Jesus promised that the Holy Spirit would give His apostles the power to be His witnesses "even to the ends of the earth" (Acts 1:8). It was difficult to imagine how this promise would be fulfilled. Jesus began fulfilling it by:

• sending an angel to tell Philip to "head south toward" a certain road (Acts 8:26),
• synchronizing the travel of a prestigious Ethiopian so that Philip saw his chariot (Acts 8:27),
• sending the Spirit to tell Philip to catch up with the Ethiopian's carriage (Acts 8:29),
• prompting the Ethiopian to read from the prophet Isaiah without understanding what he read (Acts 8:30ff),
• having the Ethiopian invite Philip to sit in his carriage (Acts 8:31),
• giving Philip the understanding of this passage from Isaiah and the grace to communicate this (Acts 8:35),
• planning the Ethiopian's journey to approach water at this point (Acts 8:37), despite being in a desert (Acts 8:26),
• having the Ethiopian ask to be baptized (Acts 8:37),
• converting the Ethiopian and having him baptized (Acts 8:38), and
• giving the Ethiopian joy in his salvation (Acts 8:39).

The Lord will go to great extents to convert each person He has created. He even became a human being and died on the cross to save us. Be in God's will. Do everything you can to lead as many people as possible to Christ (see 1 Cor 9:19).

Nihil Obstat:  Reverend Giles H. Pater, November 15, 2001

Imprimatur:  †Most Reverend Carl K. Moeddel, Vicar General and Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, November 16, 2001