St Paul tells the Corinthians: " 'I believe, and so I spoke' - we also believe, and so we speak." (1 Cor 4: 13) So it is for us when we are prompted as missionary disciples to witness to our faith. We start from a position of faith, having encountered Christ, and also experienced something of his power. If we are to communicate the Gospel we need to have undergone a conversion experience in making both a choice for Christ Jesus and seeing the subsequent impact of such conviction in our behaviour: "But no one can enter a strong man's house and plunder his property without first tying up the strong man; then indeed the house can be plundered." (Mk 3: 27) Through the sacraments and other pious practices we restrain our disordered desires and learn obedience to the law of Christ, which yields the fruits of the Holy Spirit. It is only then that our testimony to the joy of the Gospel can gain credibility for we witness to God's power to save. As a result, we do not rely on our own strength but on that of God as St Paul: "And I came to you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling. My speech and my proclamation were not with plausible words of wisdom, but with a demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith might rest not on human wisdom but on the power of God." (1 Cor 2: 3-5)
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