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Over the course of ten or fifteen minutes, the Lord led my soul on a journey, showing me the people who search but have not yet found the Way to Heaven, the volcano of sin which corrupts the people nearby, the far villages where people have no knowledge of Christ, the castle which represents the Catholic Church - and the little bridge to Heaven, which each of us must find and cross in order to be welcomed into the company of the Saints, forever.

If we follow Christ, and trust in His guidance, we shall have a safe journey. There is no better guide than our Saviour, who loves each of us dearly, and knows all our weaknesses and fears.

Catholics who persist in disbelieving much of what the Church teaches are like men struggling to walk up a mountain, taking care not to fall into narrow gullies, water-logged ditches, or near loose boulders, when they ignore the fellow Catholic who calls out to them, asking them to join him on the safe, narrow path which leads directly to Heaven. Dissenters support one another, but do not move to the safe route.

Some conversions take a long time. Before a lasting conversion, a person needs to go on a 'journey' to the very centre of his soul and mind. By Divine grace, he can discover his own true will. Is his will fixed on achieving pleasure, above all, or power, or physical fitness, or truth or fame? He can discover his own motives, and change them, after providential times of rest and reflection.

It is possible in the world to follow the inspiration of God; yet those who are transformed by Baptism are full of Divine Life of the Blessed Trinity. Only God can see who loves and serves Him and is on the Way to Heaven; but, outside the Church, it is difficult to live as a Saint among sinners if a person is ignorant of what God's Will really is, and does not have the ordinary channels of grace given unfailingly through the Church. All the more reason why we should spread the good news about Christ: the Way, the truth and the life, Who promises Heaven to forgiven sinners.

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.

Priestly celibacy enables a man to move towards Heaven on an uncluttered highway, without distractions. He can be single-minded in Christ's service until his old age, when he can enter Heaven, and be rewarded for all Eternity for his self-giving, and enjoy the bliss of God's love, with all the Saints.

The journey to union with God is only a slow journey, if a person is half-hearted in serving Him and fearful of His demands. The one who surrenders completely to God by obedience to Him in everyday life makes swift progress in prayer, as if travelling in a fast vehicle, not on foot.

A person who is brought back to God's friendship, reconciled through a sacramental Confession, and brought closer through the Mass and Holy Communion, is like a man suddenly brought back to a main road, from a far away desert country, and who now drives straight towards Heaven, as long as he does not deviate from the route.

People on a pilgrimage are a mixed group: sick and able-bodied, luke-warm or fervent souls, people of every ability and background; yet by being on pilgrimage with sincere hearts, as on a journey, all are brought closer to Heaven.

Whoever wants to know about a religion should look at the Founder. Jesus Christ, who founded the Catholic Faith and Catholic Church, came down from Heaven! He proved His claim by rising from the dead, as He had predicted. If we go to His Church we can share His Divine life, and receive forgiveness, light and strength for our journey, and the sure hope of Heaven.

We should persevere on the journey to Heaven, and not be tempted to 'let go of the rope' through deliberate mortal sin

When someone speaks about the entrance into full communion with the Church of Cardinal Newman, he should not describe this merely as a stage in his spiritual journey but as Newman's doing the Will of God, Who invites everyone to enter the Catholic Church. Catholic Clergy must not be held back, by ecumenical friendships, from rejoicing in the Truth.

Even though we can only take one step at a time as we follow Christ's Way, unable to see into the future, we can be certain that Christ is very close to us, encouraging us on our journey of faith, offering us the graces we need to persevere as far as Heaven.

Catholics who make marriage vows or religious vows and live in love, and chastity, are on a straight road towards Heaven. But all who commit unchaste acts or develop unchaste relationships are causing a disaster for themselves and for any others involved, distressing all onlookers. They halt their progress to Heaven as surely as a lorry, crashed into the central barrier, has halted its delivery of goods.

Where there is dissent from Church teaching in a group or community which is meant to promote Church teaching and to support the Church, it is as if the ladder to Heaven which ascends from such a place is partly obscured by the smoke of disbelief, and has broken rungs, which delay the faithful on their journey.

God's chosen people were led by God on a long journey to the Promised Land, through a desert, and not always understanding His wishes - as if deep in a canyon. When they emerged, so to speak, to witness Jesus the Saviour in His life-time, it was as if on a great plain, at a time of testing. Few believed. Others crucified Jesus; but He rose to Heaven, having conquered sin and death.

We pray 'in Christ' because His prayers are always heard. We are wise if we have faith in the power of prayer in Jesus' name. If we trust in Him, and in the merits of His Sacred Passion - and in the goodness of God our Father - we pray with confidence, certain that our prayers and intercession will reach Heaven. It is as if Jesus Christ is like Jacob's ladder: our 'Ladder' by which we can climb towards Heaven in prayer, even if we ourselves cannot yet enter.

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.

The journey to Heaven is, for most people, a slow and arduous climb. Christ wants each of us to believe in His love, to persevere in faith, hope, love and humility, and to avoid pride and vainglory. People who want to be Saints think more about God's goodness that about their own gifts, talents, plans and ambitions.