The Catholic Church will mark the Passion and Death of Jesus Christ, on Good Friday tomorrow, and His Resurrection from among the dead on Easter Sunday.

There are many facets to the story that led to Jesus Christ’s Crucifixion, but two stand out more than others because they are still very relevant in the world we live in today – betrayal and denial.

Jesus Christ was betrayed with a kiss. One of his Apostles, Judas Iscariot, went up to him in the Garden of Gethsemane and kissed his Master on the cheek, indicating him to those who had come to take him.

Later on, that same night, another of Jesus’ Apostles, Peter, denied three times that he knew Jesus when confronted by accusers who claimed that they had seen him with Jesus. Peter, who had followed Jesus from the Garden of Gethsemane as he was being taken to the High Priest, ran away.

Jesus Christ was betrayed and denied help by people who were close to Him, with whom He shared His public life and in whom He had put His trust. He died on the Cross alone, and only one of the 12 Apostles was present on the Golgotha when He was crucified. In a way, apart from John, who accompanied Jesus’ Mother Mary, all the other Apostles abandoned Him too.

These stories are still happening today, in many different ways, and of course not only in connection with religion. Betrayal and denial are taking place every day, everywhere.

They are among the most despicable forms of human behaviour. They are a form of weakness, of irresponsibility and of lack of respect towards others. They might not cause physical pain, but they certainly cause emotional and psychological pain that is hard to overcome by those on the receiving end.

Everyone has his or her own character and everybody reacts differently to a given situation, just as much as Judas and Peter reacted differently when they realised the mistake they had committed.

But what is sure is that people experiencing a betrayal or who feel they are being denied the support of others, are people who are passing through a trauma that will take a long time to be overcome, if ever.

Betrayal has a very negative impact on the person betrayed, and generally speaking it is highly likely that betrayed people will find it extremely hard to trust someone again. The greater the trust, the greater will the impact of betrayal be, and the harder to overcome.

When someone is denied help, especially from the people he or she turns to in time of difficulty, there is a feeling of abandonment, of neglect and of helplessness. Again, the greater the denial, the harder it will be for the person denied to get over it.

On the other side of the coin, one can find the remorse of the people who betrayed others or denied them help, as happened to both Judas and Peter. Even those who betray others or are not there when needed, often feel the trauma of having hurt others, particularly loved ones, so much. Even they often find it hard to understand why they acted that way, and hopefully they will learn from their mistakes.

It is hard to forgive, as Jesus did, when one is betrayed or given the cold shoulder when in need. It is hard to forget too. But there is always light at the end of the tunnel, and even though one might feel completely in the dark, alone and lonely, one should never give up.