Where does a spiritual decline begin? What is the first symptom of a train of sins? The traditionally listed enemies of spirituality are the world, the flesh and the devil. But are not these secondary? Is there not first a detachment from something before an attachment to anything is possible? It is often said that Judas Iscariot, the supreme example of the fallen Apostle, was first corrupted through greed.

The Gospel does not support this view. Greed could conceivably have been his intent when he accepted the call of Christ to follow Him. As it appeared in his life, it required a certain watchfulness to avoid detection. How he must have squirmed as Our Blessed Lord unfolded the parables of the vanity of wealth! Surely he realized that they applied to him.

Later, greed became bold. Judas protests the watchfulness of Mary for anointing the feet of the Savior with costly ointment. Knowing the price of everything and the value of nothing, Judas calculated that the cost of the unguent would enable a man to live comfortably for a year. How disappointed must Judas have been when earlier he had heard Zacchaeus of Jericho tell Our Lord:

Here and now, Lord, I give half of what I have to the poor; and if I have wronged anyone in anyway, i make restitution of it fourfold. - Luke 19:8 -

Judas must also have wondered why Matthew gave up a profitable post as collector of customs to follow the poverty of the Savior. Matthew may himself have been surprised that he was not made treasurer, because of his familiarity with monetary transactions. Love of money was present in Judas; this is obvious. It showed itself clearly when he saw the perfume broken over the Lord's feet.

What is the meaning of this waste? ...It would have been possible to sell this at a great price, and give alms to the poor. - Matt. 26:8-9 -

Mary obeyed the instinctive impulse of uncalculated love only to be charged for not having calculated. Lovers on earth concern themselves little about the usefulness of their gifts. true lovers of Christ do not measure their gifts. They break alabaster and give all. But to Judas Iscariot, the cold-blooded spectator, it was useless waste. Avarice, indeed, can be one of the great sins of the priest, and perhaps the most insidious. It is a kind of "clean" sin because it parades under the guise of prudence, of "caring for old age." Simon Magus, for example, very quickly got the idea that the laying on of hands was a good way to make money. - Acts 8:19 -

The good and saintly priest lives for his vocation; the avaricious and worldly priest lives on his vocation. When he attends a pastoral conference, he ignores every reference to the sanctification of the clergy, to moral and spiritual discipline, to visitation of the sick. But when the bishop talks about salaries, stole fees, promotions, then, he sits up and listens. He is always out to get a "better" parish, but for him "better" simply means more lucrative.

The words of the Lord to the contrary, avaricious and worldly man believes that he can serve both God and mammon, What Our Lord Jesus Christ meant was that a man cannot divide his heart between God and money; and, if he could, God wants no part of a divided heart. Saint Paul said:

You know well enough that wherever you give a slave's consent, you prove yourselves the slaves of that master; slaves of sin, marked out for death, or slaves of obedience, marked out for justification. - Rom. 6:16 -

It often happens that those who are fond of amassing wealth are sometimes sinless in other respects. They are celibates, they may even be meticulous about the external laws of the Church - but so were the Pharisees: "the Pharisees, who were fond of riches." - Luke 16:14 - It was to them that the Lord Jesus told the parable of the rich man and Lazarus. - Luke 16:19-31 -

But was avarice the cause of the fall of Judas? No! His fall began with lack of faith and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ, which became evident when, at the time of the second Passover mentioned in Saint John's Gospel, Jesus promised the Eucharist to the crowd that had followed Him to Capernaum - John 6 - Peter believed and confessed his faith. But Jesus knew that not all of the Twelve were faithful.

Have I not chosen all twelve of you? And one of you is a devil. He was speaking of Judas, son of Simon, the Iscariot, who was one of the twelve, and was to betray Him. - John 6:71-72 -

It was Judas' lack of faith that hardened his heart and confirmed him in his greed. A year later, again at Passover time, Our Lord Jesus reprimanded Judas for his money madness. Saint John opens his account of the tragedy of Calvary with the words: "Six days before the Pascal feast Jesus went to Bethany." - John 12:1 - There, in the house of Lazarus, Mary anointed Jesus. But he "who was to betray Him" - John 12:4 - protested that the money should have been given to the poor. But now it was clear that Judas "was a thief" - John 12:6 - and, at once reprimanded him and predicting His own death, Jesus answered:

