Simon of Cyrene was Forced to carry the Cross
About this episode
Fr. Eric Nicolai delivers a meditation on the significance of Simon of Cyrene during Palm Sunday.
A meditation preached by Fr. Eric Nicolai on Palm Sunday, 2026, to a group of boys at a camp in Port Burwell, Ontario. Palm Sunday is our entry into Holy Week. We are invited to contemplate the Passion. We remember that Pope Francis' last Palm Sunday focused on the figure of Simon of Cyrene. As we look at the faces of the soldiers and the tears of the women in the crowd, our attention is drawn to an unknown person whose name suddenly appears in the Gospel: Simon of Cyrene. He was the man seized by the soldiers who then “laid the cross on him, and made him carry it behind Jesus” (Lk 23:26). At that moment, he was coming in from the countryside. He happened to be passing by when he unexpectedly found himself caught up in a drama that overwhelmed him, like the heavy wood that was placed on his shoulders. Thumbnail: Sarcophagus of Domitilia, in the Museum Pioneers Clementino, Rome, 4th century. Music: Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra.
People in this episode
Host: Fr. Eric Nicolai
Topics covered
- Palm Sunday
- Holy Week
- Passion
- Simon of Cyrene
- Christian meditation
- Spiritual reflection
Keywords
- Simon of Cyrene
- Palm Sunday
- Fr. Eric Nicolai
- Holy Week
- Christianity
- meditation
- Passion
- Port Burwell
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra
Books & works: Sarcophagus of Domitilia
Places: Port Burwell, Ontario
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- The Empty Tomb: what now?
- Holy Thursday: The oils, the Feet, the Eucharist.
- The Calculation of Judas
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