• Homily by Achbishop Charles J. Scicluna

  • Monastery of The Mother of God
    28th March 2018

    “They gave him thirty pieces of silver and from that time on he looks for an opportunity to hand him over (Mt 26, 15-16). The Lord himself tells his twelve: “Amen, I say to you, one of you will betray me […]. He who has dipped his hand into the dish with me, is the one who will betray me” (vv 21.23).  

    In the betrayal of Judas Iscariot, a man who enjoyed intimacy with the Lord, who was chosen by the Lord to be one of the twelve, who was entrusted with the money to take care of the disciples and of the poor, a man who enjoyed the trust of the Lord. In his betrayal, we also see a shadow of our sins. We are called to dip our hand to the dish of the Lord, we are called to be very close to the Lord in our ministry, in our calling, in our prayer. And we are sinners, we betray the Lord. We give him up, we hand him over for petty prizes, satisfactions, shadows of ideals of this world.

    And today we pray forgiveness for all our betrayals. We ask forgiveness for all our sins, and we offer reparation for all the sins of the disciples of Jesus. And we also pray that, through the reconciliation, the Church offers us and the sacred mystery of the Eucharist that is going to be renewed at Easter, we may pass from sin to grace, from death to life.

    ✠ Charles J. Scicluna
        Archbishop of Malta

  • The Readings:
    Ist Reading: IS 50, 4-9a
    Psalm: 68 (69), 8-10.21bċd-22.31 u 33-34
    Gospel: Mt 26, 14-25

  • The photos are available on the website of the Official Photos of the Church in Malta.

  • Photos: Curia Communications Office – Ian Noel Pace