Invite God to join you on this visual journey. Look carefully at the painting. Identify the characters. Jesus, Mary the mother of Jesus, Simon the Cyrenian, Roman guards, onlookers etc. Identify the emotions, feelings and motivations. What seems to mirror your present feeling state? Notice one act of kindness where Mary the mother of Jesus is attended to by a young woman who gently lifts Mary’s veil as our Blessed Mother reaches out to comfort Jesus. Who do you identify with? If you were in that scene who would you be? The fallen Jesus, a cruel guard, an uninterested party on the distant hill? Share your thoughts and feelings about this painting and the characters within with the Lord. Try this exercise again another day and don’t be surprise that you quickly become someone else with a whole other set of thoughts and feelings. Honesty with God is the first step on the path to HOPE. How will you be a beacon of hope to someone this week? What loving action will you take?