BISHOP ROBERT BARRON: Is Judas beyond salvation? A Palm Sunday meditation on mercy

Every year at Catholic mass on Palm Sunday we read one of the great Passion narratives from the Synoptic Gospels. This year St. Matthew’s. There are many distinctive features in Matthew’s account, but the most distinctive and interesting to me is the evangelist’s approach to Judas.

No other Gospel so effectively emphasizes the repentance and contrition of the traitor. “Then when Judas, who had betrayed him, saw that Jesus was condemned, he felt deep remorse for what he had done. He returned the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and the elders, saying, ‘I have sinned by betraying innocent blood.'” This is not callous indifference or self-justification. This is an open and honest admission of guilt.

We are later told that Judas threw the money into the temple and “went and hanged himself.” The terrible end of a sad life, where the betrayer of Jesus falls into despair and murders himself. This is why most figures in the major theological and spiritual traditions assume that Judas is in hell. Augustine thought so; Aquinas thought so; Dante constantly depicted him as being chewed in the mouth of Satan. And if his betrayal of God wasn’t enough to earn him a place in hell, his suicide certainly sealed the deal, as most theologians agree.

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But I would like to draw your attention to an opposing view – albeit a minority one – displayed in one of the capitals of a column in the magnificent Basilica of Vézelay in France.

On one side there is an extremely vivid depiction of the hanging of Judas, his eyes bulging, his tongue sticking out of his mouth. But on the other side there is a depiction of the Good Shepherd carrying the body of Judas on his shoulders like a lost sheep. And the dead man seems to be smiling.

Pope Francis was so pleased with this image that he placed a copy of it on his desk in his papal office. This showed him hope that even Judas could be saved by the Lord’s overwhelming mercy.

I now know (please don’t send me letters of complaint) that we cannot embrace a simple-minded universalism that says we are completely certain that all people will be saved. In fact, we have to accept the very real possibility of God’s eternal rejection. But still, St. Pope II. John Paul insisted that the Church has never made a definitive statement about whether anyone is in hell. And Pope Benedict said that we must suspend judgment on Judas and surrender him to God’s mercy and justice. But still, doesn’t his suicide guarantee that he will go to eternal hell?

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At this point, listen to the catechism of the Catholic Church: “We should not despair of the eternal salvation of those who take their own lives. God, by means known only to Himself, can provide the opportunity for beneficial repentance. The Church prays for those who take their own lives” (2283).

ITALY – 2002 CIRCA: The Kiss of Judas, 14th century fresco by Master Trecentesco of the Sacro Specol. Upper Church of the Sacro Speco Monastery, Subiaco. Italy, 14th century. (DeAgostini/Getty Images)

The point is that in Christ God has gone to the extreme limits of God-abandonment to deliver divine mercy even to the darkest place. When Jesus said from the cross: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” It signals that you have entered the most helpless sinner situation. Of course, he did not become a sinner, but he willingly adopted the psychological and spiritual state of the sinner.

I am not suggesting that we trivialize sin or ignore its terrible seriousness. But I actually recommend what Paul says: “Where sin abounds, grace abounds more.”

Truly, I insist that God’s mercy is greater than any sin we may commit, even the betrayal of Christ. So, do we give up hope on those who took their own lives? No. We pray for them and leave them to God’s mercy.

The kiss of Judas, also known as the Betrayal of Christ, depicted in a mural in the Royal Monastery of Fontevraud in Fontevraud-l’Abbaye, France. (Godong/Universal Images Group)

There is a story told about a French couple in the nineteenth century; the woman is deeply religious, the man vaguely agnostic. At one point in their marriage, the wife asked her husband if she could hang a picture of the Sacred Heart of Jesus over their bed. Although he was not very enthusiastic, he accepted this offer out of concern for her feelings. Over time, the husband fell into a deep depression due to the disruptions in his work and the deterioration of his ambitions.

Finally, in desperation, he threw himself off a building and fell to his death. Completely bereft and convinced of his own guilt in this matter, his wife became disconsolate. When he was at the end of his strength, he decided to speak with John Vianney, the famous priest of Ars, known as a spiritual master and soul reader. When he arrived in the small town near Lyon, he was shocked to find that the line of people wanting to meet the great man stretched a mile long.

In pain, he knelt in front of the communion railing and cried. To his complete surprise, he heard a voice calling his name. It was John Vianney. “How do you know my name?” he asked. “It doesn’t matter,” he replied. She continued, “You are in despair over the death of your husband. I want you to understand that as he was rushing towards his death, God showed him the picture of the Sacred Heart that he had hung above your bed.” “How could you know such a thing?” she gasped. “It doesn’t matter,” he replied. “The important thing is that he repented when he saw it.”

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The same Dante who sent Judas to the depths of hell also said that all God needs to save a sinner is a single tear of repentance.

What should we take away from a prayerful reading of Matthew’s Passion story? God is merciful within mercy within mercy.

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