Excerpts from Book IV of Blessed Anne Catherine Emmerich describe Judas the Betrayer.  Truth of the Spirit with Patti Brunner shares portions of “The Dolorous Passion and Death of Our Lord Jesus Christ” that concern Judas Iscariot in this episode.  This account of her visions begins with the “The Last Weeks before the Passion”. We remind our listeners that her visions are private revelation and should be discerned based on the teachings of the Catholic Church. For audio and video links please continue reading.

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In choosing excerpts about Judas the Betrayer we now turn to Book IV, of Blessed Anne Catherine Emmerich writings, which is the “The Dolorous Passion and Death of Our Lord Jesus Christ”.  This account of her visions begins with the “The Last Weeks before the Passion”.

You are listening to Truth of the Spirit with host Patti Brunner.  I’ll read Blessed Anne Catherine’s account in first person.  Join us now for part 2 about the Apostle who did not accept the truth: Judas the Betrayer.

Anne Catherine recalls: The day after His return to Bethania, Jesus repaired to the Temple.

On the next Sabbath Jesus taught in the Temple from morning till evening, part of the time in a retired apartment in presence of the Apostles and disciples only… He foretold to the Apostles and disciples, though in general terms, much of what was to happen to them in the future. Only at noon did He pause for a while. He spoke of adulterated virtues: of a love wherein self-love and covetousness predominate; of a humility mixed up with vanity; and He showed how easily evil glides into all things. He said that many believed it was an earthly kingdom and some post of honor in it that they were to expect; and that they hoped by His means to become elevated without pain or trouble on their own part… He forbade them to heap up perishable treasures, and He inveighed against avarice. I felt that this was aimed at Judas…He repeated many of His former instructions…Then He touched upon the near fulfillment of His mission, His Passion, and the speedy approach of His own end, before which, however, He would make a solemn entrance into Jerusalem. Jesus alluded to the merciless treatment He would undergo, but added that He must suffer, and suffer exceedingly, in order to satisfy Divine Justice. He spoke of His Blessed Mother, recounting what she too was to suffer with Him, and in what manner it would be affected. He exposed the deep corruption and guilt of mankind, and explained that without His Passion no man could be justified. The Jews stormed and jeered when Jesus spoke of His sufferings and their power to satisfy for sin, and some of them left the hall to report to the mob whom they had appointed to spy Jesus…

When the Apostles and disciples alone were standing around Jesus, He touched upon many things that would take place after His return to the Father. …

On the following day Jesus caused three arches in the lecture hall to be closed, that He might instruct His Apostles and disciples in private. He repeated on this occasion His early instructions upon His own fast in the desert. He alluded also to many events connected with His own past life, and said why and how He had chosen the Apostles. During this last part of His discourse, He placed the Apostles in pairs before Him. With Judas, however, He spoke but few words. Treason was already in his heart. He was becoming furious, and had had an interview with the Pharisees. After finishing with the Apostles, Jesus turned to the disciples and spoke of their vocation also. I saw that all were very sad. Jesus Passion was near.

…Jesus told the Apostles that next morning would usher in the day of His entrance into Jerusalem, and He directed all the absent Apostles to be summoned. They came, and He had a long interview with them. They were very sad. Toward the traitor Judas, Jesus was gracious in manner, and it was to him that He entrusted the commission to summon the disciples. Judas was very fond of such commissions, for he was desirous to pass for a person of some consequence and importance. After that, Jesus propounded to the holy women and Lazarus a great parable, which He explained. He began His instruction by speaking of Paradise, the fall of Adam and Eve, the Promise of a Redeemer, the progress of evil, and the small number of faithful laborers in the garden of God.

…It was already dark when Jesus entered the courtyard of Lazarus’s dwelling. Magdalen brought Him a basin of water, washed His feet, and dried them with a towel that was hanging over her shoulder. The food that she had prepared did not amount to a regular meal, it was merely a luncheon. While the Lord was partaking of it, she approached and poured balm over His head. I saw Judas, who passed her at this moment, muttering his dissatisfaction, but she replied to his murmurs by saying that she could never thank the Lord sufficiently for what He had done for her and her brother. After that Jesus went to the public house of Simon the leper, where several of the disciples were gathered, and taught a little while.

