Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew 26, 14-25
One of the Twelve, who was called Judas Iscariot,
went to the chief priests and said,
“What are you willing to give me
if I hand him over to you?”
They paid him thirty pieces of silver,
and from that time on he looked for an opportunity to hand him over.
On the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread,
the disciples approached Jesus and said,
“Where do you want us to prepare
for you to eat the Passover?”
He said,
“Go into the city to a certain man and tell him,
‘The teacher says, “My appointed time draws near;
in your house I shall celebrate the Passover with my disciples.”‘“
The disciples then did as Jesus had ordered,
and prepared the Passover.
When it was evening,
he reclined at table with the Twelve.
And while they were eating, he said,
“Amen, I say to you, one of you will betray me.”
Deeply distressed at this,
they began to say to him one after another,
“Surely it is not I, Lord?”
He said in reply,
“He who has dipped his hand into the dish with me
is the one who will betray me.
The Son of Man indeed goes, as it is written of him,
but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed.
It would be better for that man if he had never been born.”
Then Judas, his betrayer, said in reply,
“Surely it is not I, Rabbi?”
He answered, “You have said so.”
Betrayal and sale
1. Judas. He is a man who awaits the occasion to betray Jesus. He must have had a great internal struggle! It seems he has not spent his time with Jesus trying to get to know him better. Judas doesn’t see Jesus as the Messiah; he looks at himself and puts himself at the center of everything. Many times, Jesus has been close to you and instead of getting to know him better, you turn your back on him. Just think of the fact that many people have a church nearby and find excuses not to go to Mass, while others have Mass only once a year. How many times have we betrayed Jesus? How often have we set Him aside? When Jesus does not satisfy our desires, we “hand him over” instead of giving ourselves to him.
2. “You have said so.” After Jesus’s announcement, the disciples have a kind of feeling, a desire to remove the guilt. You too can have this kind of scrupulous conscience, in which you believe that every announcement that is made refers to you. Learn to know your limits and to analyze the reasons why you do things. Remember God has given and gives his life for you. What do you give him?
3. Supper. God reminds us that the Eucharist is our shelter. Prayer, the Eucharist, and fraternity can help us through the worst moments of our life. Don’t neglect these three points and never stop looking for God!Remember that something good is on the way!God bless you and protect you in the name of the Father, of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
