Mt 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.”

Today's reflection from Connor Coyne, School Committee Chairperson and father of Mary (7th grade) and Ruby (2nd grade) at St. John Vianney.

The Bible does not tell us whether Judas suffered any pangs of guilt or doubt in the hours between his secret meeting with the chief priests and the arrest of Jesus. He acts decisively, making arrangements to apprehend the Lord away from the protective crowds and denying his intentions to Jesus' face. And yet, the sheer horror Judas experiences as he confronts the magnitude of his treachery suggests to me that his conscience must have been working within him, hoping to change his mind, to avert the crucifixion he helped to inflict upon his friend and master how Judas must have labored to ignore that small, still voice, the voice of faithfulness and love, through all of his plotting and deception. To me, Judas’s great tragedy and grief are that he did not heed his conscience until the betrayal was complete, prompting his fall into despair and death.

As a Christian, one challenge and promise is to reject the satisfaction of judging others and, instead, to consider how I might do better in my own life. Have I silenced their conscience’s soft, clear voice earth the thunder of my ego, ambition, self-righteousness, and desire for satisfaction? I have done so often. We all have our Judas moments. And they are frightening because "it would be better for that man if he had never been born" are some of the harshest words that Jesus ever spoke. But while we are alive, we have the opportunity to repent. If we still ourselves -- through prayer -- through reflection -- we can silence our fickle wishes for glory and satisfaction and hear the voice of conscience and the will of the Lord instead. As I read these passages, I resolve not to take my desires so seriously and pursue them with stubbornness and willful blindness but to answer what faith and fidelity ask of me through my actions.

Please click play to join us in our prayer for today, led by Mr. Lawrance Morrison, Director of Campus Maintenance.

Dear Jesus, Strengthen my resolve not to take my desires so seriously and not pursue them with stubbornness and blindness. Please answer through my thoughts, words, and actions what faith and fidelity to your Holy Spirit ask of me. Amen."

Have you missed a day or want to see something again? Click below to see our past #HappyLent2022 emails.