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We cannot see God, but we see signs of His action wherever we see acts of true charity. Love involves sacrifice, however. It should not be confused with sentimentality - or with merely human affection which can be blown away like a scrap of paper in a breeze, if hardships occur. Real love comes from God. His love, in our hearts, can help us to bear the sufferings that life can bring.

If we are serious about wanting to avoid serious sin, we should act firmly, to avoid occasions of sin. Just as a sailor makes sure he keeps away from the currents that could draw him towards a whirlpool, where he would be sucked down and lost, so people attracted to evil images should avoid television and the internet, or be very careful, if they long to watch pornography, or love to watch violent films. Are we drawn towards Heaven or Hell by all we allow to influence us?

There is something sad about the problem of scruples. Isn't it strange that a person can see it as odd, to go to a Doctor for a proven remedy, but then to believe that she, the patient, will be the only person whom it will not help, but cannot see that it is equally odd to confess to a priest, sincerely, believing in the power of the Sacrament, but then believing that she, the penitent, is the only person who remains unforgiven, and probably estranged from God! This is to have a serious spiritual ailment, and lack of trust in Divine Love.

Christ delights in the welcome He receives in Holy Communion from those who offer Him love, reverence and gratitude, and who turn to Him, Who is Really Present, to adore Him and confide in Him. How different is that sort of approach, from that of thoughtless Catholics whose minds are preoccupied with thoughts about nearby friends, or after-Mass activities.

Christ is thrilled whenever we turn to Him with thanks and praise, showing our delight in His care for us. He sees millions of people, sad to say, who sit in pubs and hostelries, bored and unhappy, not knowing the purpose of life; and, without the help that our prayers or witness can bring, millions might die whilst never having offered a word of praise to God for His love, nor a word of gratitude for His gifts.

The Blessed Virgin sacrificed her life, to give the world its Saviour. The Church has issued formal declarations in modern times of what she has long believed about Our Blessed Lady: about her purity (The Immaculate Conception) and her triumph (Her Assumption, body and soul, into Heaven); yet Christ wants to see honour paid to her courage and love, through a formal definition of her titles, proclaiming her, 'Co-Redemptrix', and, 'Mediatrix of all Graces'.

No-one in the Church should deny the importance of Missionary work. Those who revere Truth and love their fellow humans love to share the Truth about God's Love, made plain in Jesus Christ, our Saviour. There is a place for Dialogue with people of other religions; but if people called to evangelise are content to talk each time, without sharing the Faith, they have forgotten God's plan for their lives. They are foolish if they remain deaf to the Holy Spirit.

God knows our nature: our desire for inspiration, and great goals. If children hear a watered-down version of the Faith, some feel only as if Jesus is yet another good man who wants them to do good. They are not awe-struck, or inspired. It is different when they hear the truth about God's descent to earth, to sacrifice his life for us: for each of us! How wonderful, to have a hero! Someone like us, but Divine, Who loves us!

We are not expected to be imprudent or foolish; yet Christ delights in seeing people treat one another with respect, with displays of sincere kindness towards everyone, whether employers or employees, older people or young, in imitation of Christ, Who loves everyone.

By our intercessions we grow in holiness and help the Church; however, we must not become despondent if we seem to see no results from our prayers for those in spiritual need: people who do not love God or who have chosen one of a thousand ways in which to dismiss God from their lives, or to ignore His Son, Jesus Christ, or to leave the one true Church. Everyone has free will. And those who refuse to repent before they die will fall into a pit, as if through the floor of a rotten building which they chose to inhabit and refused to repair.

It is true that we are sometimes exhausted by our prayers and intercessions, as we grieve over the great evils in the world - such as abortion - as well as doing penance for our own sins, and for others; and it seems as if we always have another hill to climb, on the Holy Mountain; yet God treasures all our efforts, and delights in our love. Our efforts are all worthwhile.

We need to remember the Commandments: above all, about loving God, but also about loving our neighbour. Some people imagine it is no great wrong, to steal private property, but it can be as bad as physically assaulting the innocent, since it causes emotional damage and leaves people very afraid, even for years. Every thief should think about his likelihood of being saved.

Even in a vast area of the country, Christ sees that it is difficult to find ten just persons who love Him wholeheartedly, believe in all that He teaches through His Church, and persevere in prayer, and acts of charity. Many Catholics pray when it suits them, attend Mass infrequently, design their own moral code, and yet hope to drift into Heaven when they die. They trust in His love for them, but show little love for Him.

There are many places of pilgrimage which attract us, whether the sites of martyrdom of Christian heroes and heroins, or the shrines constructed over places connected with Our Lord, Our Lady or the Saints. The one great Destination where we should all yearn to arrive at is Heaven, which all who enter enjoy the love of God and the Saints, forever!

Christ wants us all to follow His Way to Heaven, in chastity. There are young people everywhere who deserve to hear the truth about life: that they were created by the one only God, Who loves each of them deeply, and wants to make them happy and holy. They will not become happy through drunkenness and sexual licence, but through hearing the truth, repenting, and becoming selfless and holy, by the grace of Christ.

Jesus Christ is Divine. He is God-made-man, whereas His mother is only human - though very pure and holy. Christ did not simply use the Virgin Mary as a conduit for His arrival on earth. Her life is inextricably entwined with His, and will be so forever, as she intercedes for the Church, at His side in Heaven. It was by Divine grace that she was conceived Immaculate, worthy to be the mother of the Infant Jesus. She taught Him in His boyhood, then saw Him teach others, in His adult life. She suffered with Him, as He endured the Cross; and after His Resurrection and Ascension she guided the disciples. She was with them at Pentecost. But when her work on earth was done she was assumed, body and soul, to Heaven, to be with her beloved son forever, interceding for us who need their prayers.

I saw a woman hurled into Heaven at top speed, as if from a cannon; so great was her charity at death. She had thrown away her own life to save people in danger. That fire of charity in her heart - she was not baptised - carried her swiftly to the heart of God.

This man had entombed himself within the sins of which he refused to repent. When he died, the sins in which he had blanketed himself burst into flame, enclosing him in fire, cutting him off from the love of God which, time and time again, he had rejected.

Christ loves to be welcomed when He comes amongst us at the Consecration. He is overjoyed when we welcome the children to whom He has given the gift of life, and to whom we should give not just nourishment but also loving care.