Let her alone; enough that she should keep it for the day when My body is prepared for burial. You have the poor among you always; I am not always among you. - John 12:7-8 -

Thus the story of Judas' fall is told in relation to the Passover. It was at a Passover that Our Lord Jesus first announced the Eucharist, and at another Passover He instituted it. The first rupture in the soul of Judas was when Our Lord Jesus said He would give man His Body and Blood for food. The total collapse came the night of the Last Supper, when Our Blessed Lord Jesus fulfilled this promise. Here is unmistakable evidence that fidelity and holiness, on the one hand, and betrayal and disloyalty, on the other, are linked to the Eucharist, the Bread of Life. The first crack in the priesthood comes in our attitude toward the Eucharist: the holiness with which we offer Mass, the sensitiveness of our devotion to the Blessed Sacrament.

The first mention in the Sacred Scripture/Holy Bible that Judas was a betrayer was not when he revealed his greed, but when Our Lord Jesus declared Himself the Bread of Life. On that occasion. Our Lord Jesus lost the support of three distinct types of follower. He lost the masses because He refused to be a bread king: he spoke of giving the Eucharist instead of plenty; He lost various disciples who "walked no more in His company" - John 6:67 - because the Eucharist was to them a scandal; and, finally, He lost Judas.

Two who had been called by Christ to be priests are contrasted by Saint John: Peter and Judas. When the wholesale desertions followed Christ's announcement that He would give His Flesh for the life of the world, Our Lord Jesus asked Peter if he too would leave. Peter answered:

Lord, to whom should we go? Thy words are the words of eternal life; we have learned to believe, and are assured that Thou art the Christ, the Son of God. - John 6:69-70 -

The Heart of Our Lord Jesus now becomes sad because of what happened to His Twelve. The number was symbolic, dating from the twelve patriarchs and the twelve tribes, and so often used with reference to the Apostles. (Was not each of the twelve Apostles from one of the twelve tribes?) There is, therefore, something tragic about the divine complaint:

Jesus answered them, Have I not chosen all twelve of you? And one of you is a devil. He was speaking of Judas, son of Simon, the Iscariot, who was one of the twelve, and was to betray Him. - John 6:71-72 -

Avarice later! But now, long before the meal in Simon's house, long before his exchange with the temple priests, Judas is first described as a betrayer, as Our Lord Jesus gives us His Flesh to eat and His Blood to drink. What did the thirty pieces of silver add to the selling of that Body and Blood? He had already denied it! He is yet a thief; then a traitor; later, an open ally of the enemy. He stole from the apostolic purse, developed a neurotic hatred both of money and of himself; finally, he took his own life. But when did the fissure first show? When began the unseen collapse - so unseen that the Apostles at the Last Supper did not know of it? It began when he who was called to be a priest and victim refused to accept the words of his Lord.

As I live because of the Father, the living Father Who has sent Me, so he who eats Me will live, in his turn, because of Me. - John 6:58 -

The flesh! Certainly it explains certain aspects of priestly weakness. Worldliness! Love of stocks and bonds! Luxury! Alcohol! Mention any sin that comes to mind. These are the tails on the falling kites of the priesthood. But there was already a tear in the garment of holiness before these other forms of nakedness and shame appeared. Our Lord Jesus knows where all such overt and scandalous sins started. Maybe they started in a "fifteen- minute Mass", a "one-minute thanksgiving", a flight from the nightshirt to the alb, a failure to visit the Eucharistic Savior except "officially" when one "had" to celebrate Mass or conduct devotions. But somewhere, somehow, the man who is a priest because of the Eucharist failed to be a Eucharistic priest. If a surgeon stayed away from human body and blood, would he not lose his proficiency? Is he not licensed precisely for body and blood? But priests, who are not "licensed" but "ordained" for Body and Blood, how shall we retain our power, our holiness, our priestly skill, except by that lively faith in the Body and Blood of Christ?

The Gospels seem to make a point about associating Judas with the Passover. Avarice, one of the effects of his failure to be Eucharistic, is first mentioned in this connection.

