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A person with a tender heart must weep, when considering the sufferings of Jesus; yet a true follower knows that the Cross is the centre-piece of His message. He showed us that even in the extremes of suffering He still trusted in the Father's love and goodness, and believed that good can come out of evil. The same can be true for us, if we believe in Jesus, and do as He asks, by repenting and being Baptised. Through Him, we can overcome sin, and even have Eternal Life.
There is no doubt about it. By uniting ourselves with Christ, in prayer, and in patient acceptance of our sufferings and humiliations, for love of Him, and by our intercessions for people in need, we are saving many from committing mortal sin, or from dying unrepentant and falling into Hell.
If we meet someone who is blind to her own faults, and makes life miserable for those she waylays, we should treat her as we would treat someone with a horrible disease: with pity in our hearts, and compassion and kindness in our thoughts, greetings and actions.
A priest or seminarian, in his interactions each day, is as if swimming in a stream of truth in which there are cloudy deposits, which are worldly attitudes, modernist opinions and foolish ideas. Some of these will stick to him, unless by regular prayer he allows God to purify his heart, soul and mind. Then he will be worthy to preach the Gospel handed down since the Apostles.
The Lord showed me that as we intercede, each morning and night, for many people in need, it's as if we are marching into Heaven at the head of a victory parade, bringing those people with us, by the grace of Christ, as the Saints and Angels wave banners, and look on, overjoyed.
The Lord wants us to remember, when we speak to God to thank Him for the Saints, or when we ask them for their prayers, that they are real people, alive in Heaven, close by. We can count on their help. They love us, and delight in our devotion, and in our humble requests for their prayers.
People who live in the depths of sin, through drink, drugs, immoral relationships or pornography or other habits that alienate them from God, are like people lost in a smoke filled mine: unable to see how dangerous is their state or to find their way back to God's light. They desperately need the help of others' prayers and sufferings.
Christ assured me that the arrival in the Church of several new movements is like a new 'dawn'. A new light is brightening the horizon; and we can be sure that life in the Church is going to change for the better, with increased reverence, a desire for holiness, and greater love for Christ and His Holy Mother Mary.
Christ is like the mother of a delinquent boy. She waits and prays, wishing he would give up his shop-lifting - or drink or drugs or other bad habit; but she knows that a short sharp shock might be needed to bring him to look at his life and be able to make changes; yet she does not enjoy seeing him suffer.
Christ asked me to paint a picture of what it is like to be welcomed and hugged by Him, in a spiritual Communion, when I am aware of my weakness but put my trust in Him. There is no-one more compassionate to sick people, no-one more grateful that we honour Him by our love and devotion.
Our upbringing affects our marriages. We cannot make ourselves holy by our own efforts, or reach Heaven by will-power. By co-operating with the grace of God, given to us through Jesus Christ His Son, we can conquer our faults, and so even stop the evil influences that we might have had upon other people, especially family members, by our bad example: and on society.
Before Jesus came to earth, people everywhere were being carried away on torrents of sin. Only because He has conquered death and sin by His Cross and Resurrection can we now receive the grace to change and find forgiveness and the hope of Heaven. No-one can make himself holy, or enter Heaven, by relying on his own efforts.
We cannot save ourselves. There is only one Saviour. Countless sinful people are being carried away by their sins towards their doom; yet Christ came into the world and conquered death and sin, and now, we can conquer sin by His power, given through His Church and her sacraments. Rescued from the flood, we can share Christ's life and look forward to Heaven.
Some Anglican women do hear a call from God to full-time service amongst Christian people; but it is mistaken as a call to Priesthood, when it is not His wish that women be priests, nor that people believe that Anglican Orders are valid.
The Mother of the Church, the Blessed Virgin Mary, longs for all the members of the Church family to act towards one another as devoted brothers and sisters, despite differences in aptitudes and activities, and differences of opinion on important matters, and - in some members - disruptive and foolish behaviour.
Jesus told His friends a parable to encourage them to pray and not lose heart. But then He asked, about the future: "When the Son of man comes, will he find faith on earth?" Today, He is asking us: Can He find faith in our homes? Are Catholic families following the teachings of the Church Christ founded, and teaching them to their children?
It is a terrible thing, in Christ's sight, that some parents encourage their children to sin. They do this if they give their daughters contraceptive pills, or allow them to sleep with boyfriends in their house, or fail to teach the truth about Mass attendance, and the Real Presence of Jesus, and other truths of the Faith.
Some Catholic parents encourage their children towards sinful behaviour and estrangement from God by allowing them to use contraceptives and even to bring their sexual partners to sleep in their home with their children. Parents must once day answer to God for what they have done in leading their children away from Heaven.
By Sincere repentance, expressed in Confession to a priest, we take such a powerful step towards the Lord that it's as if the soul soars like a rocket, into the heart of the Godhead, to be met with cries of joy amidst the glory. If everyone knew the great benefits of sorrow-for-sin they would repent more frequently and do so with gladness!
It is important not to 'cast pearls before swine': not to offer spiritual advice, too early, to those who despise spiritual things, nor to press information about the Church upon people who hate the mention of her name. This causes such people to be even more exasperated and confrontational. Our prayer for them is more important, for the moment.