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When we expand our prayers for people on Earth, and pray for people now in Purgatory, we can look upon the Holy Souls as blessed souls; for despite the sufferings of their purification they are glad to have avoided Hell - which has engulfed so many careless sinners.

This is what Christ sees all the time, from Heaven above: people walking steadily towards Hell, people who have refused to listen to Him, refused to give up all their sins - particularly grave sexual sins which they could abandon, by His grace, if they were willing.

Just as we want to tell people the reason for the traffic queue in which they are stuck, as we drive freely on our side of the road, so we should want to tell people about the Way to Heaven - Christ's Way - to people who feel 'stuck' in ignorance or hopelessness, and are without the joy that the hope of Heaven brings to the human heart.

Christ can only raise to spiritual heights people who approach Him in humility, aware of their sinfulness and need. Then He can raise them up to understand earthly things, and raise them higher in contemplation to understand Heavenly things

When we pray in the name of Christ for the poor or the needy, our prayers reach Heaven as swiftly as when shopkeepers once sent money speeding in a metal capsule from one department to the next - so great is God's concern for them. As scripture says: "The Lord hears the cry of the poor".

The whole Church of earth, Heaven and Purgatory is one at Mass. The Saints look on as they see Calvary re-presented in our sanctuary, during the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. Saints and Angels are awe-struck at the love of Christ for human beings in need of rescue, that brought Him to endure torment and death, to conquer sin and death.

When a person is torn between serving God as any Catholic ought, and succumbing to wrong-doing, he will be fortunate if he hears a friend say to him: "God will give you real joy, and real peace-of-soul, when you stop trying to seize the pleasures of human life, and decide to aim for the joys of heaven."

In different parts of the world are Christians claiming to have Heavenly visions. All might seen sincere; some of these people might be trapped by their own lies, or some by the deceptions of Satan, or some be truly in touch with Christ. Obedience is the key in this; obedience to those in authority in the Church is a sign of love for God, and trust in Him and His Will.

To be near the tabernacle, where Jesus Christ is substantially Present, hidden under the appearance of bread, is to be close to Christ's Divine Life and power. It is as if a fire burns, at the tabernacle, just as in the heart of the bush, as Moses looked on, long ago, when the Lord told him that where he stood was 'holy ground'.

There is not one person in a whole town or country who will escape judgement. God is kind and merciful; but everyone, at death, will have to account for his or her behaviour during earthly life, and proceed towards Heaven or, by their own choices - towards Hell. Everyone will be judged: Housewives, doctors, engineers, cleaners, politicians, models, schoolboys... no-one can opt out.

Wherever Catholics live out their faith with goodness and conviction, they have an effect upon their culture, as Catholics have since the earliest times. The Bishops hand on the truth from Jesus Christ, people are forgiven and transformed, freed from superstition, men and women are equal in marriage, the sick are cherished and not rejected, prisoners receive justice, little girls are educated, children are valued, even the unborn, the arts flourish - art, architecture, music and scholarship - and the Saints set an unparalleled example of goodness, in all sorts of ways.

The Catholic Faith is simple. Through Christ, our Saviour, we can change. Every person on earth has decisions to make about his or her behaviour. Every decision forms part of a life in the service of God, or life in the pursuit of selfish endeavours, to the exclusion of God. Everyone will be judged, at death, on earthly behaviour - whether a housewife or doctor, cleaning lady, victim of crime, or criminal. Each finally reaches Heaven or Hell.

We are wise to pray: "O Sacred Heart of Jesus, Have mercy on us". Christ holds in His heart and love and affections the entire world, and every person on it. No-one can escape from His concern, even though some people insist on ignoring, rejecting or opposing Christ - and, from love, He respects their freedom to walk away.

Christ understands all our griefs and sorrows. When Christ prayed to His Father in Gethsemane, He was thinking not only of the horrors which lay ahead, but also about the wonderful joys of earthly life that He would soon be leaving behind. He was joyful about going home to Heaven, but His heart ached at the thought of leaving earthly friendships and earthly beauty.

When a priest has repented of a terrible sin of child abuse and has been forgiven, he might try to lead a good life; but if he is half-hearted in his efforts to make amends, he will find himself, when he dies, deep in Purgatory, far down, as if through a lengthy corridor into the bowels of the earth, undergoing a thorough preparation for Heaven.

Whenever a person speaks courageously about Christ and the Catholic Faith, whether or not they are welcomed, and is prepared to be ostracised or persecuted, that person is brought even closer to the Father's heart, wrapped in His Love.

Those who really love God, and who are 'children of God', and who remain faithful until death, can expect a warm greeting from God when they die, even if some purification is still necessary. If a grandmother on earth reacts with delight as her little grandson reaches out in love to embrace her, does not God our Father greet with delight each of the 'children of God' - brothers and sisters of Christ - Whom He had invited to come home to Heaven and who have accepted?

There are two thoughts that can comfort those who grow weary of the long 'climb' towards sanctity and salvation; first, Heaven, and a wonderful welcome, awaits all who persevere; furthermore, nothing can break the 'rope' we climb. It is Jesus, true God, Who made the Way - the rope - by coming to earth and returning to Heaven. Our part is to keep climbing and not to let go.

A member of the Clergy - or anyone else - who shares his doubts about articles of faith, or invites others to disregard the Church's moral teachings, is like a man who invites someone to bathe in a shark-infested sea. To lead someone into sin is like delivering a person to the demons.

Although God holds everyone in existence, a person in earthly life who refuses to believe in God, or refuses to give up his sins, is by his own free will cut off from the influence and joy of God's love. It is as if he or she sits in darkness in a large box, whilst the graces of God pour around, outside it. People in a state of grace are bathed in that grace.