is even wanted.
Jesus does not ask for this help. It is thrust upon Him by soldiers who are impatient, and thrust upon Simon by that same impatience. And yet what happens next becomes an act of real kindness — two strangers, sharing a weight that was never meant to be carried alone.
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V. We adore Thee, O Christ, and we praise Thee.
R. Because by Thy holy Cross, Thou hast redeemed the world.
Jesus, are You unable to go on without help? The soldiers grow impatient and pull a man from the crowd to carry the Cross beside Him. He had just seen His mother moments before — could she have prayed for God to send help? I believe she did. So I pray to her too, to help me carry what I cannot carry alone.
“My most sweet Jesus, I will not refuse the Cross, as the Cyrenean did. I accept it; I embrace it. I accept, in particular, the death destined for me. I unite it to Thy death; I offer it to Thee.”
— Saint Alphonsus Liguori, The Way of the Cross
V. Have mercy upon us, O Lord. R. Have mercy on us. May the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace.
My Prayer to Our Lady
Blessed Mother, help me realize how weak I am, and how much I need Jesus’ help every day of my life. Teach me to have compassion, and to be ready to help others in their need.
Pray Together
Sit With It
What Affects Your Faith
Compassion, Tested
Simon’s help was questioned before it was ever given — was it real compassion, or reluctance? Think of a time you witnessed, or took part in, an act of real compassion, and how it changed what you understood about standing with someone else.
Where is God asking you to help, even when it’s inconvenient or unexpected?
The Weight We Share
There is nothing convenient about being asked to carry someone else’s cross for a little while. But something changes in a relationship when a burden is shared instead of carried alone.
When has carrying someone else’s burden — or letting someone carry yours — changed how you saw them?
Mary’s Silent Support
Mary says nothing in this station. She doesn’t need to. Her presence itself is the support — steady, faithful, present even when there is nothing left to say.
How can Mary’s quiet, steadfast presence teach you to support someone without needing to fix anything?
The Crowd You’re In
Some in the crowd feel nothing at all, hardened by the noise around them. Others cannot look away, moved by a suffering they don’t fully understand. Every one of us has been each kind of bystander at some point.
What kind of bystander are you today — and what would it take to become a more compassionate one?
Ponder As Mary Pondered
I sit with Simon giving Jesus his help to carry the Cross, and I wonder at what a small, ordinary act of love it truly was. Do You really need my help, Lord? And I hear the answer settle quietly in my heart: ask Me for help, and I will help you carry your cross too.
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Small, Ordinary Ways to Grow
Living out this station doesn’t require anything dramatic. It looks like small acts of kindness — volunteering, helping a neighbor with an errand, offering a ride. It looks like carving out real time for prayer and meditation, praying the Rosary, and returning often to the sacraments, especially Reconciliation. It looks like reading and studying, learning what the saints already discovered about carrying a cross well. It looks like showing up for a parish community — I serve on our Parish Council and with our Counting Ministry — and it looks like caring for the ordinary world God gave us, and speaking up for people who need someone in their corner.
Sometimes it is simply listening, without trying to fix anything. Keeping a gratitude journal helps too, and so does being willing to talk about your faith when the moment calls for it — this whole website is exactly that for me, a place to share my faith and keep my own gratitude journal, out loud. My spiritual journey is a slow, steady process; I am still working on most of what’s above, most days imperfectly. Building this station has been its own reminder to look a little deeper into my own heart for what Jesus is still trying to teach me.
Continue the Journey
Simon didn’t plan to carry this. Carry what you found here into another part of your prayer — or another part of your life.
