It is interesting to reflect on the figures of Veronica and Simon the Cyrene, in the Stations of the Cross. Both stop to help our Lord at His lowest point. They are the figures of all people who work to alleviate the suffering of God. Yet they differ. Veronica comes to us as one who knows Jesus. Her interaction with Him is intimate and familiar. Simon doesn't know what is going on. He is a random stranger pressed into helping Jesus by the Roman guards. Might not Veronica represent the one who shares in salvation via choice and Simon by unwitting action? How many of our non-believing brothers and sisters have alleviated the suffering of God without even knowing it, without having any awareness of Jesus or His presence in the moment? Many, I'd wager. If our focus is not on the afterlife, but simply on the Pain of God, then all people can be brothers in Christ through their decision to fight for the right, through compassion and love. Veronica and Simon are reminders that Jesus was not alone in His plight, and He still is not. Every decision to work for the good is a decision to alleviate the suffering of Our Lord, and such an alleviation can never be accounted small.
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