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It is tragic not only that some Catholics forget the Holy Souls in Purgatory, but that many Christians are told by their leaders that prayer for departed souls is unnecessary or useless. Well-meaning people leave their friends and relations in Purgatory, without offering a single prayer to God for them, and imagining that every kind of person will speed straight into Heaven, even when laden with sinful habits and attitudes.

We human beings are put on earth for a little while; and then, when our work is finished, we go 'home' to God - unless we have denied Him, by atheism or disbelief in the truth we hear, or have defied Him, by our immorality, or our refusal to join His Church, or our refusal to repent before we die.

Many people who sincerely love Christ and do His Will become the targets of the evil one. If he cannot tempt them to sin, he mocks them for their kindness, or their purity, and makes them endure salacious spiritual assaults of various types; yet all the time, Christ is close to such souls, supporting them in their trials. It's as if each of these faithful persons stands amidst piles of stinking rubbish, but is being held in the arms of Christ.

The Saints pray fervently for our well-being and salvation. Their prayers draw down upon the earth a great torrent of Divine graces, as they look with pity and love upon us, in our struggles to be holy. They persevered in the Faith, in love for Christ, until the end. Earthly life seems very brief, to them, who now enjoy God's love in Eternity.

Christ is pleased to see Catholics arranging programmes in which lapsed Catholics are encouraged to come 'home' into the Church - but He delights in only those campaigns which offer reminders of the Catholic Faith in its fullness, with no omissions or distortions, and which genuinely help people to be reconciled to God.

There are Governments in this world which send out aircraft and armies with the sole intentions of destroying people and nations. God cannot bless all their actions, but only those which are in defence of good, and really necessary and reasonable.

It is sometimes necessary to appeal to a person's heart, and to his faith in Christ, in an attempt to persuade a Christian in Government not to extend abortion laws. A person in such a powerful position can have millions of babies killed, by his legislative action, or he can act in accordance with justice and mercy, and let them live, as he should.

Everyone will one day give an account of his life to God. Whether he is a President of a great nation or a slave from a poor cabin, everyone must find out the results of his own behaviour - and discover whether or not he is a real friend of God, and worthy to accept the free gift of union with God and the Saints in Heaven.

A President of a great country has political power. But the most ordinary, apparently insignificant Christian has power: the power of the Truth, which, boldly spoken, can change hearts and lives, by the grace of God.

The Lord showed me that, just as on a lengthy car journey there comes a time to put down the map, collect belongings, and pick up gifts for the people we are meeting, so, in life's journey, when we believe it is shortly to end, it's time to prepare, to clear up our belongings, leave gifts for those who are close to us, and prepare, spiritually, for our meeting with the Lord.

Each Saint in Heaven is like a flame of pure praise in a great fire of praise of the Father. We hope to join them, and to be reunited with friends and relations, who have loved God. The truth about Heaven is that whoever does not love God, and does not want to praise Him, does not enter - by the free choice he has made to exclude himself.

No sinful human being was worthy, or ever could be worthy to enter the glory and purity of Heaven. So God the Son became man: holy and sinless. After His work on earth He made a Way to Heaven. He was worthy to enter; and He can draw into Heaven, after Him, each person who has been made worthy by the grace of Christ, and through having persevered in grace to the very end.

It was the Father's plan to give His Son to the world through Mary, the Blessed Virgin. Only because of her consent to the Father's plan - which would bring her tremendous suffering as well as joy - did Jesus come to our world: the God-man, to save us from our sins. She is still active, with Christ, as she prays for us, as our Mother.

God asks us all to adore His Son, and to honour Christ's holy Mother Mary. The Father gave His Son to us through the Blessed Virgin Mary. Only because of her self-gift to the Father's plan have we received Jesus Christ as our Saviour, our Teacher, and our Friend, Really Present in the Holy Eucharist; and only because of Mary's love are we members of Christ's Mystical Body, being made ready to ascend to Heaven.

This is what God sees from Heaven, as He looks upon two fertile continents. On one, thousands of women campaign, with the support of Government members, for the killing of an even greater number of babies in the womb, by abortion. On the other continent, most women love life and love their babies, despite the poverty in which some live.

To offer aid to people in poor countries that is conditional upon the recipients' agreement to accept immoral programmes of contraception and abortion, as well as aid, is wicked. If aid is necessary, it should be genuine aid, not corruption of a country's morals. If development is necessary, it should be good development, not bad.

Some people in rich countries call people in undeveloped countries 'uncivilised'; but the Lord asks: "How 'civilized' is it, to have hospitals which should be used for healing, entirely dedicated to reaching out to living children of all sizes, to tear them from their mother's wombs?!"

This is the ideal, for a priest: to be totally conformed to Christ - and for lay-persons too, who want to do the Will of God. Whoever conforms his will to the Will of Christ, and believes and practices the teachings of the Church, for love of Christ, and has a pure heart, avoids all sin, and shares the Faith where he can, and loves his neighbour, is a channel for God's powerful graces to others, even if he or she has weaknesses and imperfections from character defects, or poor upbringing.

Many Catholics believe it is enough to be kind to other people. The greatest love is shown when people are not only offered kindness but also when they are offered the truth which sets us free: the truth about God's love for us, about sin and virtue, repentance and forgiveness, about the Real Presence of Jesus in His Church, helping us to prepare for Heaven.

The picture represents the burial ground of past civilisations which have risen in triumph then eventually decayed, or been destroyed. A nation destroys itself if it kills its own children; that should be obvious, though it is a truth ignored by those who promote evil laws, such as those which make possible an even greater number of abortions.