Knowing that the Lima Project may have been the cause of the problems on earth, and that his father was part of the Project, astronaut Roy McBride set out to find what he could about what was happening. Nothing could keep him away from his task even as SpaceCom took him out of the Project. He stayed connected with the Project by means of "stowing away" on the ship that was to go to Neptune. Roy finally found his father, Clifford McBride, who would not return to earth with his son. Instead his father repelled into deeper space while Roy planted the nuclear bomb which both destroyed the source of the problems on earth and helped to propel his ship back to earth. The experience changed Roy to be a much more caring individual.

Simon of Cyrene no doubt knew that condemned people had to carry their own cross to their execution. Therefore being forced to take the cross could have been a problem for him. But he had no choice. He had to force himself to realize that no matter how he felt, he had to adjust to the situation at hand. The Romans forced him to carry this cross for this condemned man. He adjusted to the situation. Incidentally because the evangelist Mark mentions Simon's family, they were probably people that the early Christians knew. Later on, no doubt Simon accepted what he did as something that he was quite proud of.

Whether Simon did carry the cross willingly or not is not the point. The point is that there was no choice and he simply had to adjust to the situation, and work with it as best he could. It is a common enough phenomenon. Studying the movie "Ad Astra," one sees that Roy McBride was forced into a situation in which he had to adjust. He had wanted to connect with his father, talk him into coming back to earth, and repair the situation that was literally destroying the world. He had to adjust to the change of what he wanted.

The common phenomenon in every day living is that many times, as we approach a situation, we have a clear idea of what we think should be done. The problem is that for some reason it is not done the way we thought. It is a critical point in our understanding of ourselves that we can adjust to the new situation. And adjust with "adult" behavior.

We might indeed adjust to the situation with bitter feelings that continue to bother us--and many do. But the consequences of such a choice should deter us from such the selfish thought--bitterness that lasts too long, hatred of the people involved, or simply giving up on life. In the movie, Roy adjusted to the situation that he did not want by thinking with a true adult understanding. Indeed, when things are not going the way we want, we can adjust and learn to accept it well. As the saying goes, we need to make lemonade, something good, when we are given only bitter lemons.

PRAYER

Good and gracious God, we tend to be selfish people, wanting what we want. Sometimes it is good, but sometimes we must adjust to a situation that is difficult and that we do not want. Help us learn to adjust to whatever happens to us in as good a way as possible. Be with us, we pray. 

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Questions, comments? Let me know. Email Fr. Mike

©2007 Capuchin Province of Mid-America
Fr. Mike Scully is a member of the Capuchin Province of Mid-America