Do you see Jesus on this cross in this picture? He is not there so do not pretend He is.

“Then came coexistence. Never once during the public life did anyone know that Judas was the guilty man; when he spoke of the poor, some of the disciples joined in with him; and at the Last Supper when he left the table, it was thought that he had gone out to give money to the poor or buy food for the feast. His coexistence was so clever that only John knew who he was – and, of course, the all-knowing Lord. Even the best were deceived.”

–Fulton Sheen; On Being Human: Reflections, On Life and Living, 1982 – composite of writings going back to 1943 under ‘Bishop Sheen writes’, pg, 288.

The Political Kiss of Betrayal

No one has ever written a philosophy of betrayal, unless it was Machiavelli who told kings and princes how to deceive their fellowmen. But his counsel was not actual betrayal, but just sheer worldly, pragmatic advise in which the useful became identified with the true. Actually, the pattern and the model of betrayal has been written -and forgotten. Take, for example, the principle upon which the Soviets (and G20 leaders today) conducted their international policy. It can be reduced to three principles: 1. Materialism; 2. Coexistence; 3. Betrayal at the moment of greatest friendship and coexistence.

First , materialism. Its basic principle is denial of God and the soul. God must be denied, because if there is a power other than the Party or the dictator, then men have other rights and duties under liberty than those given them by the Party (Like thinking about self-reliance; self-governance). The foundation of our rights and liberties as given in the Declaration of Independence is that they are given by God. The soul must be denied too by the Communists, because the soul contemplates and thinks for itself. But any personal thought which cannot be socially controlled must be denied by Communists in order that there be only one thought-namely, the Party thought.

The second principle is coexistence. This is a Soviet word, not the word of a free people. The latter never ask themselves if they should coexist. Such talk would be nonsense between Canada and the United States. Coexistence is a Soviet suggestion that relations which exist between the free people of the world who believe in decency, morality, honesty, and truth should be extended to the Soviet Union which Lenin said must use every lie, stratagem, ruse, and deceit in order to foster world revolution.

The basis of coexistence talk is given in an article published in the Soviet Union in 1954 by a certain Leontyvev. His argument was that the atomic bomb makes war mutually destructive of the powers which engage in it. The Soviets can no longer rely upon their mighty armies and those of the satellites to conquer the world. Hence, there must be “long periods of coexistences” with democratic and free people, until the historical moment arrives for the world conquest of communism. (Are we there yet?)

The third principle is that the betrayal of those who fall for coexistence must be at the moment of greatest intimacy and friendship. For example on August 31, 1939, the Soviets signed a pact recognizing the independence of Estonia, Lithuania, and Latvia. On this occasion the Soviet Government published the following: “These pacts of mutual assistance strictly stipulate the inviolability of the sovereignty of the signatory powers, and the principle of non-interference in each other’s affairs. We stand for the scrupulous and punctilious observance of the pacts on the basis of complete reciprocity, and we declare that all the spreading of nonsense about Sovietizing the Baltic countries is only to the advantage of our common enemies, and of all Soviet provocateurs.”
The following year, the Soviets annexed the three countries. Is this pattern of betrayal new? Or does it follow a line which brought upon the world its greatest blackness? The model of deceit and betrayal was actually set by Judas. First of all, avarice was not his basic sin; it was materialism, or denial of spiritual values. The first mention of avarice as regards Judas comes at the very end of his life, though he is described as a traitor much earlier when Our Lord spoke of Himself as God, and foretold that he would suffer and die, rise and ascend again into heaven. When He refused to be King of the masses, when He refused to establish a kingdom based on earthly bread, Judas broke, for he had nothing but contempt for the spiritual.

Then came coexistence. Never once during the public life did anyone know that Judas was the guilty man; when he spoke of the poor, some of the disciples joined in with him; and at the Last Supper when he left the table, it was thought that he had gone out to give money to the poor or buy food for the feast. His coexistence was so clever that only John knew who he was-and, of course, the all knowing Lord. Even the best were deceived.

The third stage came at the moment of greatest affection, when Judas kissed Our Lord and then delivered Him over to the soldiers. Sacred things can be betrayed only by some mark of affection and esteem. LET AMERICA BEWARE!

To pleas for coexistence, America must ask, “Wilt thou betray with a kiss?”

“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. 35 By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” John 13:34-35

Did Jesus condone sinful behavior? No. Because that is not love. Jesus corrected the sinful behavior through His forgivness and the words: “Go and sin NO MORE”. He never said, go do what makes you feel good.