St Paul was a brilliant student and an excellent preacher. He used all his skills to persecute the Church, and when Christ revealed Himself to Paul, he also used every inch of his being to preach the Crucified Christ. He knew well the ways of the world and knew how to use them to his advantage when he preached and evangelised. We see many instances where he used what the people already knew as his starting point and led them to Christ, for example, the tactful use of the belief of the Greeks at the Aeropagus. This approach has been used by many missionaries when they go to a foreign country to evangelise.

However, we must be careful because not everything can be used as a starting point. Evil cannot be used to lead to good. We use what is morally and naturally right and point it back to God, Who is the creator of all there is. This way, we seek to understand rather than to be understood. Helping people to understand is certainly better than trying to force our understanding down their throat.

Most importantly, we need to always rely on the Spirit of Truth to guide us. This is what Jesus promised all of us – the Spirit of Truth will lead us to the complete truth. Let us pray that we will always open our hearts and minds to the guidance of the Holy Spirit.