APRIL 28, 2026 FATHER HENK VAN MEIJEL
It’s kind of funny, the Gospel reading of today. The Jewish leadership
still wants to test him. And the answer is so simple: “Just look at my
works.” Look at what was said. But instead of giving a straight answer,
yes or no, Jesus explains who he is, actually.
And it is very interesting how people make up their minds often, even in
political situations. The mind’s already made up before the discussion
starts. And to change someone’s mind, you need a Saint Paul moment, or
Saul who was on the road to Damascus. People have to get hit over the
head before they can see. Minds are made up.
And I see this in my own family. How one of my family members who
says it’s human power, there’s no God who exists. And yet, if there’s real
problems, or there’s problems in our lives, and I say, “Can I pray for
you,” she’ll be the first one to say, “Yes, please say some prayers for
me.” So, it is interesting how minds are made up. But still, even after
everything is okay with this person, she still goes back to her old ways
of thinking.
And this is also with the Jewish leadership in today’s reading. It wouldn’t
matter what Jesus said, they have made up their mind, and he gotta go.
But there’s one thing: truth always will win. And it can be a long time
before truth comes out, but it always will win. And we see that right
through history. That’s why we are still celebrating the Eucharist today.
That’s why we still proclaim Christ today. Because it is the truth.
And in the first reading of Acts, we can see how the early community
spread very quickly. And violence cannot stop a believer either. We can
hide our violence, but violence cannot stop us. So, in the first reading of
Acts, right after Stephen was martyred, we have that early community—
they were dispersed. Violence was used to oppress them, but they just
spread out.
And so, in today’s reading we are in Antioch, and Antioch had quite a
large Jewish community. Just like Alexandria, there was a quite large
diaspora. Not as big as in Alexandria, but Antioch was quite big. And so,
some of those early Christians, they fled to Antioch, and they continued
to proclaim the good news.
And they were understood very much that they were members of the
way. They did not call themselves Christians; they called themselves,
“We’re part of the way,” and a new way of living with God. But Antioch
was kind of at a crossroads of all kinds of trade routes. The Silk Route
they were kind of at the end of the Silk Route. And then you have
different routes coming out of India and so on, with spices and so on.
And so there was a trade route going on. And I can imagine when early
Christians said, “We are the way,” they would’ve said, “But we are the
way, not you! Because we have come from a long way.” And so the way
you proclaim Jesus Christ crucified, so you must be Christians, then.
And so, they’re called Christians from that point forward, and we are
Christians.
But it is good stuff to pray with it We have the travels of Saint Paul, and
other disciples, apostles going in different directions, but Christianity
really spread along the trading routes. And it’s by word of mouth. Things
that happened, and miracles happened, and of course the word spread.
And so it spread far and wide, right from Antioch, into India, and
probably even as far as China, through different traders as they changed
goods.
And likewise, we got goods from the East, and likewise Western goods
were going to the East—from west to east—wine, gold, horses, and
whatever. And so there was a lively trading route going way back, very
ancient. And so the word spread, continuing to spread. And as we go on
in the centuries, of course, the word continues to spread—the good news
of Jesus Christ.
The Church is so rich with martyrs, and so many people who have given
their life, who are examples of this good news. The examples they give
bring always new converts.
And today we have Saint Louis de Montfort. He was not a martyr, but
also one who embraced the good news very early on in his life. He was
born, in a rather poor family, and he really saw that his vocation was to
preach to the poor, to those who had nothing. And he inspired,
obviously, many, many people.
He very much venerated the Mother of God, Mary, and angels. He
always would sign off any letter with a blessing for the guardian angel of
the person he addressed his letter to. He was only 43 years old when he
died, but he’s the founder of three different religious orders: the
Daughters of Wisdom, who were taking care of the sick; the Brothers of
Saint Gabriel, who was a teaching order, again for those who had not
much, for the poor; and the Company of Mary, a missionary order who
sent priests out all over the world.
And so, again, very much inspired by God. And so, this is 1,600 years
after Christ. What an example for us.
There were many controversies, and early Christians dealt with many
controversies, and he was in the middle of Jansenism. Jansenism, which
kind of taught that only by the grace of God we can say what we do
doesn’t really matter that much in salvation. It’s a very complex teaching,
and we could go on for a long time, but it’s kind of opposite of
Pelagianism. Pelagiasts, who in the Fifth Century kind of were saying, “I can get
myself into heaven, I don’t really need the grace of God.” But he was
right in the middle of it. And he had right things to say, and converted
many.
And, of course, it goes on. And even today, we have so many who
embraced our faith. And you, of course, as a viewer, have embraced the
faith. And I encourage you to continue to spread it, no matter what
happens.
Amen.
