One of the Twelve, the man called Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests and said, What are you prepared to give me if I hand him over to you?
They paid him thirty silver pieces, and from that moment he looked for an opportunity to betray him.

Now on the first day of Unleavened Bread the disciples came to Jesus to say,
'Where do you want us to make the preparations for you to eat the passover?'

'Go to so-and-so in the city', Jesus replied, 'and say to him',
"The Master says: My time is near. It is at your house that I am keeping Passover with my disciples."'

The disciples did what Jesus told them and prepared the Passover.When evening came he was at table with the twelve disciples. And while they were eating he said

'I tell you solemnly, one of you is about to betray me.'

They were greatly distressed and started asking him in turn,
'Not I, Lord, surely ?'

He answered,

'Someone who has dipped his hand into the dish with me, will betray me. The Son of Man is going to his fate, as the scriptures say he will, but alas for that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! Better for that man if he had never been born!'

Judas, who was to betray him; asked in his turn,  'Not I, Rabbi, surely?'  'They are your own words,' answered Jesus.

Short Reflection: All human suffering is there 

We sometimes call this 'Spy Wednesday'. Scripture states that Satan entered Judas' heart at that time, and he went out to gather the temple officers and Pharisees, knowing the location where Jesus and the disciples would later after the meal - thre Mount of Olives. Judas had never thought of himself as a betrayer nor had he discerned the evil in the hearts of the chief priests. He was a deeply disappointed in Jesus. He had hoped for a revolutionary who would liberate the country from roman power. There is a deep sense of loss, disappointment and rejection in betrayal by a friend. It is an abuse of our trust, and our trust is one of the biggest gifts we can give to anyone. It is part of the glue of society.

When the purpose of Satan's deception was accomplished and Jesus had been
handed over, the eyes of Judas' understanding were opened. It was only then
that he realised that Jesus' very life was now in serious jeopardy. He had not
expected that. He attempted to return the money to the temple, saying, "I have
sinned by betraying innocent blood."Jesus had trusted Judas. And Judas betrayed
Jesus with fatal consequences for both of them.

Perhaps the words of Jesus came to his mind.
"Woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been good
for that man if he had not been born."

In Judas' betrayal, Jesus experienced one of life's most bitter pills of all. To be
betrayd by a friend who lived with him, who shared his table and his travels and  
to have it sealed with a kiss - a sign of such real intimacy made it all the more painful.

Story: Once a mother…..

A mother came to see me to ask my advice.

'Father', she said, 'my son is a drug user, I don't know what to do.  He has robbed everything in the house; sometimes he would come home looking for money for drugs, and when I didn't have it to give him, he would smash all the windows in the house; sometimes he has even hit mewhen I wasn't able to give him money.
What am I going to do?'

'And where is he now', I asked.

She replied, 'He's in jail, it's the first peace I have had in five years'.

'Do you go to visit him?,' I asked.

                                                       'Ah, every Saturday without fail, I go up to see him. Sure isn't he still my son?
                                                       (Peter Mc Verry, SJ Jesus - Social revolutionary, www.veritas.ie)

Todays Prophet: Judas vs Peter as prophets

                       Judas Iscariot
Very little is said in the New Testament about Judas beyond these bare facts:
his birthplace,
his call to the Apostolate,
his critique of Mary Magdalene
his role as bursar to the disciples,
his treachery,
his despair and
his suicide-death.

Judas depended on himself alone for justification - he missed Jesus' main message of God's forgiveness. This was a big mistake - when the chips were down, and he had sold out Jesus, he left himself with no one to go to for forgiveness. He only had one way to go, he did not know how to forgive himself.

                                                                                                                                    Peter's tears

Peter, on other hand, has a well filled out personality profile,
complete with all his faults and failings,
his rashness and inpatience,
his speaking out , without first putting his brain in gear,
his betrayal and his repentence,
his understanding and loving compassion.
His  focus was on Jesus love and faith and not on his own effort alone. 
Whatever his faults were Peter never gave up on Jesus.  He felt
that Jesus knew what we are made of, the good and the bad and
that he accepted us as we are.

Judas would most likely say, 'We are never as good as the good things we say.'

but Peter would most likely say: 'We are never as bad as the bad things we do.'  

A gentle call to action

And whenever we point our finger at someone, remember we always have four fingers pointing at ourselves.

Look around your family/ friends/children or co-workers who, because of some form of betrayal, may be feeling depressed, hurt, shamed, guilty or even suicidal.

The Samaritans are a great organisation of listeners to people's stories of distress. Ask yourself can you do anything to help them to help others?

Liturgically this is the last full day of Lent.

The Easter Triduum begins tomorrow evening with the Holy Thursday Mass. Check out the children's section of this website for aids in leading them through Lent

Prayer

Jesus,
in death you became like us to the end,
and in resurrection you point the way to what we will be.

In bad times give us hope and faith,
in good times give us peace and joy,
in desperate times you hear our prayers
in times of hurt or betrayal
you give us the gifts of compassion and foregiveness.

You are:
our  faith, 
our hope  
and our love
from God the Father.
Thank you Lord, Amen.

Prayer image of the Day.

Jesus: The Son of Man is going to his fate, as the scriptures said he will,
But alas for the man by whom he is betrayed ....Matthew 26: 14-25

Until that time, her betrayals had filled her with excitement and joy,
because they opened up new paths to new adventures of betrayal.
But what if the paths came to an end?
One could betray one's parents, husband, country, love,
but when parents, husband, country, and love were gone
- what was left to betray?
Milan Kundera,: The Unbearable Lightness of Being