…After Jesus and the disciples had prepared themselves for the Sabbath, that is, put on the garments prescribed and prayed under the lamp, they stretched themselves at table for the meal. Toward the end of it, Magdalen, urged by love, gratitude, contrition, and anxiety, again made her appearance. She went behind the Lord’s couch, broke a little flask of precious balm over His head and poured some of it upon His feet, which she again wiped with her hair. That done, she left the dining hall. Several of those present were scandalized, especially Judas, who excited Matthew, Thomas, and John Mark to displeasure. But Jesus excused her, on account of the love she bore Him. She often anointed Him in this way. Many of the facts mentioned only once in the Gospels happened frequently. The meal was followed by prayer, after which the Apostles and disciples separated. Judas, full of chagrin, hurried back to Jerusalem that night. I saw him, torn by envy and avarice, running in the darkness over Mount Olivet, and it seemed as if a sinister glare surrounded him, as if the devil were lighting his steps. He hurried to the house of Caiaphas, and spoke a few words at the door. He could not stay long in any one place. Thence he ran to the house of John Mark. The disciples were wont to lodge there, so Judas pretended that he had come from Bethania for that purpose. This was the first definite step in his treacherous course. …

Jesus spent the whole of this day at Lazarus’s with the holy women and the Twelve Apostles. …After the meal, as Jesus was speaking of the approach of the time when the Son of Man would be treacherously betrayed, Peter stepped forward eagerly and asked why He always spoke as if they were going to betray Him. Now, though he could believe that one of the others (the disciples) might be guilty of such a thing, yet He would answer for The Twelve that they would not betray Him! Peter spoke boldly, as if his honor had been attacked. Jesus replied with more warmth than I ever before saw in Him, more even than had appeared when He said to Peter: “Get thee behind Me, Satan!” He said that without His grace, without prayer, they would all fall away, that the hour would come in which they would all abandon Him. There was only one among them, He continued, who wavered not, and yet he too would flee, though he would come back again. By these words Jesus meant John who, at the moment of Jesus’ arrest, fled, leaving his mantle behind him. All became very much troubled, excepting Judas who, while Jesus was talking, put on a friendly, smiling, and insinuating air. …

Some of the Apostles asked when the destruction of the Temple would take place. It was then that Jesus recounted the evils that were to fall upon the city, and ended with the words: “But he that shall persevere to the end, he shall be saved.” (Matthew 10:22.) …The Pharisees were very greatly exasperated on Jesus account. They held a council in the night and dispatched spies to watch Him. They said, if Judas would only come to them again, otherwise they did not well know how to proceed in the affair. Judas had not been with them since that first evening. Early on the following day Jesus returned to the resting place on Mount Olivet, and again spoke of the destruction of Jerusalem, illustrating with the similitude of a fig tree that was there standing. He said that He had already been betrayed, though the traitor had not yet mentioned His name, and had merely made the offer to betray Him. The Pharisees desired to see the traitor again, but He, Jesus, wanted him to be converted, to repent, and not to despair. Jesus said all this in vague, general terms, to which Judas listened with a smile. Jesus exhorted the Apostles not to give way to their natural fears upon what He had said to them, namely, that they would all be dispersed; they should not forget their neighbor and should not allow one sentiment to veil, to stifle another; and here He made use of the similitude of a mantle. In general terms He reproached some of them for murmuring at Magdalen’s anointing. Jesus probably said this in reference to Judas’s first definitive step toward His betrayal, which had been taken just after that action of hers-also, as a gentle warning to him for the future, since it would be after Magdalen’s last anointing that he would carry out his treacherous design. That some others were scandalized at Magdalen’s prodigal expression of love, arose from their erroneous severity and parsimony. They regarded this anointing as a luxury so often abused at worldly feasts, while overlooking the fact that such an action performed on the Holy of Holies was worthy of the highest praise…

When toward evening Jesus left the Temple, He spoke of taking leave of it, saying that He would never again enter it in the body. This scene was so touching that all the Apostles and disciples cast themselves on the ground crying aloud and weeping. Jesus wept also. Judas shed no tear, though he was anxious and nervous, as he had been during the past days. Yesterday Jesus said no word in allusion to him.

Jesus gave orders for a plentiful meal to be prepared at Simon’s public house on the following day. It was very quiet in Jerusalem all this day. The Pharisees did not go to the Temple, but assembled in council. They were very anxious on account of Judas’s non-appearance.

