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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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Christ is truly God and man. He possesses all the attributes of Divinity, just as a single flame, being fire, has all the properties of an unconfined, blazing fire. All other supposed divinities adored by man are products of the imagination.

Christ, in His earthly life, offered the Sacrifice to end all sacrifices, though He deserved nothing but love, honour and glory. He allowed sinners to humiliate and kill Him, in order to show the depth of Divine Love. We, at Mass, can offer that once-for-all Sacrifice in reparation for our own sins.

We need a crucifix as a 'template' for our own lives - not to make us love pain or suffering, but so we'll imitate Christ in His patient acceptance of His Father's Will

Christ saw, from the Cross, a crowd of onlookers: the puzzled, the curious, the hostile and the sympathetic. So it is as we today suffer in union with Christ. We cannot control the attitude of others. What counts is to be obedient to the Will of God.

Christ saw, from the Cross, a crowd of onlookers: the puzzled, the curious, the hostile and the sympathetic. So it is as we today suffer in union with Christ. We cannot control the attitude of others. What counts is to be obedient to the Will of God.

The all-holy and majestic God Whom we praise at Mass, through Christ His Son, is present here. This huge Cathedral, and everyone in it, rests in God's care. Were we to see Him, we would see a blazing fire reaching out powerfully through the entire building: a burning fire of pure love.

Someone who speaks about Mount Everest is worth believing if we know that he has followed the right path. Someone who speaks about God and Heaven is worth believing if he or she has evidently followed the right path: by faith in Christ, love for God and neighbour, self-denial in order to do God's Will, and the surrender of selfish ambitions.

As we travel towards Heaven, Christ is like a signal-man whom we rely on to send our messages to those waiting to meet us at our destination. Through Christ, we can be certain that our prayers reach God the Father, and the Saints.

As we praise God at Mass, with and through Christ, we praise Him with the whole Church, which includes the Saints of Heaven - here encircling the altar - and the Holy Souls.

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.