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The smoke from volcanoes can endanger aircraft. People are understandably sad and upset when their earthly plans are foiled by upheavals in the natural world, yet those are comparatively minor tragedies when compared with the loss of God, which occurs when a person dies without having repented of serious sin; and the great cloud of smoke that rises from Hell obscures from them, forever, the sight of God in His glory and beauty.

All over the world, people pray prayers, sending them up towards God the Father Who hears everything. But when there are prayers that rise up in the Name of Jesus by people faithful to Jesus, it's as if Jesus Himself is rising up to intercede with the Father, Who cannot fail to hear and answer such prayers; hence our confidence, if we live in a state of grace.

Some of the moulds that are grown by scientists are life-giving; but others are deadly, and should be isolated. A sort of 'deadly life' grown in the world is the life of a priest who abuses children in his care. That priest should be isolated, not allowed to conduct wicked assaults again.

Through the goodness of God the Father and the merits of His Son, our Lord, we can help the Holy Souls by our prayers, including those who usually have no-one to pray for them. We can help them towards Heaven, where they are greeted, and welcomed into glory, to join the Saints at God's Heart. It was with a similar welcome that Christ greeted the Saintly Souls, such as prophets and patriarchs, in the underworld, after His death and before His Resurrection; and He told them that their long wait was nearly over.

The state of the Universal Church resembles the scene at our local Catholic church. There is a huge pit, where the floor of the church used to be. But this is only an apparent disaster. Just as local parishioners will find that an undercroft has been built, and a new floor constructed, so that church life can become even more joyful and welcoming, so the world-wide Church is going to experience joys and renewal after times of apparent chaos and disaster. This is Christ's promise.

Christ was introduced to the world, even as a child, because He is King: the Divine child Who would sacrifice His life for sinners, and then conquer sin and death by rising from the grave. The Early Church spent many years preaching about Him, and defining His two natures, and His Mission. Only much later were definitions made about His mother's Immaculate Conception, and her Assumption. Yet the time is ripe for confirmation, in a formal declaration, of two other titles: Co-Redemptrix, and Mediatrix of all Graces.

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'.

Our Lady is deeply involved in our spiritual and earthly lives. The Immaculate Virgin Mary sacrificed her life, to bring Christ into the world. She was the means or portal by which Jesus came to us; so, today, spiritually, He comes to us through Mary, with all the graces we need for salvation. This is why we call her, 'Mediatrix of all Graces', as well as giving her the title of 'Co-Redemptrix' for her sufferings beneath the Cross of her Son.

There are millions of people in the world who have been deprived of knowledge, or opportunities for advancement, or freedom of various sorts, or the Gospel, living in poverty, or under atheistic governments, for example. Yet the internet is bringing a huge amount of knowledge to these millions, in an extraordinary manner. Though there are evil influences on the web, the Gospel is being told through it - and it is powerfully told, for example, through the pictures and teachings of 'Radiant Light'.

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.

The view from Heaven: Christ, looking down at the world, sees his priests as 'other Christs', each a visible 'embodied' Christ in a particular place on earth, each chosen and made ready to sanctify the Faithful and to teach those who do not yet know Him, each one visible, truth-speaking, kind, prayerful, and trusting in the Father's plans and the Spirit's power.