Daily Gospel Reflection
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April 12, 2022
Reclining at table with his disciples, Jesus was deeply troubled and testified,
“Amen, amen, I say to you, one of you will betray me.”
The disciples looked at one another, at a loss as to whom he meant.
One of his disciples, the one whom Jesus loved,
was reclining at Jesus’ side.
So Simon Peter nodded to him to find out whom he meant.
He leaned back against Jesus’ chest and said to him,
“Master, who is it?”
Jesus answered,
“It is the one to whom I hand the morsel after I have dipped it.”
So he dipped the morsel and took it and handed it to Judas,
son of Simon the Iscariot.
After Judas took the morsel, Satan entered him.
So Jesus said to him, “What you are going to do, do quickly.”
Now none of those reclining at table realized why he said this to him.
Some thought that since Judas kept the money bag, Jesus had told him,
“Buy what we need for the feast,”
or to give something to the poor.
So Judas took the morsel and left at once. And it was night.
When he had left, Jesus said,
“Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in him.
If God is glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself,
and he will glorify him at once.
My children, I will be with you only a little while longer.
You will look for me, and as I told the Jews,
‘Where I go you cannot come,’ so now I say it to you.”
Simon Peter said to him, “Master, where are you going?”
Jesus answered him,
“Where I am going, you cannot follow me now,
though you will follow later.”
Peter said to him,
“Master, why can I not follow you now?
I will lay down my life for you.”
Jesus answered, “Will you lay down your life for me?
Amen, amen, I say to you, the cock will not crow
before you deny me three times.”
“After Judas took the morsel, Satan entered him.” We know what happens to Judas from here. He betrays Jesus. Believing his sin absolute, he then despairs of ever being redeemed.
Thankfully in our lives, we still have countless opportunities for redemption. Christ’s forgiveness is always near through confession, repentance, and the resolution to do better. Yes, we’ll sin again, but Jesus’ endless mercy continues to be there for us when we give ourselves over to him.
Many years ago, I was traversing down a path of deep sinfulness. I had left my Catholic faith behind. Through my actions, I hurt and betrayed those I loved most—my wife, children, family, and friends. But unlike Judas, I still had an opportunity to convert.
I still had the chance to become like the Prodigal Son and come home, renewing my life and my commitments to God and family. God put people in my life that helped me and guided me back to a more grace-filled path. Jesus’ forgiveness and mercy permeated my life and the lives of those I had hurt—reconciliation was possible.
Holy Week feels incredibly redemptive for me because it was during this time all those years ago that my journey back to faith and truth began. Only Jesus’ mercy and forgiveness made this possible for me and, more importantly, for those I had betrayed.
As Easter approaches, let us pray that we never lose hope for redemption amid any hurts or betrayals that may come our way. May we all find the restorative healing mercy that we need.
Prayer
On this Tuesday of Holy Week, Lord Jesus, we hear of the betrayal you suffered from Judas and of the foolish boasts of Peter. Their actions seem only to have reinforced your sense that you would suffer after being abandoned by many. Forgive our betrayals, our foolishness, our unwillingness to attend to those in need. May we learn not to fear suffering, and share your own openness to God’s will. You live and reign with the Father and the Spirit, God forever and ever. Amen.
Saint of the Day
Saint Teresa of Los Andes was one of the Young Witnesses selected by the 2018 Synod of Bishops to serve as a patron for their meeting on young people in the Church, which took place in Rome in October 2018. Like another of the great saints with whom she shares a name, Thérèse of Lisieux, Teresa entered a Carmelite convent at a very young age, when she was just eighteen.
Teresa was born Juana Fernandez Solar in Santiago, Chile on July 13, 1900. She was the fourth of six children and was known for her choleric and passionate temperament. One anecdote about this fiery young saint-in-the making tells the story of a time when Juana was pestering her younger sister Rebecca. Annoyed with Juana's antics, Rebecca slapped her in the face. Juana grabbed her to retaliate the slap, but mid-gesture repented, and kissed her sister on the cheek. Rebecca, understandably, was confused and accused Juana of kissing her with the "kiss of Judas."
Throughout her adolescence, Juana continued to slowly convert her passionate outbursts into a single-minded aspiration for union with God. She encountered a kindred soul and spiritual mentor in Thérèse, whose spiritual autobiography, Story of a Soul, she read as a child. Juana was profoundly moved by the sensitive, self-aware Thérèse who was so keenly aware of her own self-absorption and pride, yet who transformed this natural disposition into total dedication to God.
Inspired by Thérèse, Juana sought to become a Carmelite. When she was seventeen, she sent a letter to the prioress of the Discalced Carmelite convent in Los Andes, expressing her desire to join the order. Juana was frustrated by the lack of response and the nagging unfulfillment of her one desire. Juana spoke to her mother, who advised her to speak to her father. Juana wrote her father a letter about her desire to join Carmel while she was away at boarding school. He never answered. Intimidated, but determined, Juana approached her father in March of 1919 when she was home from school, and he granted her permission. On May 7, 1919, Juana entered the Carmelite novitiate and took the name Teresa of Jesus. While still in her first year of religious life, Teresa contracted typhus and her health steadily declined.
As she approached death, the Carmelites allowed her to profess religious vows early, even though she had not completed her novitiate year. On April 7, 1920, Teresa took her first vows, and five days later, on April 12, Teresa died.
Devotion to Teresa of Los Andes spread quickly due to the publication of letters that she wrote to a wide number of people during her year in Carmel, offering spiritual advice and insight. Teresa is an example of the purity of heart cited in the Beatitudes—her life was fueled by love and love alone. Over the course of her short nineteen years, Teresa learned to channel the deep passion inherent in her personality towards the pursuit of God. Her letters attest to this wild love, and firm-minded devotion. When she was beatified on April 3, 1987, Teresa became Chile's first citizen to be beatified, and when she was canonized in 1993 by Pope John Paul II, she became Chile's first canonized saint. She is a patron saint of Santiago, Chile, where she was born and a patron of young people.
Santa Teresa de Los Andes, powerful witness to the great fruit of quiet faith—pray for us!
Image Credit: Our featured image of St. Teresa of the Andes is in the public domain. Last accessed February 21, 2025 on Wikimedia Commons.
