Acts 28:23-24. The Jews in Rome appoint a day when they will come to Paul and hear all he has to say on this new sect, as they call Christianity. On that day, they come in great numbers, "[a]nd he expounded the matter to them from morning until evening, testifying to the kingdom of God and trying to convince them about Jesus both from the law of Moses and from the prophets." Some are convinced, but others do not believe.

I am heartened by the fact that Paul, the best of the best at evangelization, had mixed success among his own people. If Paul could not convince everyone of the truth, even after speaking to a willing, knowledgable audience all day, then I don't feel so bad about the fact that so many people are not being convinced today.

Paul was feeling the same urgency in evangelization that many of us are feeling today, and he had seen the Holy Spirit at work. He had converted thousands with his preaching, but among the Jews he encountered so much resistance! Here in Rome, Paul had an audience of Jews who were truly interested in what he had to say and came in great numbers. Their minds were at least a little bit open, so Paul must have had hope. He did his absolute best, holding back nothing, but even they had a hard time accepting the message of Christ.

Today I often find a certain hardness of heart, especially among fellow Catholics - many do not want to hear or listen. But we don't know how many of the Jews in Paul's Roman audience eventually became believers. I am sure some of them did. And I am sure that some of those I find unreceptive actually mull things over when I am not around. So I just have to keep speaking and living the truth.

We know that eventually the whole world will come to believe, our job is merely to convince the convincible in our time and sphere of influence. We just have to keep the faith, keep talking, keep loving, and don't let those we can't convince right now distract us from the ones who will come to believe.