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The Mass is far more than a sacred meal. The Sacrifice which Christ once offered on the Cross, as He prayed for sinners to be forgiven, and gave up His life without complaint to conquer sin and death, is available for every generation. Christ has marvellously arranged that He is Really Present in every Mass, in every era, praying for sinners just as He prayed from the Cross, though He no longer suffers. It is the same Sacrifice, however, since the same Victim offers Himself, on the altar as on the Cross; and His true friends attend, and adore Him, and receive Him in Holy Communion, and receive the graces He won.

Christ teaches us, through His Church; so Catholics who refuse to believe in the teachings of the Church and even lead others astray by promoting their opposing views will arrive, at death, at the same place as the unbelievers, which is to say, at the edge of the Abyss, at some distance from the only crossing, which is Christ Himself, our bridge to Heaven. Unless they repent, and run to Him, they are doomed, because of their own freely-made choices and decisions.

We are right to help the poor; but Christianity is more than good deeds. In Christ's sight, modernism flourishes where people do not have sufficient awe of God. Many good hearted Catholics, through poor instruction, have a faith that revolves around what humans need, rather than what the Father requests and deserves. They have a too-exalted view of man, in relation to God, which distorts the whole picture; whereas Catholics really grateful to God for Jesus Christ accept the Church's teaching without constant grumbling, shoulder the Cross, and strive for holiness like the Saints, out of love for their Saviour.

If we accept unavoidable sufferings with patience, from love for Christ, and offer them as a penance for sinners' conversions, in union with Christ, like Christ, it's as if we help Him to carry His Cross. We give evidence that His Passion was not wasted on us, but that we have accepted His graces and long for salvation for ourselves and others.

If we try to escape the Cross, we merely flee into darkness. No Christian can expect to escape some sort of crucifixion, whether interior desolation and trials, and the dark nights, or persecution, or the knowledge of one's own sinfulness. The only way to sanctity and Heaven is upwards, with Christ, one with Him in crucifixion followed by Resurrection even in this life, to find fulfilment and joy in His service.

Our faith will increase, if we accept the truth taught by the Church: that the One Who suffered on the Cross on Calvary, shed His Blood for sinners, and died, is the very Son of God Who comes amongst us at every Mass, made Present at the Consecration, to pray with us, and for us, in the presence of His adoring Angels.

Without trust in God, people turn away from Him, by a free choice. Millions of people have died with little faith or hope, and have left nothing good on earth. But the work of the Saints endures. Those self-centred people have had nowhere to go except on a single journey, chosen by them, away from God, to the depths of Hell. But the good that the Saints do lives after them, renews the Church, helps the needy, and changes attitudes across the world. The Gospel needs to be preached to the ends of the earth, to bring hope, and joy.

Just as there are insects who are at home in mud and filth, content to make their way across mucky roads, so there are people who are happiest when involved in unpleasant chatter or malicious gossip. It suits their uncharitable nature; but unless they change, by the grace of Christ, they will not be able to enter Heaven - and perhaps not even Purgatory.

Just as a person who wants to go to the shops to buy essentials takes the sensible route: the direct route across the village, and doesn't wander aimlessly around, so people who want to be successful in reaching Heaven co-operate with God by talking the Way He has made, rather than saying: "I can find my own way", or even, "There are things I want to do, first, that You don't approve of".

To pray sincere prayers in the name of Jesus is like being lifted to the top of a high tower, to be poised at the edge of a great abyss, yet confident that the Holy Spirit will carry our prayer to the unseen Father of Light. It is the same Holy Spirit Who carries a soul across the Abyss at death. Woe to those who do not possess the Spirit! We must never drive Him out, but repent like little children, confident of finding forgiveness, and new hope.

It is the Holy Spirit, Who lives in the hearts of faithful followers of Christ, Who carries departed souls across the Abyss which separates Heaven and earth, towards Heaven; hence the importance of our never driving out the Holy Spirit, by mortal sin.

It is the Holy Spirit Who carries the souls of faithful people, when they have died, across the Abyss which separates earth from Heaven. By our intercessions, in the power of Christ, we can help others to remain faithful until death and so to fly across the Abyss, far above Satan's kingdom, to fly swiftly into the glory of Heaven or to rest for a while, as if on a little ledge, hidden below the glory, which represents Purgatory - where souls are purified and made worthy of Heaven.

The Holy Spirit carries all faithful souls across the Abyss which separates earth from Heaven - though He does not carry all straight into Heaven, but to a place of purification, if they are not yet worthy. This place, called Purgatory, is represented here by the little ledge on the side of the cliff. The Holy Souls can see the fearsome depths below, and know that by God's grace they have been saved from falling into them.

People who persist in mortal sin, careless of the danger to their souls, and of the risk of damnation, are as if living on narrow ledges just above the great Abyss which separates earth from Heaven. They have no hope of crossing the Abyss, unless they are drawn up by God's grace and the prayers of the faithful to level ground, which is a state of grace. From there, they can allow the Spirit to carry them to Heaven; but if they stay on the ledges, then die, they will immediately fall into Hell below.

The gulf between Heaven and earth cannot be crossed by any human being by his own power, nor has any other religion been able to make a bridge to Heaven. Only by the power of the Holy Spirit - the Spirit of Jesus - can faithful friends of Jesus Christ be carried across the Abyss, and brought to Heaven, even if some pause for a while in Purgatory.

The Divine Son of God crossed the vast gulf between Heaven and earth, by the power of the Holy Spirit, to take flesh, and be born of the Blessed Virgin Mary. After His Death and Resurrection He again crossed that gulf at His Ascension into Heaven, having promised that He would bring His faithful followers to Heaven, likewise; so the Spirit carries towards Heaven, all who die in a state of grace - though some pause for a while, in Purgatory, on their way to glory.

We should use the time well, doing good, and preparing for Heaven. At the end of earthly life, each of us will be on our way towards Heaven - carried by the Holy Spirit across the Abyss, even if we then pause in Purgatory - or on our way into Hell, in the depths of the Abyss. Our freely-made choices in this life affect our destiny. God is asking each of us: "What are you doing with your life?"

A priest fulfils the Will of Christ, and becomes joyful, when he has begun to accept the Cross, in being conformed to Christ in a sinful world. By his union with Christ, and His imitation of Christ, he can be freed to do what he is called to do, which is not primarily to help people with their earthly cares, but above all to bring them and himself towards holiness and salvation, and thereby to play his part in God's plan of salvation.

At the Mass, we are present as Christ prays for us to be forgiven. When He is made Really Present at the Consecration, it is as though we have a pathway, in Him, through time and space, to be present to all He has done for us in His earthly life, supremely to the once-for-all Sacrifice of the Cross, on which He suffered to win forgiveness for sinners, including ourselves. By His Precious Blood, He sealed a new Covenant between Heaven and earth. By His Resurrection He conquered sin and death.

At the Mass, we are present as Christ prays for us to be forgiven. When He is made Really Present at the Consecration, it is as though we have a pathway, in Him, through time and space, to be present to all He has done for us in His earthly life, supremely to the once-for-all Sacrifice of the Cross, on which He suffered to win forgiveness for sinners, including ourselves. By His Precious Blood, He sealed a new Covenant between Heaven and earth. By His Resurrection He conquered sin and death.