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People act wholly against God and His laws when they threaten to kill, or do kill others, to settle a private feud or a family or clan vendetta - or in gang warfare.

The new road being made represents the road never-before trodden by the couple who have now become a married couple joined by God. Yet their road joins up with a great highway which leads to Heaven, and represents God the Father's plan for the human race. It is His will that families move forwards together, each man and woman with their children, living close to other families who also live in peace and goodness, remaining aware of their Heavenly destination.

Just as the Ark, in the story about Noah, provided a safe, warm place of safety not just for animals but for a human family, the Holy Virgin Mary was like an 'ark' for Jesus; she was a sinless, warm place of shelter for the Son of God, holding Him in her womb joyfully, and in her love.

We know that sin is like a chain round the ankle that prevents us from serving God. But a little weakness such as fear of public opinion - or our own family - can be like a 'thread' holding us back from valiant work for God, unless with His help we break it.

Christ and Our Lady are ready to greet everyone who arrives in Church for Mass. Yet they also look beyond the church building, searching for those family members of the 'Communion of Saints' who rarely or never come to take part in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.

A child who has a mother and a father who are married to one another, in a stable marriage, has an admirable start in life. There is 'imprinted' in the child the idea of family life, as God Wills it; and it is therefore easier for the child to appreciate the Will of God for society - and related teachings of the Church.

How can a man 'lose' God after death, by being in Hell, separated from God, when it is God Who holds everyone in existence? It is as if a man were living in a bright, beautiful home, but insisted on building concrete walls of sinfulness around Himself, which he refused to destroy. He would have 'lost' the company of His family and friends, while his suffering would be entirely due to his own actions.

Everyone who really loves Christ can set aside some time for prayer, even if it means having less sleep, or dealing with an unsympathetic family. Catholics who don't pray are usually either faithless, or lukewarm, or idle, or badly-organised - and lacking awareness of the importance of prayer for holiness and salvation.

When I addressed Christ, on His Mother's feast day, as the "Immaculate son of an Immaculate Mother", he said: "She is privileged beyond compare" - He meant, on her being conceived free from original sin. "But I am fortunate to have such a mother". In this way he showed His deep love and affection for Mary.

Even as we pray to Christ, offering our lives in His service and praying for help in our need, we can be certain that He is holding us, and all our concerns, close to His heart. Indeed, He is holding us in existence; and all that concerns us - life, family, work, friends, prayer, struggles, church - is of concern to Him too.

When a new convert acts pleasantly, when he has formerly acted against the Church, it can be difficult for other Catholics not to be suspicious about his sincerity. St. Paul, too, was not immediately accepted. Each Catholic, nevertheless, must treat fellow-Catholics - 'new' or old - as brothers and sisters in the family of God.

A government leader should be like a father, acting towards his people as a good father of a family acts, encouraging mutual understanding, and protecting them, always acting justly, in a spirit of service not pride.

A person who had power or influence over other people and who uses his power to feed his own vanity is not worthy of his position - whether he is governing a country, a company, a movement, a small group or a family.

When a person once 'frozen' in despondency allows Divine love to melt him he begins to see things he had once taken for granted: his health and strength, the clothing and shelter he had taken for granted, and the family and friends he had ignored - and many other gifts from God.

Just as a loving Father, on holiday with his family, helps his disabled child to leave the water after only a short dip, so God the Father looks on lovingly if a sick or disabled person has to 'leave' prayer, through exhaustion; unable to concentrate. He is neither surprised nor offended; He looks on with sympathetic eyes.

Our upbringing affects our marriages. We cannot make ourselves holy by our own efforts, or reach Heaven by will-power. By co-operating with the grace of God, given to us through Jesus Christ His Son, we can conquer our faults, and so even stop the evil influences that we might have had upon other people, especially family members, by our bad example: and on society.

The Mother of the Church, the Blessed Virgin Mary, longs for all the members of the Church family to act towards one another as devoted brothers and sisters, despite differences in aptitudes and activities, and differences of opinion on important matters, and - in some members - disruptive and foolish behaviour.

Jesus told His friends a parable to encourage them to pray and not lose heart. But then He asked, about the future: "When the Son of man comes, will he find faith on earth?" Today, He is asking us: Can He find faith in our homes? Are Catholic families following the teachings of the Church Christ founded, and teaching them to their children?

It is a terrible thing, in Christ's sight, that some parents encourage their children to sin. They do this if they give their daughters contraceptive pills, or allow them to sleep with boyfriends in their house, or fail to teach the truth about Mass attendance, and the Real Presence of Jesus, and other truths of the Faith.

Some Catholic parents encourage their children towards sinful behaviour and estrangement from God by allowing them to use contraceptives and even to bring their sexual partners to sleep in their home with their children. Parents must once day answer to God for what they have done in leading their children away from Heaven.