…As they were going through Bethania, they met Judas who, concealing his indignation, spoke to Magdalen. Magdalen had heard from Veronica that the Pharisees had resolved to arrest Jesus and put Him to death, but not yet, on account of the crowds of strangers and especially the numerous pagans that followed Him. This news Magdalen imparted to the other women. The women were at Simon’s helping to prepare for the entertainment, for which Judas had purchased everything necessary. He had entirely emptied the purse today, secretly thinking that he would get all back again in the evening.  

…Magdalen loosened the sandals and anointed Jesus feet on the soles and upon the upper part. Then with both hands drawing her flowing hair from beneath her veil, she wiped the Lords anointed feet, and replaced the sandals. Magdalen’s action caused some interruption in Jesus discourse. …The Apostles whispered together and muttered their displeasure-even Peter was vexed at the interruption. Magdalen, weeping and veiled, withdrew around behind the table. When she was about to pass before Judas, he stretched forth his hand to stay her while he indignantly addressed to her some words on her extravagance, saying that the purchase money might have been given to the poor. Magdalen made no reply. She was weeping bitterly. Then Jesus spoke, bidding them let her pass, and saying that she had anointed Him for His death, for later she would not be able to do it, and that wherever this Gospel would be preached, her action and their murmuring would also be recounted. …Judas, full of wrath and avarice, thought within himself that he could no longer put up with such things. But concealing his feelings, he laid aside his festal garment, and pretended that he had to go back to the public house to see that what remained of the meal was given to the poor. Instead of doing that, however, he ran full speed to Jerusalem. I saw the devil with him all the time, red, thin-bodied, and angular. He was before him and behind him, as if lighting the way for him. Judas saw through the darkness. He stumbled not, but ran along in perfect safety. I saw him in Jerusalem running into the house in which, later on, Jesus was exposed to scorn and derision. The Pharisees and High Priests were still together, but Judas did not enter their assembly. Two of them went out and spoke with him below in the courtyard. When he told them that he was ready to deliver Jesus and asked what they would give for Him, they showed great joy, and returned to announce it to the rest of the council. After a while, one came out again and made an offer of thirty pieces of silver. Judas wanted to receive them at once, but they would not give them to him. They said that he had once before been there, and then had absented himself for so long, that he should do his duty, and then they would pay him. I saw them offering hands as a pledge of the contract, and on both sides tearing something from their clothing. The Pharisees wanted Judas to stay awhile and tell them when and how the bargain would be completed. But he insisted upon going, that suspicion might not be excited. He said that he had yet to find things out more precisely, that next day he could act without attracting attention. I saw the devil the whole time between Judas and the Pharisees. On leaving Jerusalem, Judas ran back again to Bethania, where he changed his garments and joined the other Apostles.

…. I saw Jesus speaking alone with His Blessed Mother, and I remember some of the words that passed between them. …He spoke also of the treacherous scheming of Judas, and the Blessed Virgin implored mercy for him. Judas, under pretense of attending to different affairs and of discharging certain debts, had again left Bethania and hurried to Jerusalem. Jesus, although He well knew what he was after, questioned the nine Apostles about him. Judas spent the whole day in running around among the Pharisees and concerting his plans with them. The soldiers that were to apprehend Jesus were even shown him, and he so arranged his journey to and fro as to be able to account for his absence.

Just before it was time for the Paschal Supper, he returned to the Lord. I have seen all his thoughts and plans. When Jesus spoke about him to Mary, I saw many things connected with his character and behavior. He was active and obliging, but full of avarice, ambition, and envy, which passions he struggled not to control. He had even performed miracles and, in Jesus absence, healed the sick.

…Jesus and His followers ate the Paschal lamb …

While the Apostles were eating the herbs, Jesus continued to converse with them still quite lovingly, though He afterward became grave and sad. He said: “One among you will betray Me – one whose hand is with Me in the dish.” He was at that moment distributing one of the vegetables, namely, the lettuce of which there was only one dish. He was passing it down His own side, and He had directed Judas, who was sitting crosswise from Him, to distribute it on the other side.

