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Really to love God is to prefer His Will to our ambitions. The Lord is glad to see a non-Catholic Christian come into full Communion with the Catholic Church. Yet from that 'spot' on the road there is a lengthy journey to be made, towards Heaven, and much to learn. Growth in faith, hope and love should be achieved, by God's grace, through prayer, spiritual reading, self-mastery, and acts of kindness, in humility, patience and trust.

God's entire nature is Love. He is never unloving. The Father wants us to entrust ourselves to His care as confidently as a tiny child who entrusts himself to the care of his good mother. He knows of our sufferings and problems; yet He can bring good out of evil, make the weak strong, and make us joyful, ready for the joy of Heaven.

We are all horrified to think of victims of an avalanche, many still trapped beneath tons of rocks and snow, in their vehicles. Those who died have had a dreadful end; yet no suffering is as great as that experienced by people who die alienated from God, and unrepentant. In life, they were being damaged by sin as their intellects and consciences were darkened. Without repentance, sinners risk the loss of God after death, forever: a state called Hell.

We can picture Heaven as being like another country. Wise people who want to enter a new country have some humility, and are willing to allow their documents to be examined, to see if they are in order. We are foolish if we expect to drift into Heaven if we have made no preparations for our new way of life, have no humility, and rely only on God's kindness towards us, while forgetting His blazing holiness, that only the holy can understand!

People who want to enter a foreign country are foolish if they routinely make fun of its ruler, mock its laws, and make few preparations, whilst blithely expecting to enter, and find a warm welcome, when they feel like entering there. Heaven is reserved for those who are true friends of the King. Having enjoyed His friendship, those friends continue it in Heaven, unlike those who made no preparations.

Obstinate souls require firm 'treatment'. A soul that is well-cared for, in the sense of being pleasing to God because of its purity, humility and love, is like a beautiful lawn that is pleasant to walk upon; but a soul that neglects its spiritual health is like a place of dry grass broken up by patches of mud. It needs to be well-dug before new seed can be sown; and that 'digging' might take the form of an apparent catastrophe in ordinary life.

If we are concerned about our salvation - or especially if we are not yet concerned - there is a question we should ask ourselves, as we are tempted to give first place in life to our own ambitions and our own opinions. We should ask ourselves: 'Am I pleasing God by the way I live my life today?' If I am not doing so, am I willing to change?

Each of us needs to remember that we shall one day die. Shall we go to the grave in the love of God, confident that He will rescue us, and bring us up to Heaven, or shall we die when we have, at some stage of life earlier, cut ourselves off from Him? By our decisions and our behaviour today, each of us is making our way towards Heaven or towards Hell.

It is true, that Christ wants us to be His friends and companions; yet He remains our God and King. And when we make a good preparation for our Holy Communions, we delight Him, just as a Sovereign is delighted when some of her people in ordinary homes make special preparations to honour her when she asks if she might pay a visit.

Are we ready for Heaven, if God calls us now? We are wise if we sometimes think about the moment of our death. When we arrive before the Father's throne, and hear His loving voice, will He be leaning forward, asking, 'Is there anything you've forgotten, my child?' He will mean: Is there unconfessed sin that we regret, or good deeds left undone?

Life is sometimes like a building-site, or derelict area: one where the ground has been cleared from sin by confession and penance. Any priest who has been out of active ministry and is about to return has some preparation to do just as any priest who has had severe spiritual problems has work of another sort to do: perhaps a work of reparation: hence the stony ground pictured here, and the willingness of this priest to set to work.