Thursday of the Fourth Week of Easter (2025)

Yesterday, we celebrated the Feast of Saint Matthias — the Apostle chosen to take the place of Judas.

And today’s Gospel draws our attention once again to the one who fell away.

It invites us to ask — was Judas destined to betray?

When his mother gave birth to him and looked into his eyes, could she have imagined that his name would one day become a symbol of treachery?

For three years he walked with Jesus.

Did Jesus know — from the beginning — what Judas would do?

Did He ever stop loving him?

These are not light questions.

They lead us into the mystery of freedom… and the tragedy of a heart that closes itself to mercy.

Because Judas was not forced to betray. He chose to.

And yet — even in that moment, Jesus calls him “Friend.”

He washes his feet… as if to say: You still have a place at My table. You can still come home.

It’s a lesson that’s not easy — but it is essential.

Jesus says, “No servant is greater than his master.”

Which means: what happened to Him will, in some way, happen to us.

Maybe not in such a devastating form as Judas’ betrayal —

but we should not expect our lives to be untouched by human betrayal, even from those closest to us.

The second lesson we receive from today’s Gospel is that the other Apostles were in pain over Judas’ betrayal, but they were not better.

In some way, they all betrayed Jesus.

The sins of others should not make us feel self-righteous, but humbled before God’s grace.

Instead, we should be thankful that we have grace not to fall into sin.

Like seeing an alcoholic or drug addict — we should thank the Lord for being sober.

When we hear of infidelity, we should renew our hearts and fidelity to our spouses.

When we meet an agnostic, we should thank God for the gift of faith.

Yes, there are those who betray, who could carry the name of Judas —

but there are also thousands of faithful disciples.

Will we encounter a Judas in our life?

Yes, we probably will.

But it should be an even stronger motivation to be faithful and loyal to the Lord and His Church.