As Jesus made mention of a traitor, the Apostles became very much alarmed. Then He repeated: “One whose hand is with Me at table, or whose hand dips with Me into the dish,” which was as much as to say: “One of The Twelve who are eating and drinking with Me-one with whom I am breaking My bread.” By these words, Jesus did not betray Judas to the others, for “to dip into the same dish” was a common expression significant of the most intimate friendship.  Still Jesus intended by it to warn Judas; for He really was dipping His hand with him into the dish while distributing the lettuce.

…To give bread dipped was a mark of love and confidence, and Jesus did it with heartfelt love, to warn Judas and to ward off the suspicions of the others. But Judas was interiorly inflamed with rage. During the whole meal, I saw sitting at his feet a little monster, which frequently rose to his heart.

 [The Foot Washing] …When Jesus washed Judas’s feet, it was in the most touching and loving manner. He pressed them to His cheek and in a low tone bade him enter into himself, for that he had been unfaithful and a traitor for the past year. But Judas appeared not to notice, and addressed some words to John. This roused Peter’s anger and he exclaimed: “Judas, the Master is speaking to thee!” Then Judas made some vague, evasive remark, such as: “Lord, far be it from me!” Jesus words to Judas had passed unremarked by the other Apostles, for He spoke softly, and they did not hear. They were, besides, busy putting on their sandals. Judas’s treachery caused Jesus more pain than any other part of His Passion.

…THE INSTITUTION OF THE MOST BLESSED SACRAMENT

…Jesus prayed and taught. His words, glowing with fire and light, came forth from His mouth and entered into all the Apostles, excepting Judas.   Jesus said, “Take and eat. This is My Body which is given for you.” While saying these words, He stretched forth His right hand over it, as if giving a blessing, and as He did so, a brilliant light emanated from Him. His words were luminous as also the Bread, which as a body of light entered the mouth of the Apostles. It was as if Jesus Himself flowed into them. I saw all of them penetrated with light, bathed in light. Judas alone was in darkness. …Judas was the third to whom Jesus presented the Blessed Sacrament, but it seemed as if the word of the Lord turned back from the mouth of the traitor. I was so terrified at the sight that I cannot describe my feelings. Jesus said to Judas: “What thou art about to do, do quickly.” The Lord then administered the Blessed Sacrament to the rest of the Apostles,… Judas also (though of this I am not quite certain) partook of the chalice, but he did not return to his place, for he immediately left the Coenaculum. The others thought that Jesus had given him some commission to execute. He left without prayer or thanksgiving. And here we may see what an evil it is to fail to give thanks for our daily bread and for the Bread that endures to life eternal. During the whole meal, I saw a little red monster with one foot like a bare bone sitting at Judas’s feet and often rising up to his heart, but when outside the door, I saw three devils pressing around him. One entered into his mouth, one urged him on, and the third ran in front of him. It was night. They seemed to be lighting him as he hurried on like a madman.

…Jesus alluded several times to His traitor, saying, “Now he is doing this, now he is doing that,” and as He spoke, I saw Judas doing just what He said. When Peter vehemently protested that he would certainly remain faithful to Him, Jesus said to him: “Simon, Simon! Behold Satan hath desired to have you that he may sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for you that your faith fail not; and you, being once converted, confirm your brethren.” When Jesus said that whither He was going, they could not follow, Peter again exclaimed that he would follow Him even unto death. Jesus replied: “Amen, amen, I say to thee, before the cock crow twice, thou wilt deny Me thrice!”

…Lazarus, Nicodemus, Joseph of Arimathea, and some relatives from Hebron, who sought to comfort Mary in her great anxiety. These friends knew of Jesus earnest discourse in the Coenaculum, … said, “the enemies of Jesus would make no attempt against Him so near to the feast.” They did not know of Judas’s treachery. Mary told them how restless he had been during the past few days, and of his sudden departure from the Coenaculum. He had certainly gone with treacherous intentions, for, as she said, she had often warned him that he was a son of perdition. The holy women returned to the house of Mary Marcus.

