Veronica? Who was she? She is not mentioned in the bible, but has come to us through the Roman Catholic by an “approved cult”. Veronica is often used by people who oppose the stations of the cross as a reason that the stations should not be used, there is no real facts to prove that she existed, but the again there is no proof that she did not exist.
Veronica’s interaction with Jesus is different, there is no motherly obligation or political obligation like Simon’s. Veronica’s interaction is of free will. She steps forward to wipe his face. We are not sure why she does it. Kevin Scully in “Women on the Way” suggests two possibilities. The first that she acted on behalf of a group of people who had compassion for Jesus’ suffering, or secondly that she acted herself in defiance of the soldiers and populace (Scully 37). In either case “Veronica allows her singular compassion to be the victor” (Scully 37). Veronica offers the love, the compassion, the comfort, that Jesus repeatedly taught the people to show to the world.
So, today we pause and contemplate this interaction between Veronica, who reached out to Jesus, and Jesus who allowed his sweat and dirt to be wiped away. What does this interaction mean to the human story, and what does it mean to us?
Scully, Kevin. “Women on the Way: Meditations for Lent”. Triangle: London. 1998.