One might imagine therefore that the Apostles, who besides much of the work of conversion were also responsible for training the faithful – what St Paul called “the care of all the Churches” – must have been men of exceptional natural ability who would have made a name for themselves in any walk of life.

Apart from St Paul they were nothing of a sort. They were just steady men, marked by honesty rather than brilliance. The same was generally true of the rank and file of Christians. “…not many…were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth…” (RSV, 1 Corinthians 1:26). Yet it was through men and women such as these that most of the converts were made.

It was no accident that these super-human achievements were accomplished with very human and ordinary people. This was deliberately designed by the Divine wisdom in order that none should believe for a moment that these people were really in fact responsible, but rather that it was the work of the Holy Spirit of God acting through them.