Jesus said, “I am the true vine…” (NRSV, John 15:1)

What really went on in the heart of Judas Iscariot must remain a mystery: what St Paul calls “…the mystery of iniquity…” (King James Bible, 2 Thessalonians 2:7). Yet, although the full depths cannot be plumbed, the general process by which Judas the Apostle became Judas the Traitor is easy to see, if hard to comprehend. He was the only one of the Twelve who ceased to love and trust Our Lord.

He had reached that state of mind a year before the Crucifixion, and Our Lord had been instantly aware of it. After his instruction on the Blessed Sacrament, recorded in the sixth chapter of St John’s Gospel, Our Lord said plainly and openly, “…there are some of you that do not believe”, and the evangelist adds, “For Jesus knew from the first who were the ones that did not believe, and who was the one that would betray him” (NRSV, John 6:64, our emphasis).