Blessed Anne Catherine shared:  … At the beginning of his treasonable career, Judas had really never looked forward to the result that followed upon it. He wanted to obtain the traitors reward and please the Pharisees by pretending to deliver Jesus into their hands, but he had never counted on things going so far, he never dreamed of Jesus being brought to judgment and crucified. He was thinking only of the money, and he had for a long time been in communication with some sneaking, spying Pharisees and Sadducees who by flattery were inciting him to treason. He was tired of the fatiguing, wandering, and persecuted life led by the Apostles. For several months past, he had begun this downward course by stealing the alms committed to his care; and his avarice, excited by Magdalen’s lavish anointing of Jesus, urged him on to extremes. He had always counted upon Jesus establishing a temporal kingdom in which he hoped for some brilliant and lucrative post. But as this was not forthcoming, he turned his thoughts to amassing a fortune. He saw that hardships and persecution were on the increase; and so he thought that before things came to the worst he would ingratiate himself with some of the powerful and distinguished among Jesus enemies. He saw that Jesus did not become a king, whereas the High Priests and prominent men of the Temple were people very attractive in his eyes. And so he allowed himself to be drawn into closer communication with their agents, who flattered him in every way and told him in the greatest confidence that under any circumstances an end would soon be put to Jesus’ career.

During the last few days they followed him [Judas] to Bethania, and thus he continued to sink deeper and deeper into depravity. He almost ran his legs off to induce the High Priests to come to some conclusion. But they would not come to terms and treated him with great contempt. They told him that the time now intervening before the feast was too short. If any action were taken now, it would create trouble and disturbance on the feast. The Sanhedrim alone paid some degree of attention to his proposals. After his sacrilegious reception of the Sacrament, Satan took entire possession of him and he went off at once to complete his horrible crime.

He first sought those agents who had until now constantly flattered him and received him with apparent friendship. Some others joined the party, among them Caiaphas and Annas, but the last-named treated him very rudely and scornfully. They were irresolute and mistrustful of the consequences, nor did they appear to place any confidence in Judas. I saw the kingdom of Hell divided against itself.  Satan desired the crime of the Jews by the death of the Most Innocent; he longed for the death of Jesus, the Converter of sinners, the holy Teacher, the Saviour, the Just One, whom he hated. But at the same time he experienced a sentiment of fear at the thought of the guiltless death of Jesus, who would make no effort to conceal Himself, who would not save Himself; he envied Him the power of suffering innocently. And so I saw the adversary on the one side stimulating the hatred and fury of Jesus’ enemies assembled around the traitor; and on the other, insinuating to some of their number that Judas was a scamp, a knave, that the sentence could not be pronounced before the festival, nor could the requisite number of witnesses against Jesus be brought together. They expressed opposite views upon the means to lay hold of Jesus, and some of them questioned Judas, saying, “Shall we be able to capture Him? Has He not an armed band with Him?” The base traitor answered: “No! He is alone with eleven disciples. He Himself is greatly dejected and the eleven are quite faint-hearted.” He told them also that now was their time to apprehend Jesus, now or never, for later he might not have it in his power to deliver Him into their hands, and perhaps he would never return to them. For several days past, he said, and especially on that present day, the other disciples and Jesus Himself aimed at him in their words; they appeared to divine what he was about, and if he returned to them again they would certainly murder him. He added that, if they did not seize Jesus now, He would slip away and, returning with a large army of followers, would cause Himself to be proclaimed king. By such threats as these, Judas at last succeeded. They yielded to his proposals to seize Jesus according to his directions, and he received the thirty pieces of silver, the price of his treason. These thirty pieces were of silver in plates, in shape like a tongue. In one end they were pierced with a hole, through which they were strung together with rings into a kind of chain. Each piece bore some impression. Judas could not help feeling the marked and contemptuous mistrust with which the Pharisees were treating him. Pride and ostentation therefore urged him to present to them as an offering for the Temple the money he had just received. By so doing, he thought to appear before them as an upright, disinterested man. But they rejected it as the price of blood, which could not be offered in the Temple. Judas felt the cutting contempt, and he was filled with smothered rage. He had not expected such treatment. The consequences of his treachery were already assailing him even before his evil design was accomplished; but he was now too much entangled with his employers, he was in their hands and could not free himself. They watched him closely and would not allow him to leave their sight until he had laid before them the whole plan to be followed in apprehending Jesus. After that, three of the Pharisees went with the traitor down into a hall in which were the soldiers of the Temple. None of them were of pure Jewish origin; they were of other and mixed nationalities. When all was agreed upon and the requisite number of soldiers gathered together, Judas, accompanied by a servant of the Pharisees, ran first to the Coenaculum in order to see whether Jesus was still there; for if such were the case, they could easily have taken Him by setting guards at the door. This information Judas had agreed to send the Pharisees by a messenger. …Judas returned and reported that Jesus was no longer in the Coenaculum. He must therefore be in His accustomed place of prayer on Mount Olivet. Judas urged that only a small number of soldiers might be sent with him, lest the disciples, who were everywhere on the watch, should perceive something unusual and raise a sedition. …The infamous traitor told them also how careful they must be that He might not escape them, and recalled the fact of His often, by some mysterious means, suddenly becoming invisible and concealing Himself in the mountains from His companions. He recommended them, moreover, to bind Him with a chain and to make use of certain magical means to prevent His breaking His bonds. The Jews rejected his advice with scorn, saying: “We are not to be dictated to by you. When we get Him, we shall hold Him fast.” Judas arranged with the soldiers that he would enter the garden before them, kiss and salute Jesus as a friend and disciple coming to Him on some business; then they were to step forward and take Him into custody. He wanted to behave as if their coming coincided accidentally with his own, for he thought that after the betrayal he would take to flight like the other disciples and be heard of no more. He likewise thought that perhaps a tumult would ensue in which the Apostles would defend themselves and Jesus would disappear as He had often done before. These thoughts especially occupied him now that he was thoroughly vexed at the contemptuous and distrustful manner of Jesus’ enemies toward him, but not because his evil deed caused him remorse or the thought of Jesus touched him, for he had wholly given himself over to Satan. He was very desirous also that the soldiers immediately following him should not carry chains and fetters, or that any notoriously infamous characters should appear in the party. The soldiers pretended to accede to his wishes, though in reality they regarded him as a dishonorable traitor of whom they had need, but who was not to be trusted and who was to be cast off when no longer of use.

