Search Page

For peace of soul, the best means is to repent of all sin and to go to Confession. The Catholic Church offers this sacrament all over the world; furthermore, in order to reach Heaven it is necessary to be reconciled with God.

Those who refuse to obey God and refuse to repent of their sins, and persist in rebellion until death, fall into Hell when they die; and although the smoke still rises up from Hell, we need to remember that Christ has already won the great war between good and evil, and the evil one has been thrown into the depths.

Just as people fleeing from a war-zone might rush to another area that only someone high above can see is also under bombardment, so people who sin and turn away from the self-discipline and sacrifice necessary for followers of Christ can find themselves on a new road, which does not lead to peace, but to even worse turmoil - in Hell, if they do not repent before they die.

The whole Church of earth, Heaven and Purgatory is one at Mass. The Saints look on as they see Calvary re-presented in our sanctuary, during the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. Saints and Angels are awe-struck at the love of Christ for human beings in need of rescue, that brought Him to endure torment and death, to conquer sin and death.

From the beginning, Christian life has been lived out using symbols and signs. What signs are there, in some modern churches, which have filthy entrances, and modernistic crucifixes, a hidden Blessed Sacrament, and no statue of Our Lady - in an area where people chat and cheer as if at a football rally. St. Pius X would be horrified by one church dedicated to his memory.

It is a sad thing for the faithful, the Lord explained, when a church is built which has few indications that it is a House of prayer, and where there are few of the signs and symbols which have marked our Catholic devotions, buildings and practices since the early days of Church life; and in a place that looks like a grubby stadium people behave as if in a stadium, instead of with reverent silence before Christ our God.

Plain churches, without images, encourage ordinary behaviour. Some of the Saints, to whom our churches are dedicated, would weep, if they could hear that noisiness, and see the disrespect shown by many Catholics in church. A wise priest in such circumstances puts out a notice, as a reminder.

The attraction of sin often masks the danger further ahead. It's as if Satan prepares a trap for us: like a bright entrance to a tunnel, promising great pleasures - though a careless person will find himself on a sloping path with no handholds. It leads straight to Hell.

Satan is a liar. Satan clearly disguises temptations, so that sinful behaviour is made to seem attractive and safe, when in reality it is like following a pathway which leads to doom: a path through an attractive entrance, but which soon slopes downwards, to Hell.

If we could see into a tunnel where a train has crashed we would see helpless people, in darkness, in desperate need of outside help; and so it is with people trapped in mortal sin. They are in desperate need of the Divine grace that can bring them to repentance, with new life, hope and joy and forgiveness. They desperately need the prayers of the faithful, to help them.

In different parts of the world are Christians claiming to have Heavenly visions. All might seen sincere; some of these people might be trapped by their own lies, or some by the deceptions of Satan, or some be truly in touch with Christ. Obedience is the key in this; obedience to those in authority in the Church is a sign of love for God, and trust in Him and His Will.

A man can be living in the light, on his way to Heaven, yet the circumstances of a person's childhood can bring about patterns of behaviour which can be hard to eradicate, even after a sincere conversion, and membership of the Church. Even people of goodwill often continue to speak with sarcasm, or brutal honesty, or self-pitying or attention-seeking phrases learned as children.

Wherever Catholics live out their faith with goodness and conviction, they have an effect upon their culture, as Catholics have since the earliest times. The Bishops hand on the truth from Jesus Christ, people are forgiven and transformed, freed from superstition, men and women are equal in marriage, the sick are cherished and not rejected, prisoners receive justice, little girls are educated, children are valued, even the unborn, the arts flourish - art, architecture, music and scholarship - and the Saints set an unparalleled example of goodness, in all sorts of ways.

We are wise to pray: "O Sacred Heart of Jesus, Have mercy on us". Christ holds in His heart and love and affections the entire world, and every person on it. No-one can escape from His concern, even though some people insist on ignoring, rejecting or opposing Christ - and, from love, He respects their freedom to walk away.

God invites us to kneel in adoration. The Pope is right to encourage us to offer reverent praise to God the Father, Who is Creator of the whole Universe, greater than the Universe, and awesome in His attributes, and in the beauty of His loving nature. We owe the same praise to Christ His Son, Who is Present in every Catholic Church, and yet often receives praise that is banal, vain, irreverent, frivolous or mundane.

The Lord sees irreverent Catholics, and He asks, Who are those people who refuse to bend the knee, and kneel before Him in prayer? Who are they, who fail to adore Christ, Really Present in the Holy Eucharist? Who are they, who offer praise which is banal, or careless, or frivolous or vain, to their God and Creator?

When a priest has repented of a terrible sin of child abuse and has been forgiven, he might try to lead a good life; but if he is half-hearted in his efforts to make amends, he will find himself, when he dies, deep in Purgatory, far down, as if through a lengthy corridor into the bowels of the earth, undergoing a thorough preparation for Heaven.

If Christ were to walk through our towns, discerning the attitudes of the Catholics gathered within Catholic churches, He would see people at Mass for all sorts of reasons, and mixed motives - but He would be thrilled by the small number who are present because they love Him, long to be closer to Him, and strive to do His Will.

Members of the Clergy who cause confusion amongst Catholics are like leaders who take a crowd of walkers across boggy ground. The walkers sink into the marsh, and are horrified, not made joyful. Preachers fail the flock when they declare: 'We should share our doubts' or - about the Faith - 'There are no clear answers'.

When we speak up bravely, when appropriate, about sin, and when we offer up our pains and tribulations in union with Jesus, to help others in their trials, and to save souls, we do indeed help them, by the grace of God. It's as if, as we have helped people to avoid sin, we have helped them to avoid a great pit at the centre of their ordinary life, which represents the alienation from God that sinners risk, by their own actions.