Spy Wednesday is the traditional name for the Wednesday of Holy Week, the day the Church remembers how Judas Iscariot went to the chief priests and agreed to betray Jesus for thirty pieces of silver. “Spy” here means a secret informer or traitor. It is the last day before the Easter Triduum begins on Holy Thursday evening. In 2027 Spy Wednesday falls on March 24. Below are the Gospel behind the name, the Tenebrae service traditionally held this evening, and a prayer for the day.
The Gospel behind the name
St. Matthew tells the story that gives the day its name (Matthew 26:14–16):
Then went one of the twelve, who was called Judas Iscariot, to the chief priests,
And said to them: What will you give me, and I will deliver him unto you? But they appointed him thirty pieces of silver.
And from thenceforth he sought opportunity to betray him.
The Gospel read at Mass on Wednesday of Holy Week is Matthew 26:14–25, which continues with the Last Supper, where Jesus announces, “one of you is about to betray me,” and Judas asks, “Is it I, Rabbi?” In the older Roman Missal, the Passion according to St. Luke was read on this day.
Why Judas?
Judas had walked with Jesus for three years, seen his miracles and heard his teaching, and still handed him over. The Gospels suggest greed (John 12:6) and perhaps disappointment that Jesus was not the political Messiah he expected. His tragedy is not only the betrayal, which Peter’s denial resembles, but his despair: Peter wept and returned, while Judas did not believe he could be forgiven.
Spy Wednesday invites each of us to ask, with the apostles, “Is it I, Lord?” and to look honestly at the ways we betray Christ for our own “thirty pieces of silver,” whether money, comfort, approval or sin.
Tenebrae
On the evening of Spy Wednesday many parishes and cathedrals celebrate Tenebrae (“darkness”), the ancient night office of the last three days of Holy Week, sung by anticipation the evening before. Psalms and lamentations are sung by candlelight before a triangular stand of fifteen candles, which are put out one by one until a single candle remains and is hidden. The service ends in darkness with a loud noise, the strepitus, recalling the earthquake at Christ’s death and the confusion of creation. The hidden candle is then brought back, a sign of the Resurrection.
A prayer for Spy Wednesday
Written for this page:
Lord Jesus, one of your friends sold you for thirty pieces of silver.
I too have often chosen something less than you.
Forgive my betrayals, great and small, and save me from the despair of Judas.
Give me the tears of Peter and the courage to come back to you,
so that I may follow you faithfully through these holy days to the joy of Easter. Amen.
This is a good day to go to confession before the Triduum. See the Act of Contrition and how to go to confession.
Frequently asked questions
When is Spy Wednesday 2027?
Wednesday, March 24, 2027, the Wednesday of Holy Week. Holy Thursday is March 25 and Easter Sunday March 28.
Why is it called Spy Wednesday?
Because on this day the Church remembers Judas’s agreement to betray Jesus, acting as a “spy” or informer for the chief priests.
Is Spy Wednesday a holy day of obligation?
No. It is a weekday of Holy Week, part of Lent, with its own Mass and readings.
What does Tenebrae mean?
“Darkness” in Latin, from the gradual extinguishing of the candles during the service.
More Holy Week pages
Texts and sources
- Matthew 26:14–16 and 26:21–25, John 12:6 (Douay-Rheims).