Feb 1 Thu
Jesus called his followers to assist him with the proclamation of the Gospel. They stood with Jesus, took instructions from the Master, and validated St. Paul’s observation: “God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong.” (1 Cor. 1:27)
Jesus identified Nathanael as an “Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile!” (Jn. 1:47) Nathanael’s forthright honesty is a model for all.
Judas, unlike Nathanael, was a man of guile and greed, a thief and a traitor. Months of dipping into the collection purse preceded the grand finale of his betrayal. We don’t know his motives, but we can guess he wasn’t impressed by Jesus.
Judas conspired with the chief priests and negotiated a deal. For a paltry thirty pieces of silver, he would deliver Jesus into their hands. Judas sealed his betrayal with his duplicitous kiss in the Garden.
Jesus reminded him of the abuse of friendship: “Judas, would you betray the Son of man with a kiss?” (Lk. 22:48) But rejecting friendship didn’t make the life of Judas any easier. Even the chief priests held the hapless traitor in contempt.
At every Mass, in preparation for our encounter with Jesus, we express contrition for our sins; and then, we offer our lives to Him during the Offertory, including our sins. God delights in the Presentation of the Gifts that represent our self-surrender –warts and all.
Judas brought his ill-gotten gifts to the Temple. Realizing the horror of his betrayal, he could have made amends, returned the thirty pieces of silver, and began again.
Thus, together with the Magi, Judas could have become a patron saint of the Offertory. But he lost the opportunity.
Judas would have fulfilled his restitution had he joined Mary, the holy women, and John at the foot of the Cross. The Cross of Jesus would have purified his sins, and the Resurrection would have led his soul to glory.
But Judas refused to accept forgiveness, and came to a horrible end.
“Don't feel humiliated when you discover your wretchedness—all of us are in the same boat! Our Lord doesn't cease to love us on that account. But we have to be sincere. Be very sincere; lose your fear, your shame of showing yourselves as you are. Only thus will they be able to apply the opportune remedy to cure us and help us work more effectively. And only thus will we truly realize how much our Lord loves us, since he's capable of pardoning our greatest weaknesses."
We have only to glance quickly at our life, at the occasions when we voluntarily turned our back on God's will, for our hearts to be filled with a deep sorrow of love. But Christ has forgiven us, and always forgive us when we approach him contritely in the sacrament of Penance. Today we want to kneel at his feet and tell him with heartfelt sorrow that we never want to offend him again.
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