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Whoever faces Christ, and says sincerely: "I'll do whatever you want", has begun the self-giving way of life found in the utterly self-giving love of the heart of the Holy Trinity

God sees, in looking at each of His priests, a man configured to Christ by the sacrament of Orders: a man whose very being is now changed. Each priest should recognise the immense dignity of the state to which the Lord has raised him, and accept the honour paid to him by those who are grateful for his ministry.

Our progress towards Heaven can be like a sales graph. We have done well if we have moved steadily upwards, despite occasional stumbles on the path, and have never turned back since first giving our life and heart to Christ.

In earthly life, it's as though we run a race in full view of Christ and the Saints; but those who prefer to leave the track will miss the triumphant end to the race, having taken a trajectory that leads to outer darkness.

A deep pool in a forest clearing is like the mystery of the Godhead. It is unfathomable, but we can still 'enter' and know God more deeply by study and prayer, by knowledge and love.

Just as a person in a wood cannot see the depths of a deep forest pool, so no-one can 'fathom' God, or ever understand and know Him completely; but it is nevertheless important to learn about God's nature and attributes, through reason and revelation.

I saw the globe of the earth, with a great mountain on it. At its summit was a bright Heavenly City, which represented the life of grace. Those not yet reconciled to God lived in darkness. The road to Hell lay at my side: a broad road leading downwards.

From the life of grace, a rope-ladder led upwards to where Christ and the Saints waited in Heaven to greet those who persevered even amidst howling winds, and who bravely held on, until the moment of death.

To live 'in Christ' in a state of grace is like living on a mountain top in early life, battered by temptations, but hoping to climb up to Heaven rather than take the broad road to Hell.

A life of grace on earth is like a well-lit mountain from which there is a ladder to Heaven. Without grace, it is easy to wander onto the broad road which leads to Hell.

Of all the paths which people tell us lead to God, only one does so. There is no way 'up' to God except through Christ and His life of grace. Other short paths are made by human beings who search for truth. We can admire their sincerity and good desires but not their main conclusions if they take us away from Christ.

Just as a child has to learn table manners and concern for others, by instruction as well as example, so a Christian needs to be taught how to pray and genuflect, and to show reverence to God, in His house of prayer.

Just as a child has to learn table manners and concern for others, by instruction as well as example, so a Christian needs to be taught how to pray and genuflect, and to show reverence to God, in His house of prayer.

It's as if souls are like seed pods - we can respond to the sunlight, which is God's perpetual love for everyone, and produce beautiful plants, or we can choose to remain 'shut-in', and shrivel.

We fail in our duty if we never warn others of the consequences of serious sin and irreverence. It's as if we were to walk past people who are trapped in a swamp because they did not take the right path. They are in danger, even if they imagine all is well.

We are all on a journey, past great swamps and quicksands. It is not loving to say nothing when we see people set out on a dangerous path instead of the safe one: hence the importance of honest ecumenism, of good catechesis, and evangelisation.

In church, we are on the threshold of Heaven, in the Presence of Christ our God. Although it is sometimes necessary to offer a quiet greeting or enquiry, it is not right to engage in idle chatter, e.g. about football results or holidays. It is the House of God, and we should want to pray there and allow others to pray.

The 'ground' in which we walk, in our spiritual lives, suffers from subsidence and becomes dangerously frail when the pure water-pipe of sound doctrine is broken by our disbelief. To have a weak faith, or to follow an erroneous conscience, is to walk along a road which is likely to collapse when tested by a heavy load.

People can be powerfully helped and drawn towards Heaven by the good example and the prayers of those who have already gone to Heaven.

It is when a person becomes really alive in the Spirit, perhaps long after initial conversion, that he or she can 'see' Christ clearly, if Christ Wills - whether by genuine visions or by 'unknowing' knowledge and 'unseeing' sight. Christ is no longer hidden behind the 'veils' of a person's self-concern.