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It is the Holy Spirit Who inspires us to pray for the Holy Souls in Purgatory; and He wants us to know that they are not only helped by our prayers, towards heaven, but also consoled, in the knowledge that they are not forgotten by the Church.

Our Blessed Lady and Saint John were with Christ in His Passion not only to comfort Him by their presence. It was part of the Father's plan that they should be witnesses to Christ's last hours in order to share with all who love Him the last words He uttered, and the complete 'picture' of His dying and death.

It is said that Catholics in a discussion group must not dispute what is said in the course of the meeting. This is only a man-made rule. It is God's Will that if we hear someone lead others astray by false or distorted versions of the Faith, or by outright denial of truth, we speak to defend the Faith, and to aid confused souls.

The Catholic Faith is something simple enough for a child to understand, even though it also fascinates and satisfies the most profound souls and the greatest intellects. A child can grasp the truth about a loving, Divine Saviour, Whose family, the Church, hands on the truth about how to do good and prepare for Heaven.

Christ is Really Present in our church. He delights in our visits. When I was on retreat at Douai Abbey, Christ spoke to me, on Good Friday, about His delight that I had kept Him company in His Passion. He was even more pleased that I had offered my whole adult life to Him, for the doing of His Will; and so He gave me reassurance and comfort.

There are three groups that endanger their salvation by not benefiting from the 'Bread of Life' which is Jesus our Eucharistic Lord: those who refuse to believe in Him or to join the Church, those other Christians who insist on believing that their Orders are valid, but who receive only bread, and those Catholics whose Communions are ineffective because of the refusal of those Communicants to believe in what Christ teaches them through His Church.

When someone we care for seems to be 'lost' in sinful behaviour, or alienation from the Church, it's as though he seems to be drowning: but Christ is there with a net, acting to rescue him, if he will allow it. As long as a person is alive, there is hope that he will repent and be saved.

To be beset by spiritual assaults in prayer or 'outside' it is like being in a war-zone, amidst sniper-fire, in a street littered with broken glass. We can retreat to a side-street for a few moments; but if we want to win the war we must be courageous, and trust God, and continue with our prayer and our work.

A person who refuses to believe in God, when there is so much evidence for His existence, is like the child who does not want to hear what her mother has to say about normal behaviour, and who hides beneath the blankets to keep out the sound of her voice.

The Lord asks us all to speak the simple truth to evangelisers of various sects, and to be kind, yet, in charity, to tell them that their beliefs are mistaken. Real charity is to want them to see the truth about Christ and the Catholic Church, not to pay false compliments about false religions. Plainly, we should be well-informed about our Catholic Faith, before we take part in discussions.

During our life on earth, if we lift up our hands to God, He will draw us upwards towards holiness, through the grace of Christ and our trust. He will even draw us up as far as Heaven, when we die. If we refuse to trust in Him, however, or refuse to believe in Him, we shall slide into the pit, at death, by our own choice, with no-one to blame but ourselves.

Through the free gift of Divine grace, all that Christ out God did for us in His earthly life has been given to the Church to dispense. It all stemmed from His being made flesh in the womb of the Virgin Mary. As man, He preached the truth, suffered and died for our sins, rose up from the tomb, and by rising up to Heaven made a Way in which we can follow, by our union with Him in our Baptism: a union made stronger by prayer, sacraments, and good works.

The Father is like a great king, in Heaven; and whenever we pray to the Father in the name of Jesus Christ at our side, delivering our requests, it is as though the Father is so full of love for His Son that - as He declares to the Saints, Who surround the Father in Heaven - I can refuse nothing to my Son Jesus, nor can I refuse anything He asks for His friends.

The life of grace is like a journey up a mountain, round hairpin bends. Drivers need to know the highway code, and refrain from drink; so we must know about God's Will, and by prayer and other means be able to do it. In the life of grace, however - unlike mountain driving, where there are foolish drivers who might kill us - no-one loses his own soul and goes to Hell except through his own fault.

The Church is like a house, where the faithful are happy. Only if people leave the 'cellars' of sinful behaviour are they free to follow Christ to Heaven when He calls them, at the end of earthly life. His is the only Way. To refuse His invitation is to be lost forever, unable to ascend to where the Saints live, in Eternal Bliss.

A sick person should not feel obliged to accept very painful treatments which she is not convinced will cure her. But she is right to expect humane care, which every human being deserves, receiving food and nourishment, and also pain relief if available.

If we wish we could give to a beloved relation all the wisdom and goodness that we have received from God in a life-time, the best means is by encouraging them to receive Christ with devotion in Holy Communion. In Christ is His Divinity, wisdom, power, beauty, and goodness: more than enough to fill our hearts, if we open our hearts fully to receive Him.

Every day is a new day, in the life of a Christian, no matter how mundane or routine was the previous day. Each day stretches ahead like an area of countryside to be traversed - with no knowing what might happen. God can intervene in our quiet lives through people: through phone calls received, sermons heard, or through insights and requests offered by the Lord in prayer.

The Church teaches the truth, in every age of our history, yet each of the mystics experiences it - for example, St Paul, St Teresa of Avila, St Thomas Aquinas. It is the Christian mystic who prays with trust, reverence and humility, who knows God better than anyone, through union with Christ in prayer. The mystics have produced the most lyrical and intellectually-coherent accounts of what they have learned of God - which knowledge echoes and confirms the truths taught by the Church, and illumines them.

Christ showed me that the person who knows God best is the Christian mystic. She who has been drawn up to the heights of mystical union, in prayer, after her trial and purification, comes to know the Father and Christ, and the Holy Spirit; and she is able to inspire and encourage others to follow Christ's way of love and humility.