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Christ deserves to be shown the deepest honour at Mass. Christ is touched by the deep reverence which is shown out at every Mass where people who love Christ take care that every word and gesture is dignified and worthy of their Divine Saviour. We should not offer, at Mass, words, gifts or gestures that are introduced merely to make children, or other people, feel special.

To approach death is akin to arriving at the edge of the Abyss, and seeing a notice which lists the mortal sins that can cause us to fall over the edge. How important it is to repent before we die! What are those sins? - The Church tells us. Her teachings are true, since Christ founded her, and said, "Whoever hears you, hears Me."

There are people who repeat the truth about mortal sin, insisting that it is only mortal if it was committed with full knowledge and content. But this is not to say that people are blameless for their ignorance about certain sins, for example. In unclear cases, it's as if people have been saved from spiritual death but are still in need of help if they are to lead holy lives, close to Christ. It's as if they hold onto tree-roots, above the Abyss.

After every Confession, every new start on our spiritual journey, we ought to move straight ahead, on the Way to greater sanctity. This means we should fix our eyes on Christ; with His help in the sacraments and in prayer we can avoid those routes which lead only to sin, in alienation from God, here and in eternity.

If we had a huge barn, that was full to the top with our sins, but then we confessed them sincerely, in the Sacrament of Penance, and received absolution, we could be certain that our sins are entirely banished, and that barn empty. Then our souls would be beautiful, giving joy to Christ, and hope to ourselves.

We need to pray for ourselves, and for others. We must remember that a simple choice lies before each of us, whether to follow the Way that leads to life: Christ's Way - or to follow the other fork in the road, into a dark path that leads downwards, amongst trees, where people try to hide their sins from God. Only one Way leads towards Heaven.

Amazing results can spring from generous acts and prayers, in union with Christ our Saviour. Through every act of freely-borne penance, or patience in pain, it's as if we can reach out, in Christ, to draw people back from the edge of the Abyss: people who are trapped in unrepented sin, or who have terrible problems and weak faith. None of our sufferings need be wasted.

We need to be on our guard, always. Just as wolves wait at the edge of the wood, prowling around, ready to leap upon any weak creature nearby, so, the demons seize every opportunity to cause confusion in good people, mislead good minds - and also use them to lead others astray, intellectually as well as morally. In Christ, we can find safety.

The people in the picture are on the way to Heaven because they have recognised the truth about Christ and have followed Him. He is unique, among the Founders of all religions, in that He was conceived of a virgin, claimed to be one with the Father, and proved His Origin and Divine Sonship by rising from the dead after enduring a cruel death.

The Mass is unique because the One Who gave it to us, Christ, is unique, amongst founders of world religions. He was conceived of a virgin, claimed to be one with God the Father, proved His Origin by the healings of the sick, raising the dead to life, calming a storm - and by His rising-up from the grave, after being unjustly and cruelly put to death.

Christ told His followers: "Ask the Lord of the Harvest to send labourers to the Harvest". He did not say: "It doesn't matter if people don't hear about the Kingdom, or never hear about the importance of Baptism". Dialogue, today, with people of various religions must never be seen as a substitute for Evangelisation and Mission, which Christ always wants His people to undertake.

When a Christian prays to the Father through Christ only infrequently, not frequently as he ought, it's as if he had begun to build a wall; but each time he returns to it, he finds that a great part of it has collapsed, and cannot shelter him. Without frequent prayer, we can neither stay close to Christ nor lead a virtuous life.

People who take the wrong way in life are often choosing an easy way, though God asks us to rely on Christ His Son, to grow in virtue, and to persevere in charity as far as Heaven. The easy way is to help patients to kill themselves, and to ask doctors to kill the elderly. But this is bad for patients, for doctors, for families, and for society, as well as being highly immoral and against God's holy law.

There is nothing more important in our lives as Catholics than the Mass, where God praises God in God. In ancient times, God revealed Himself as fire, to His chosen people. In Christ, He has fully revealed Himself; and Christ, the Son of God, is truly, substantially Present on the altar, at every Mass.

What happens at Mass surpasses even those theophanies of the Old Testament times. God revealed Himself as fire in the burning bush, and on Mount Sinai, and in the desert, as Moses guided the chosen people. But we who are God's people today are privileged to have God Present with us: Jesus Christ, God-made-man, bodily Present, hidden under the form of bread and wine.

God has revealed Himself to His people in ancient times; yet from the first Mass, Christ has been made Present amongst His friends; and it is His love, His prayer, and His Sacrifice on our altar, that seem like a pillar of fire: a fire of love that reaches as far as Heaven. We who love Him and offer ourselves with Him, can be sure that our prayers reach Heaven.

It is possible for us to persevere in naked faith, serving God and our neighbour with love, aiming for sanctity, hoping for Heaven, even when it seems as if we have no evidence of support, no signs that we are on the right path. Naked faith means clinging to what we believe to be good, and doing good, by the strength given to us by Christ and His Church.

It can be hard to pray without distractions, especially when we are full of delighted memories of a holiday, a pilgrimage, or a special re-union. Yet Christ understands this, just as, for example, He would understand how difficult it would be for a painter to concentrate on a conversation with Him, if she were standing near the rocks once beautifully depicted by Monet!

What counts above all, in our lives, is love: love for God, and for our neighbour for God's sake. As God the Father looks down from Heaven, it's as if He sees a light shining wherever a person lives to do the Will of God, which means to believe in Him and His Son, Jesus Christ, and to follow His Way. Whatever such a person does is pleasing to God, if it is not sinful; so, although that person is called to do one task not another, he should not be anxious as he tries to discern precisely what to do next. He gives joy to God by living in a state of grace.

Christ looks on with joy, with His Saints, His heart grateful that some of His flock revere the Traditional Mass - now called the Extraordinary form of the Rite - and that some priests offer it, and some of the laity assist because of their love for Christ, first of all;but also because of their desire to support and encourage priests who revere ancient ways.