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It can seem as though our life's arrangements and relationships are destroyed in a moment, like a bombed out city from which we flee. But sometimes our crises have been permitted by God so that we can flee all that was worldly and sinful. Then we are freed to 'build' a new life of holiness and peace.

Some Catholics believe that Purgatory is no more than a peaceful ante-room before Heaven. There are deep caverns of Purgatory, however, where those who led sinful lives but were saved at the last moment by the Last Sacraments are permitted by our merciful God to do the penance they failed to do on earth. They enter Heaven, later on, in humility and gratitude.

The Church is like a city with St. Peter's basilica at the centre. There are demons outside the city, attacking people, as they cry out for mercy. Yet there are angels guarding the city and its inhabitants. The Church is guaranteed God's help and protection, through the power of the sacraments, the wise guidance of the Angels, the frequent blessing by the Clergy, and the prayers of the Baptised.

It is a charitable act - a work of mercy - to attend a Requiem Mass where the sole connection with the deceased and the relations is the communion that is shared in and through Christ. The mourners are comforted by additional prayers, the dead have the Mass offered for the repose of their souls, and the clergy benefit, and God is given glory by our kindness.

Satan is tireless in his efforts to corrupt and endanger God's friends. There is a holy Way on which we can walk: a way of light and peace, on which we can walk in the knowledge and love of God, confident that by His grace and mercy we are making our way towards Heaven. Yet we must be vigilant until the moment of death, determined not to allow Satan's tricks, or our own weaknesses and sinful instincts, to draw us off that road.

There are far-away countries where some communities are so isolated that some people in power permit horrible injustices against the powerless, who become deprived of all hope. Cruel people who do not repent will find themselves isolated after death, themselves at the mercy of creatures stronger than they: the demons in Hell.

There is a horrible surprise in store for a person who has deserted Christ and the Church, and who arrives at the moment of death, then finds himself helpless between the Evil One who had been leading him astray, and the pit into which he might soon fall, to remain there forever. But Christ appears, with a merciful face, to ask: 'Is that really your wish: to go to Hell? If you reach up your arms to me, I will save you.' He must choose well, and reach up in humility, if he wishes to reach Heaven one day.

Until we are safely in Heaven, by God's grace and mercy, we must remain vigilant. Our enemy, the devil, prowls around like a hungry lion, seeking someone to devour, which means, he wants to draw us into Hell. We must pray and strive to avoid all evil, and to do only good, in union with Christ.