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Jesus crucified waits at the gate of Heaven, with His mother Mary and the holy angels. At our death, He looks for those who bear the marks of the cross and who are weary from His service; those who resemble Him, having persevered to the end out of love for Him.

Jesus crucified waits at the gate of Heaven, with His mother Mary and the holy angels. At our death, He looks for those who bear the marks of the cross and who are weary from His service; those who resemble Him, having persevered to the end out of love for Him.

Jesus crucified waits at the gate of Heaven, with His mother Mary and the holy angels. At our death, He looks for those who bear the marks of the cross and who are weary from His service; those who resemble Him, having persevered to the end out of love for Him.

Jesus crucified waits at the gate of Heaven, with His mother Mary and the holy angels. At our death, He looks for those who bear the marks of the cross and who are weary from His service; those who resemble Him, having persevered to the end out of love for Him.

Jesus crucified waits at the gate of Heaven, with His mother Mary and the holy angels. At our death, He looks for those who bear the marks of the cross and who are weary from His service; those who resemble Him, having persevered to the end out of love for Him.

A garment reproduced by a tailor must match the original in every detail. We who imitate Christ must aim to 'match' Him in every aspect.

By patient endurance - out of love for Christ - we can resemble Him, and also be lifted up and glorified.

Priests should be like Christ, Who invited people to repent of their sins. It is not for priests to act solely as counsellors and comforters, without also speaking the truth about the serious sins which can entrap us.

Catholic priests should indeed give us good advice. Yet their principle purpose in the confessional, in the sacrament of Penance, is to forgive our sins. They are not ordained to be like secular counsellors.

There are times when we can avoid trouble and difficulty, and confront injustice; but there are other times when it is useless to protest, and we do best to imitate Jesus in His acceptance of His Father's plan, in total trust and surrender, confident the God can bring good out of evil.

If we are careless or uncharitable in some of our 'patterns' of thinking, speaking or acting, or just copy ways of behaviour picked up from our childhood models - we may have no malice, but still act in foolish ways, not realising how little we resemble Christ.

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.