Pope:Jesus'Suffering on Cross Reflects Our Pain; Betrayal for 30 Pieces of Silver Leads to Death

The suffering of Jesus on the Cross -- that reflects the pain of humanity and represents the divine response of the mystery of the evil that is so difficult to understand -- was the theme of Pope Francis' catechesis during the general audience held today (April 16, 2014), Holy Wednesday, in which the liturgy presents the story of Judas' betrayal and Christ, it emerges, has a price, the Independent Catholic News website reports.

"This dramatic act marks the beginning of the Passion of Christ, a painful path that He chooses with absolute freedom. He says this clearly Himself: 'I lay down my life....No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord.' The path of humiliation begins here, with this betrayal, with Jesus as if he were on the market: He is worth 30 pieces of silver. And Jesus undertakes the path of humiliation ... unto the end."

The humiliation of Christ culminates with His death on the Cross, which is "the worst death, reserved to slaves and criminals. Jesus was considered a prophet, but died like a criminal. When we look at Jesus in His Passion, we see as if we are looking in a mirror the evil and pain of death. Often we feel horror at the evil and pain that surrounds us and we ask, 'Why does God allow this?' It wounds us profoundly to see suffering and death, especially of the innocent. It pains our hearts when we see children suffering. It is the mystery of evil, and Jesus takes upon Himself all this evil, all this suffering. This week it will do good to all of us to take a crucifix and to kiss Christ's wounds. He takes all human suffering upon Himself; He vests Himself with this suffering."

"We expect that God, in His omnipotence, will defeat injustice, evil, sin, and suffering with a triumphant divine victory. Instead, God shows us a humble victory that in human terms seems to be a failure," continued the Holy Father. "And we can say this: God wins in failure. Indeed, the Son of God on the Cross appears to be a defeated man: He suffers, He is betrayed, He is vilified, and finally dies. But Jesus allows evil to set upon Him. He takes it all upon Him in order to vanquish it. His Passion is not incidental; His death -- that death -- was 'foretold.' It is an unsettling mystery, but we know the secret of this mystery, of this extraordinary humility: God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son."