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Christ has a path for each of us to follow. Whether we are Clergy or laity, married or single, busy in prominent tasks or 'hidden away' in obscure jobs or illness, we glorify Him if we follow the way He reveals to us. One step at a time, we can walk in obedience and trust.

It is true that the Lord sometimes sends special 'messengers' from amongst the laity to give praise or warnings from God, to priests and Bishops; the Lord also sends a 'special messenger' to the Bishops when He gives them a Pope of the quality of Benedict XVI, who is well-known for his orthodoxy and for his kindness to individuals.

Many Catholics today who do not believe in all of the teachings of the Church paint a false picture of the era before the last Council. They say the laity did nothing but 'pray, pay and obey'. They overlook their heroic faith, love and obedience.

Many Catholics today, who do not believe in all the teachings of the Church, paint a caricature of the era before the Last Council. They say that the laity did nothing but 'pay, pray and obey', but seem unaware of how much Christ admires people who lead prayerful, humble and obedient lives, in any age.

Many Catholics today, who do not believe in all the teachings of the Church, paint a caricature of the era before the Last Council. They say that the laity did nothing but 'pay, pray and obey', but seem unaware of how much Christ admires people who lead prayerful, humble and obedient lives, in any age.

Some people chat loudly in church about worldly matters, as other people try to pray. It is necessary to speak gently about this. If priests will not ask for reverent behaviour in church, then brave members of the laity must speak about it - all for the honour of Christ, Who is Really Present.

However many 'models' of Church are put forward today, the Church has been founded by Christ as a hierarchy. The Pope has supreme power and authority, after Christ, in the Church, and guides us with the other Catholic Bishops. They are assisted by the men they have ordained as priests, and by the Deacons in Holy Orders. Then we see the laity, living out their union with Christ in the world.

We are engaged in spiritual warfare. When a general in the army chooses a soldier for a special mission he does not choose the tallest man, or the most handsome, but the one most likely to persevere through every difficulty; and Christ, in choosing a person for specially-needed tasks in different times, might choose not a theologian or a public-speaker, but a lay-person with experience in fighting a determined enemy.

It is unwise for Catholic Clergy to suggest 'pulpit exchanges' with other Christian leaders. When Catholic lay-persons, quite rightly, are not allowed to preach during the Sacred Liturgy, it is hardly fitting for a Protestant to do so, who is not in full Communion with the Church and does not share all of her teachings - nor does he have valid orders.

Whether we are lay-persons, or Clergy - even Cardinals - every committed Christian should examine his or her conscience, to see whether, in a time of indifferentism, each is leading people to surrender to Christ: not to a Christ of the imagination, but to the only Christ, the One guiding His Church, sharing His life in her sacraments and wanting us all to obey and love Him.

Bishops or priests who have been ordained to teach the truth about Christ, about sin and virtue, and Heaven and Hell, but who refuse to believe and to teach some of the important truths of the Church about morals, are like men who break some of the rungs on the one ladder which their people must climb, to reach Heaven. By such Clergy silence, the faithful are confused, or even encouraged to continue in their sins. Those Clergy members and lay-persons risk losing Heaven, and falling into Hell.

Whether we are single or married, called to the lay state, or single and called to Priesthood or the Religious Life, we are invited by God to have firm faith in His power to help us. It's as if He has arms full of gifts such as courage, hope, greater faith, and love and humility. If we ask for them, He will lavish them upon us, so that we can be good and obedient like Christ.

This is what happens when the Faith is not preached in its fullness. A Bishop who has not preached about sin and repentance, Heaven and Hell, but more about self-esteem and trivial matters, will find himself in a Church which appears to be in decline, with fewer priests, fewer devotions, a faithless laity, few signs of hope, and bored school-children. The great drama of salvation, and the Real Presence of Jesus, should be preached with fervour.

Some of the Clergy have become dispirited by the state of the Catholic Church, which is damaged by dissent, rebellion, disobedient laity, and some Bishops too timid to teach the Faith in its fullness. The great temptation is to walk away, to enjoy the world's pleasures. But Christ asks them to turn to Him, for the power to bring about renewal.

Satan is not a figment of our imagination, but a malevolent creature who emerges from the Abyss to cause priests as well as lay persons to commit some small act of rebellion. Then he leads them on to greater betrayals of Christ and His Church, as when priests contradict the truth about sexual morality, or confirm people in their sins rather than inviting them to repent of sin.

In times when even Bishops and priests become despondent about declining Church attendance, and opposition from outside, some desperately seek strategies for renewal. Though sensible plans can be made, the best way forward is to encourage everyone to be holy and faithful, in every circumstance. Simple members of the laity often practice this whilst leaders forget that the Church has always grown in one place, and declined in another, but cannot be destroyed.

Christ saw with dismay that many Catholics, after the last Council, were not content to be lowly, in church. Even at a time when these were forbidden, some insisted on presenting girls as altar-servers, or receiving Communion in the hand. Others wanted to preach the homily, or to introduce unauthorised dramas or prayers, or even dance troupes during the Mass, and some refused to kneel at the Consecration, and in other ways showed not education but pride.

Real charity, in practice, includes speaking the truth. A member of the Clergy who panders to the desires of the laity not to hear about sin, and who fails to do his duty of issuing warnings, as Christ did, will be held responsible for when people do sin, just as people are held responsible for road-crashes when they have failed to put out signs about road-works, or major junctions.

There are occasions when inter-religious co-operation is wise. It is not wise for Catholic Bishops to take part in inter-religious events that would confuse the Faithful; but when all persons who honour God find themselves in opposition to a series of Godless leaders in Europe, for example, who impose Godless programmes and even immoral plans, for citizens and even children, religious leaders should unite to speak about shared values. When people are in danger, it does not matter whose hands you hold, to remain upright.

It is a cause for joy that there are greater signs of goodwill amongst leaders of various religions than in earlier centuries; yet when our Bishops know that Christ is the only Saviour, and that no other religion, in itself, is salvific, (though individuals may be saved, in them, for special reasons), it is unwise to confuse the Faithful by programmes and meetings that give the impression that it doesn't matter what religion we practice and that each is but another route to Heaven.