The fourth mystery of the Passion and Death of Our Lord: Jesus carries his cross to Calvary.
How honored must have been Simon of Cyrene after the Resurrection. Yet on Good Friday, it was not a pleasant task that this man was forced to accept; it was carrying or helping to carry a cross. He did not know that it was the cross on which the Savior of the world would be crucified. In his humanity, Jesus needed help to carry his cross, and so do we. Helping to carry the cross of Christ was undoubtedly a cause of salvation for Simon of Cyrene and his family, and it will be the same for us.
We pray for the gift of perseverance. Our Father
1. And when they had mocked Him, they took off the cloak and put his own garments on Him. Hail Mary
2. As they led Him away, they laid hold of a certain Simon of Cyrene who was coming in from the country; Hail Mary
3. And upon him they laid the cross to carry it after Jesus. Hail Mary
4. There was following Him a great crowd of the people and of women who were bewailing and lamenting Him. Hail Mary
5. But Jesus turned to them and said, “Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for Me but weep for yourselves and for your children. Hail Mary
6. “The days are coming . . . when men will say to the mountains, “Fall on us,” and to the hills, ‘Cover us.’ Hail Mary
7. “If they do these things to the green wood, what will happen to the dry?” Hail Mary
8. And they brought Him to the place called Golgotha, which means the place of the skull. Hail Mary
9. He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief. Hail Mary
10. Surely, He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows. Hail Mary
Glory be
References: Matthew 27:31; Luke 23:26-31; Mark 15:22; Isaiah 53:3-4
John F. Kippley
Seven Day Bible Rosary