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When we feel nearly overcome by the troubles of the world, or temptations from Satan, we can turn to Our Lady, Who loves to help us by her prayers. It's as if she raises her hand to God, who sends down grace that causes a pathway to appear amidst the tangle of coils in which we feel trapped. With such help we can be freed from anxiety and helped to endure our pains.

By our Baptism we leap over a wall, it seems, that separates the holy from the unholy, no longer being stained by original sin. But the city beyond the wall represents earthly life, through which we should travel without being enslaved by sin. Heaven lies ahead, for the faithful, hence the importance of good preaching, as the clergy urge people not to grow weary, and never to betray Christ. Only the holy can enter Heaven.

Especially in matters connected with other religions, every member of the clergy should be aware of the impact on others of his gestures as well as his words. If he acts in ways that confuse the faithful, or give wrong impressions to people who do not share the Catholic Faith, he is not fulfilling God's plan for his life and for his special vocation.

Priests must be determined to grow in holiness. Men are called by Christ so that the faithful can have a Christ amongst them where they live, and Christ made Really Present in the Blessed Sacrament because of the priest who celebrates the Mass. Amongst pure priests, God sees, here and there, however, a gloomy figure: like an empty space, symbolising a lack of charity, when a priest is in serious sin.

Whenever Christ sees writing which conveys the truth about human nature; its flaws, its potential - and about the temptations people suffer, He sees Truth going up to Heaven like a fragrance, in a world where there is so much lying and deceit.

There are unnecessary and dreadful tragedies to be seen today. God sees a terrible change taking place in our hospitals, as some doctors and nurses develop a pro-death outlook, and share their views as they persuade people that old people are useless and should be helped to die, and that 'selective terminations' are the answer to multiple pregnancies, that a diagnosis of a tiny infant in the womb with Down's Syndrome should be followed by killing of the unborn child, and that food and water can be denied to someone old or frail.

Some Catholics choose not to believe in parts of the Church's moral teaching. They are as unwise, and as dangerous to others, as those medical students who might accept all that their professor teaches about physiology and medicine but who refuse to believe what he says about the importance of washing hands and preventing infection.

Someone exhausted or ill might feel so oppressed by a 'cloud' of weariness that she feels her prayers can barely rise up to Heaven. But the Father does hear her; and He is delighted that in her exhaustion or illness she still trusts in Him, believes in His love for her, and turns to Him in prayer.

We should be able to defend the Faith. It is not superstition. We believe in things Divinely revealed, but our faith is not unreasonable. God's beauty, power and laws are discernable in nature - including our nature and conscience. There is historical evidence for Christ's life; and His friends were transformed and made brave by His Resurrection. We have two thousand years of evidence - despite sins and mistakes - that Catholicism elevates society, marriage, government, education, treatment of the sick, and children, and brings peace, and hope of Heaven.

Whenever a politician uses his or her power to promote or pass foolish or corrupt laws, there will come a time of being called to account by God, as the politician is shown, at last, what dreadful results have arisen from his sinful outlook.

Even in infancy, Jesus Christ set an example of trust, as He entrusted Himself to the care of human beings, when He had 'left behind His glory' as the Son of God. He came amongst us on earth, even though He knew He would be mocked and rejected by many. We give Him joy when we turn to Him with gratitude and gladness.

By trust, we help to build a good society. Christ set us an example by entrusting Himself to human care. He asks spouses to trust one another. He asks mothers to be worthy of their children's trust. He wants children to be able to trust their teachers, and the sick to be able to trust those who look after them; and the elderly too, even if they are not sick, should be with people they can trust.

Christ as an infant in the care of His Mother has set us an example of complete trust, which is a quality necessary for the good functioning of a good society. God the Father has arranged that people everywhere entrust themselves to the care of others: babies to parents, children to teachers, elderly people to their grown-up children, and spouses trusting one another. A good society should be ordered on the pre-supposition that citizens desire to lead good lives.

When we live in union with Christ, it's as if we find, through the union of our humanity with His humanity, that we achieve union with His Divinity, which is One with the Father; and so, through Christ, we have access to Heaven. Even though we cannot see it, we know that our prayers reach Heaven, through Christ, in the light of the Holy Spirit; and we are at peace.

We are sometimes impatient, expecting instant intimacy with Christ, and sweet spiritual experiences; but Christ purifies those who love Him. Those experiences of repentance and remorse can seem like a journey through a minefield; yet the bliss of known union with Christ is given as a gift to those who persevere through the 'dark nights' of the soul.

The Eucharist, for Catholics, is a sign of unity, not a step to it. A faithful Catholic cannot take part in ill-defined, ambiguously-worded ecumenical events that confuse people about truth, and yet which are meant to increase communion between Christians. The Most Holy Eucharist, treasured by Catholics, is not to be confused with a sharing of merely bread and wine, as merely a social event.

We must persevere in our belief that God is good, whatever happens. God asks us to trust in Him, whatever we experience in life. Just as mountain-climbers keep on believing in the existence of the peaks, even when sudden mists obscure the view, so, faithful followers of Christ must trust that He will lead them Home to the Father and Heaven even when the Way ahead seems to be uncertain, or the Goal impossible to reach.

Whoever wants to be at peace with Christ need only take a few simple steps to emerge from misery and isolation. We need only make a gentle confession, regretting our sins, but determined to stop sinning, and wanting to be freed by the graces of the sacrament. Then we can go to Mass and Holy Communion, knowing we have been made worthy to take part!

If Christ had been born today to poor people, in a cave, in freezing weather, someone would have said: "He's got very poor prospects; He should have been aborted". Yet what a gift he was to the world! And everyone has gifts, above all the gift of life, even if he or she needs care and attention. It is wicked to slaughter tiny persons in the womb.

By humility we can advance in holiness. No matter what way of life we believe the Lord calls us to, we sometimes act like the man in Christ's Gospel story. We might assure Christ that we will obey Him, yet then walk away, or we might refuse to serve - then regret our decision, and come back, contrite, like the man who returned, as Christ said, to do his father's will. Whoever returns like this gives joy to Christ, and follows the right path.