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The Transfiguration

The two Marys with the Risen Christ. (Mt 28:8-9).They came up and took hold of His feet and worshipped Him. Then Jesus said to them, 'Don't be afraid; go and tell My Brethren to go to Galilee, and there they will see Me.'

The descent of the Holy Spirit on the apostles and Mary at Pentecost

The descent of the Holy Spirit on the apostles and Mary at Pentecost

Christ spoke with great courage, to His apostles, holding the cup of His Blood, and already seeing His 'pit' of suffering.

We can offer up our sufferings in union with Jesus in His Passion, to comfort Him, and to help other souls. Every suffering in our lives can be offered up, united with Jesus in that same type of suffering in His own life: our fear united to His in Gethsemane; our being misunderstood, with Jesus deserted by His Apostles; our grief, with Jesus weeping for Lazarus; our fear of evil forces, with Jesus being tempted by Satan.

The whole life of the Church follows in Christ's 'wake' as part of God's eternal plan: the Apostles and Saints, a visible Church, Catholic life and culture and devotions. All of this was in the mind of God.

The whole life of the Church follows in Christ's 'wake' as part of God's eternal plan: the Apostles and Saints, a visible Church, Catholic life and culture and devotions. All of this was in the mind of God.

The Pope, the Bishop of Rome, is the chief Bishop, and the focus of unity in the Church. From Rome, the Holy Father guides and teaches the Church, as his predecessors have done since the time of the apostles.

If we are ever overwhelmed by shame about our past lives, tempted to be despondent even though we are loved and forgiven, we can be sure that Christ wants us to remember His Apostles. Even Peter and others sinned - yet were chosen by God for His work.

The Lord told me the when I find myself in X-ray departments and operating theatres I must look upon them as my venues for mission, given to me by God, just as certain towns and places were shown to the Apostles, for them to evangelise by their words and example. I can show out the joy of Christ, even in trouble and pain.

To be in the Presence of Christ in the Blessed Sacrament is to be in the Presence of God: to be with our Saviour now, as the Apostles were with Him in Galilee or Jerusalem. Though He is 'hidden', he deserves adoration and reverence in traditional ways. It is not appropriate to arrange rock music, or half-naked dancing girls.

Just as Jesus came silently through a locked door to be with His friends in the Upper Room, and to bring them courage and joy, so He comes silently to us when we put our trust in Him, and pray sincerely: and we receive His peace and encouragement.

Many Bishops are unwilling to speak about sin and repentance, thinking it uncharitable to tell people they ought to change if they wish to please God. The Apostles, however, thought it highly charitable to warn others about where sinful behaviour would lead them. They spoke of Hell as well as Heaven.

St. Catherine of Sienna, who lived in a street I once saw, believed in the Father's goodness. She obeyed Him. She prayed with faith, and was answered like the Apostles in earlier times; she put her trust in God even when He led her through suffering in the course of her particular vocation; yet her reward was Heaven.

If we pray before the tabernacle in Church, where Jesus Christ is Sacramentally, substantially Present with us, as close to us as He was to His Apostles in Galilee, and if we adore Him, we do what the Angels do. They are hovering beside the tabernacle, adoring Our Lord in an attitude of perfect love.

The Deposit of Faith is handed on in the Catholic Church from age to age. Some other Christians teach some of the truths which the Church proclaims - but the Church has no need to go to other Christians to learn what she should teach. Her teachings stem from Christ and the Apostles. Yet individual Catholics can learn from the virtuous example of charity, patience, etc. given by other individual Christians.

If someone searches the whole earth, wondering where he can find the true version of the Catholic Faith, not a distorted, diluted or truncated version, he can look at Rome. What is taught by the Pope and the other Catholic Bishops is truly the 'deposit of Faith' handed on by Christ and His Apostles.

The Lord asked me to look at the time when Rome and Constantinople were united in loving and serving God in Three Persons, under the guidance of the successors of St. Peter and the Apostles - until an exchange of insults damaged this. That earlier happier state can be re-gained. But re-union is not possible with other Christians who do not accept the Pope's prominent role and who imagine that woman can be priests.

The truth which we have learned from Christ and His Apostles is still true, is still taught by the Catholic Church, which Christ founded, and is still meant to be told to everyone in the world who is willing to listen: that God loves us so much He has come down from Heaven, and that Jesus, God-made-man, is the only Saviour.