Pope Paul VI was a great Pope, he served the church from 1963 – 1978. During my early studies in Rome I had the privilege of serving a few of his masses.  These were very challenging years, it was just after Vatican II; and a lot of people, influenced by the left dominated media were expecting major changes in the Church, and the task of Pope Paul was to steer the barque of Christ, the church, through these storms. On one occasion, an artist offered to make a crucifix for Pope Paul, and a few months later, he came to the Vatican with the crucifix he had made.  When Pope Paul saw it, he was very pleased,  bur one thing surprised him,  there was no crown of thorns.  He turned to the artist and asked him where is the crown of thorns.  The artist answered him:  ‘Your holiness, it is your turn to wear the crown of thorns now’. This story helps us to understand a very important part of our christian faith.  We can all share in Jesus’ suffering. We do this by carrying our cross;  a cross can be a worry,  a disappointment, a handicap,  some difficulty with our health, a family problem, etc.  The cross can take any form.  And some of you who are listening to me, are carrying your cross of the day.  We can see this cross as one more difficulty in our life,  or as an invitation to help Jesus carry his cross.  We are celebrating Palm Sunday, the beginning of Holy week,  a week in which we can walk with Jesus on his journey. On this journey of Jesus, one of the figures we meet is Simon of Cyrene,  who is a spectator,  but now he is called by the soldiers and he is obliged to carry the cross of Jesus with him.  Simon is a role model for all of us.  He teaches us that every difficulty and every suffering in our life can have a new meaning, a beautiful meaning.  We can participate in the suffering of Jesus and in his work of redemption.  Let us not loose this opportunity.