… Twenty soldiers accompanied Judas in a friendly manner until they reached the place where the road divided between the Garden of Gethsemane and that of Olives. Here they refused to allow him to advance alone. They adopted quite another tone, and acted toward him insolently and saucily.

When Jesus with the three Apostles went out upon the road between Gethsemane and the Garden of Olives, there appeared at the entrance, about twenty paces ahead, Judas and the band of soldiers, between whom a quarrel had arisen. …Peter wished to repel them by force. …But Jesus told him to hold his peace, and took a few steps with them back on the road to a green plot. Judas, seeing his plans quite upset, was filled with rage and spite. ..All the disciples were straggling around in the distance, furtively on the lookout to discover what they could. Jesus took some steps toward the band and said in a loud, distinct voice: “Whom seek ye?” The leaders answered: “Jesus of Nazareth,” whereupon Jesus replied: “I am He.” But scarcely had He uttered the words when, as if suddenly attacked by convulsions, they crowded back and fell to the ground one upon another. Judas, who was still standing by them, became more and more embarrassed. He looked as if desirous of approaching Jesus; consequently the Lord extended His hand, saying: “Friend, whereto art thou come?” Judas, confused and perplexed, stammered out something about a commission he had executed. Jesus in reply uttered some words like the following: “Oh, how much better it would have been for thee hadst thou never been born!”-I cannot remember the words distinctly. Meanwhile the soldiers had risen and approached the Lord and His Apostles, awaiting the traitor’s sign, the kiss. Peter and the other disciples gathered around Judas, calling him a thief and a traitor. He tried to free himself by all kinds of excuses, but just at that moment up came the soldiers with offers of protection, thus openly witnessing against him. Jesus again inquired: “Whom seek ye?” Turning toward Him, they again answered: “Jesus of Nazareth.” Jesus again replied: “I am He. I have already told you that I am He. If you seek Me, let these go.” At the words, “I am He,” the soldiers fell to the ground a second time. They writhed as if struck with epilepsy, and Judas was again surrounded by the other Apostles, for they were exasperated to a degree against him. Jesus now called out to the soldiers: “Arise”-and they arose, full of terror. Judas was still struggling with the Apostles, who were pressing up against the guards. The latter turned upon them and freed the traitor, urging him anew to give them the sign agreed upon. They had been ordered to seize no one but Him whom Judas would kiss. Judas now approached Jesus, embraced Him and kissed Him with the words: “Hail, Rabbi!”