Six days before the pascal feast, Jesus went to Bethany. - John 12:1 -

Such are the words with which the Beloved Disciple raises the curtain on the tragedy of Calvary. And who is first mentioned? Judas! as Mary, the sister of Lazarus, shows devotion to the Body and Blood of the Savior, anointing Him "for burial" - John 12:7-8 - so does Judas betray his greed and prepare to sell that Body and Blood.

The hypocrisy of Judas in expressing concern for the poor is stressed by Our Lord's identification of Himself that same week with the poor. - Matt. 23:35 - When Jesus reprimanded Judas and told him to "let her alone" - John 12:7 - the false Apostle resolved to consummate the betrayal.

And at that, one of the twelve, Judas was was called Iscariot, went to the chief priests and asked them, What will you pay me for handing Him over to you? Whereupon they laid down thirty pieces of silver. And he, from that time onwards, looked about for an opportunity to betray Him.  - Matt. 26:14-16 -

The cross united not only Our Lord's friends but also His enemies. The Sadducees and the Pharisees, Judas and the Sanhedrin, Rome and the temple priests, Herod and Pilate - all those who had lesser enmities united in the greater hostility to Jesus, the Savior of the world. The Church, which is the continuing Christ, must always expect such hostile coalitions in time of crisis. Evil is hypersensitive to goodness. It detects a challenge to its existence long before good men are awake to the signs of the times.

Now comes the Passover of Our Lord's death, when the true Lamb of God is sacrificed for us pilgrims to eternity. The twelve Apostles are gathered around Our Lord. Where did Judas sit at this first Mass? John was certainly on His Heart's side. Who was on the Lord's other side? Possibly Peter, though one detail suggests the contrary.

Jesus had one disciple, whom He loved, who was now sitting with his head against Jesus' breast; to him, therefore, Simon Peter made a sign, and asked him, Who is it He means? - John 13:23-24 -

If Peter were on the other side, he would hardly have made a sign as here described.

Could Judas have been next to Our Lord Jesus? It is conceivable, for Our Lord makes many attempts to save those He has chosen. Matthew seems to suggest it, for how else could Christ have told Judas that He knew his intentions while the others continued under the impression that he went out to help the poor? - Matt. 26:22,25 - Betrayers and traitors rarely know they are discovered. If, then, Judas was given that place as a sign of divine love, how, in his hardened heart, he must have thought, "If He knew what I am going to do, He would never have given me this place."

At this point, Our Lord Jesus again referred to the Passover.

I have longed and longed to share this Pascal meal with you before My Passion. - Luke 22:15 -

Was Judas reminded of the other Passover, when Our Lord Jesus had promised the Eucharist?

Also significant for Judas, though ignored by him, was the emphasis on humility at this solemn moment of the institution of the Eucharist. Our Lord Jesus insisted that, in a certain sense, His Apostles were kings. He did not deny their instinct for aristocracy, but He told them that theirs was to be the nobility of humility, the greatest becoming the least. To drive the lesson home, He reminded them of the position He occupied among them as Master and Lord of the table and yet free of every trace of superiority. Many times He repeated that He had come not to be served, but to serve. To bear the burden of others and particularly their guilt was His reason for becoming the "suffering servant" foretold by prophet Isaiah. - Is, 52:13-53:12 - and not content with words, he reinforced them with example.

And now, rising from supper, He laid His garment aside, took a towel, and put it about Him; and then He poured water into the basin, and began to wash the feet of His disciples, wiping them with the towel that girded Him. - John 13:4 -

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Sunday, May 24, 2009

I have through years of reading, pondering, reflecting and contemplating, the 3 things that last; FAITH . HOPE . LOVE and I would like to made available my sharing from the many thinkers, authors, scholars and theologians whose ideas and thoughts I have borrowed. God be with them always. Amen!

I STILL HAVE MANY THINGS TO SAY TO YOU BUT THEY WOULD BE TOO MUCH FOR YOU NOW. BUT WHEN THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH COMES, HE WILL LEAD YOU TO THE COMPLETE TRUTH, SINCE HE WILL NOT BE SPEAKING AS FROM HIMSELF, BUT WILL SAY ONLY WHAT HE HAS LEARNT; AND HE WILL TELL YOU OF THE THINGS TO COME.

HE WILL GLORIFY ME, SINCE ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. EVERYTHING THE FATHER HAS IS MINE; THAT IS WHY I SAID: ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. - JOHN 16:12-15 -