” “”Peter too wanted to oppose" to Christ "and to what awaited him in Jerusalem went on Benedict XVI in this morning’s catechesis but he was powerfully scolded”. Peter, commented the Pope, "after his fall, repented and found forgiveness and grace”. Judas’s repentance instead "degenerated into despair and thus turned into self-destruction” and is “for us an invitation” to "never despair of God’s mercy”. In fact, specified the Pope, God "is greater than our heart”, and “Jesus waits for us to be ready to repent and convert ourselves; He is full of mercy and forgiveness”. After all, went on Benedict XVI, "when we think of the negative role played by Judas, we must look at it from the perspective of God’s superior running of the events. His betrayal led to Jesus’ death, which turned this horrible ordeal into a space of salvific love”. “In his mysterious plan”, God "takes Judas’s inexcusable gesture as the opportunity for the total gift of the Son for the redemption of the world”. Then, as he mentioned Matthias’s "loyalty" to Christ, the Pontiff concluded that "even if within the Church there is no want of unworthy and deceiving Christians, it is up to each of us to counterbalance the evil they make with our transparent testimony”.” “