Jesus said: “Judas, dost thou betray the Son of Man with a kiss?” The soldiers instantly formed a circle around Jesus, and the archers, drawing near, laid hands upon Him. Judas wanted at once to flee, but the Apostles would not allow him. They rushed upon the soldiers, crying out: “Lord, shall we strike with the sword?” Peter, more impetuous than the rest, seized the sword and struck at Malchus, the servant of the High Priest, who was trying to drive them back, and cut off a piece of his ear. Malchus fell to the ground, thereby increasing the confusion… Jesus said: “Peter, put up thy sword, for whoever takes the sword shall perish by the sword. Thinkest thou that I -cannot ask My Father to send Me more than twelve legions of angels? Shall I not drink the chalice that My Father has given Me? How will the Scriptures be fulfilled if it shall not thus be done?” Then He added: “Suffer Me to heal the man!” And going to Malchus, He touched his ear and prayed, and at the same moment it was healed.

… The disciples fled on all sides. The four executioners and the six Pharisees did not fall to the ground…. The reason of this was revealed to me. They were in the same rank as Judas, that is, entirely in the power of Satan. Judas did not fall at the words of Jesus, although he was standing among the soldiers. All those that fell and rose up again were afterward converted and became Christians. Their falling and rising were symbolical of their conversion. They had not laid hands upon Jesus; they merely stood around Him.

Malchus was, after his healing, already converted to such a degree that he only kept up appearances in respect to the service he owed the High Priest; and during the following hours, those of Jesus’ Passion, he ran backward and forward to Mary and the other friends, giving them news of all that was taking place. The executioners bound Jesus with the greatest rudeness and barbarous.

…. Judas meanwhile, the devil at his side, like a frantic malefactor was wandering around the steep, wild precipices south of Jerusalem where all the filth of the city was thrown.  … Wandering companionless, lashed by his guilty conscience, fleeing from his own shadow, hunted by Satan, was Judas Iscariot, the traitor-while thousands of evil spirits were hurrying around on all sides urging men on to wickedness and entangling them in sin. Hell was let loose, and everywhere were its inmates tempting mankind to evil.

…Judas, unrecognized, asked the guard what was going to happen to the Galilean. They replied: “He has been condemned to death, and He will be crucified.” He heard some persons telling one another how dreadfully Jesus had been treated and how patient He was … Judas, to escape being seen, slipped off behind the house. Like Cain, he fled the sight of men. Despair was taking possession of his soul. But what did he meet here? This was the place where the Cross had been put together. The several pieces lay in order side by side, and the workmen, wrapped in their mantles, were lying asleep. …Judas glanced at it in horror, and fled.

THE DESPAIR OF JUDAS

Then anguish, despair, and remorse began to struggle in the soul of Judas, but all too late.  Satan instigated him to flee.  The bag of silver pieces hanging from his girdle under his mantle was for him like a hellish spur. He grasped it tightly in his hand, to prevent its rattling and striking him at every step. On he ran at full speed, not after the procession, not to cast himself in Jesus’ path to implore mercy and forgiveness, not to die with Jesus. No, not to confess with contrition before God his awful crime, but to disburden himself of his guilt and the price of his treachery before men. Like one bereft of his senses, he rushed into the Temple, …He tore the bag of silver pieces from his girdle and held it toward them with the right hand, while in a voice of agony he cried: “Take back your money! By it ye have led me to betray the Just One. Take back your money! Release Jesus! I recall my contract. I have sinned grievously by betraying innocent blood!” The priests poured out upon him the whole measure of their contempt.

Raising their hands, they stepped back before the offered silver, as if to preserve themselves from pollution, and said: “What is it to us that thou hast sinned? Thinkest thou to have sold innocent blood? Look thou to it! It is thine own affair! We know what we have bought from thee, and we find Him deserving of death. Thou hast thy money. We want none of it!” …They turned from Judas. Their treatment inspired him with such rage and despair that he became like one insane. His hair stood on end, with both hands he rent asunder the chain that held the silver pieces together, scattered them in the Temple, and fled from the city. I saw him again running like a maniac in the Vale of Himmon with Satan under a horrible form at his side. The evil one, to drive him to despair, was whispering into his ear all the curses the Prophets had ever invoked upon this vale, wherein the Jews had once sacrificed their own children to idols. …Then sounded again in his ears: “Cain, where is Abel, thy brother? What hast thou done? His blood cries to Me. Cursed be thou upon the earth, a wanderer and a fugitive!”  And …in his ears rang the words: “… Judas, dost thou betray the Son of Man with a kiss?” Oh, then horror filled his soul! His mind began to wander, and the fiend again whispered into his ear:

