Jesus reveals Judas’ betrayal and his horrible fate at the Last Supper. Every Catholic man can grow in happiness by building the Virtue of Obedience so he can always fulfill his sacred duty to attend Sunday Mass and by pursuing the Virtue of Diligence so he can strive to honor God with every thought, word and deed.
Liturgy
Holy Week – Wednesday – Mt 26:14-25
Commentary
Following His triumphant entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, Jesus teaches in the Temple in the days preceding the Passover, and spends the nights in Bethany, a small nearby town. Earlier, Judas, filled with greed, criticized Mary, the sister of Lazarus, when she anointed Jesus’ feet with expensive oil; Jesus defended Mary and rebuked Judas. Judas’ long-simmering sinfulness led him to sneak away and betray Jesus to the Jewish leadership for a paltry 30 pieces of silver.
Commanded by God (Ex 12), Jews were required each year to commemorate God’s deliverance from physical and spiritual slavery in Egypt by eating a ritual meal which recalled the Night of the Passover; prayers were said, four ritual cups of wine were drank, and a male lamb, sacrificed at the Temple, was eaten along with bitter herbs. Jesus, the perfection of the Law, keeps the Passover, sending His Apostles to the owner of a home with the Upper Room, to prepare the Passover feast; after the Resurrection, Jesus will appear to the Apostles in this same Upper Room.
Later in the evening at the Passover feast, Jesus reveals that one of the Twelve Apostles will betray Him. Struggling to believe one of them might betray Jesus, each of the Apostles ask Jesus if they are the betrayer. Jesus again repeats that one of them will indeed betray Him (“has dipped his hand in the dish with Me”), and mysteriously alludes to the horrific fate that awaits the betrayer. Judas, the last to ask and hoping that Jesus does not realize he is the betrayer, asks, “Is it I, Master?” Jesus confirms Judas’ treachery.
Be awed by Jesus Christ
As the annual recognition of the Passion of the Christ draws near, recall while being the Son of God, a Divine Person of the Trinity, Jesus experiences the fullness of emotion and physical sensations through His Human Nature, including the deep Compassion and the Grief and Sorrow of the betrayal of Judas and the horrific fate that awaits him (“better…if he had never been born”).
Fulfill your sacred duty to attend Sunday Mass
Realize: Sadly, a large number of Catholic men fail to keep their mandatory weekly obligation (Latin obligatio, meaning “a binding pledge”, a “sacred duty”) to gratefully praise and give glory to God in the Holy Catholic Mass (CCC 2041-2042); no Catholic man has the authority to decide if he may miss his obligation to attend Sunday Mass and missing a Mass requires either prior approval from a priest or the man must confess the grave sin of missing Sunday mass in the Sacrament of Penance.
Believe: Somberly reflect upon the truth that Jesus died to establish the Eucharist (CCC 1339-1340).
Pray: Almighty Father, help me grow in the Virtue of Obedience (a part of Justice) so that I never again fail in my sacred duty to thank and give glory to You, receive Your Son in the Eucharist, and be strengthened by the Spirit in the Mass every Sunday.
Honor God with every thought, word and deed
Realize: Like Judas, when men betray Jesus through their evil thoughts and hidden actions, Jesus is fully aware of their betrayal; nothing a man thinks or does is hidden from Jesus, and everything a man thinks and does will be evidence in his personal Judgment when he dies.
Believe: Meditate upon your own unavoidable Judgment (CCC 1021-1022; 1038-1041).
Pray: Jesus, Divine Judge, help me grow in the Virtue of Diligence (a part of Temperance) so I always strive to never betray and always honor and serve You with my every thought, word and deed.