The cross was carried by Christ, before it was carried by Simon. The arrangement might have been different: he might have borne the burden the first part of the way, and then it might have been laid on the Master. But our comfort is, that the cross which we must carry has been already carried by Christ, and therefore, like the grave which He entered, been stripped of its hatefulness. It might almost be said to have changed its nature through being laid on the Son of God: it left behind it its terribleness, its oppressiveness: and now, as transferred to the carrier, it is indeed a cross, but a cross which it is a privilege to bear, a cross which God never fails to give strength to bear, a cross which, as leading to a crown, may justly be prized, so that we would not have it off our shoulders, till the diadem is on our brow. It is one of Christ's last and most impressive sermons. He would not leave the world without furnishing a standing memorial, that His disciples must bear the same cross as Himself, inasmuch as, like Himself, they must endure the world's hatred as champions and examples of truth. And together with this memorial He would show, by a powerful instance, that, in religion, a temporizing policy is sure to defeat itself, so that to fly from the cross is commonly to meet it, dilated in size, and heavier in material. But He had one more truth to represent at the same time — the beautiful, comforting truth, that He has borne what His followers have to bear, and thereby so lightened it, that, as with death, which He made sleep to the believer, the burden but quickens the step towards the "exceeding and eternal weight of glory." And that He might effect and convey all this through one great significant action, it was ordered, we may believe, that, as they led away Jesus, carrying like Isaac the wood for the burnt-offering, the soldiers laid hold on one Simon, a Cyrenian, coming out of the country, and him they compelled to bear His cross.
Where does this leave the church? Church gatherings represent one of just a handful of remaining opportunities available to people to have regular face-to-face contact with people, other than family, who share their interests and background. Realize, too, that growing numbers of people now judge the validity and relevance of a church by the church’s use of technology. Their perception is that if a church is intimately connected to the new digital world, it is more likely to understand their pressures and challenges, and is therefore more likely to offer relevant commentary and solutions.
On the other hand, the boundaries between pastoral care of the faithful, new evangelization and specific missionary activity are not clearly definable, and it is unthinkable to create barriers between them or to put them into watertight compartments. Nevertheless, there must be no lessening of the impetus to preach the Gospel and to establish new churches among peoples or communities where they do not yet exist, for this is the first task of the Church, which has been sent forth to all peoples and to the very ends of the earth. Without the mission ad gentes, the Church's very missionary dimension would be deprived of its essential meaning and of the very activity that exemplifies it.
Though it is true that this mission demands great generosity on our part, it would be wrong to see it as a heroic individual undertaking, for it is first and foremost the Lord’s work, surpassing anything which we can see and understand. Jesus is “the first and greatest evangelizer”. In every activity of evangelization, the primacy always belongs to God, who has called us to cooperate with Him and who leads us on by the power of His Spirit. The real newness is the newness which God Himself mysteriously brings about and inspires, provokes, guides and accompanies in a thousand ways. The life of the Church should always reveal clearly that God takes the initiative, that “He has loved us first” (1 Jn 4:19) and that He alone “gives the growth” (1 Cor 3:7). This conviction enables us to maintain a spirit of joy in the midst of a task so demanding and challenging that it engages our entire life. God asks everything of us, yet at the same time He offers everything to us.
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