“It was here that David crossed the Cedron when fleeing from Absalom. Absalom died hanging on a tree. David also sang of thee when he said: “And they repaid me evil for good. May he have a hard judge! May Satan stand at his right hand, and may every tribunal of justice condemn him!”…  Amid these frightful torments of conscience, Judas reached a desolate spot …where no one could see him. From the city came repeated sounds of noisy tumult, and Satan whispered again:  “Now He is being led to death! Thou hast sold Him!  Knowest thou not how the law runs: he who sells a soul among his brethren, and receives the price of it, let him die the death? Put an end to thyself, thou wretched one! Put an end to thyself!” Overcome by despair, Judas took his girdle and hung himself on a tree…

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Blessed Anne Catherine now continues her report of seeing Jesus after his own death:  I now saw the Saviour’s triumphant procession entering another sphere lower than the last. It was the abiding place of pious pagans who, having had some presentiment of truth, had ardently sighed after it. It was a kind of Purgatory, a place of purification. There were evil spirits here, for I saw some idols. I saw the evil spirits compelled to confess the deception they had practiced. I saw the blessed spirits rendering homage to the Saviour with touching expressions of joy. Here, too, the demons were chained by the angels and driven forward before them. And thus I saw the Redeemer passing rapidly through these numerous abodes and freeing the souls therein confined. He did a great many other things, but in my present miserable state I am unable to relate them.

At last I saw Him, His countenance grave and severe, approaching the center of the abyss, namely, Hell itself. In shape it looked to me like an immeasurably vast, frightful, black stone building that shone with a metallic luster. Its entrance was guarded by immense, awful-looking doors, black like the rest of the building, and furnished with bolts and locks that inspired feelings of terror. Roaring and yelling most horrible could plainly be heard, and when the doors were pushed open, a frightful, gloomy world was disclosed to view.   …here are the disorder, the malformation of eternal wrath, disunion, and despair. As in Heaven there are innumerable abodes of joy and worship, unspeakably beautiful in their glittering transparency, so here in Hell are gloomy prisons without number, caves of torment, of cursing, and despair. As in Heaven there are gardens most wonderful to behold, filled with fruits that afford divine nourishment, so here in Hell there are horrible wildernesses and swamps full of torture and pain and of all that can give birth to feelings of detestation, of loathing, and of horror….. All the roots of perversity and untruth are here cultivated in countless forms and deeds of punishment and affliction. Nothing here is right, no thought brings peace, for the terrible remembrance of divine justice casts every damned soul into the pain and torment that his own guilt has planted for him. All that is terrible here, both in appearance and reality, is the nature, the form, the fury of sin unmasked, the serpent that now turns against those in whose bosom it was once nourished. …All this is easily understood, but cannot be expressed in detail. When the gates were swung open by the angels, one beheld before him a struggling, blaspheming, mocking, howling, and lamenting throng. I saw that Jesus spoke some words to the soul of Judas. Some of the angels forced that multitude of evil spirits to prostrate before Jesus, for all had to acknowledge and adore Him. This was for them the most terrible torment. …When I try to speak of these things, they rise up before my eyes, and the sight is enough to make one die.

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Blessed Anne Catherine also shared: …Peter spoke out quite freely of how the Jews had dealt with Jesus. He related many things of His last predictions and teachings, of His unspeakable love, of His prayer on Mount Olivet, and of Judas’s treachery and wretched end. The people were very much amazed and troubled at all they heard, for they loved Judas, who in Jesus absence, had assisted many by his readiness to serve them, and had even wrought miracles. Peter did not spare himself. He recounted his flight and denial with bitter tears. His hearers wept with him.

You’ve been listening to Truth of the Spirit and Judas the Betrayer from the writings of the visionary Blessed Anne Catherine Emmerich.  We invite you to subscribe and watch the playlists on our YouTube channel or our website PatriarchMinistries.com.  Then come back for more.  With the Holy Spirit there’s always more!  Amen.