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As I praised the Father for the Mother of Christ, who acted to help a couple on their wedding day, I saw Christ reach out and lead His Mother down a little so that she could accept the honour I paid her, and hear my prayers - so great is His delight at seeing His Mother treated with honour and gratitude.

There are some acts which are intrinsically wrong. Even if people act from ignorance, and are less blameworthy in God's sight, He does not want anyone (especially priests) to encourage people in such acts, but to invite them to abandon such behaviour, to pursue holiness. It is never right to use contraceptives, to attempt a re-marriage which is adulterous, or to have a forbidden sexual relationship such as incest.

It is God's wish that our Catholic churches be recognisably houses of prayer. We enter, on the threshold of Heaven; and it is right that we should see reminders of our fellow-worshippers, the Saints and Angels - and of the Saviour Who welcomes us from the tabernacle - and not see merely a bare plaster wall.

If we want to approach Christ at Adoration, to show out the love that was shown to Him by His Mother Mary on earth, we need only show Him our delight in His Real Presence, our gratitude for His gifts; with joy at being so near Him, and awe at being so close to our God: just as Mary did.

God Who can work an amazing change in a chameleon, which can change his colour, can work the amazing change - in the Holy Eucharist - of bread and wine becoming Christ's Sacred Body and Blood. The natural world and the supernatural both lie within His control.

God never ceases to pour out His love and forgiveness towards us all; yet a person who hides behind His sins, by refusing to let go of them, stops that divine love and forgiveness reaching Him. His darkness and sadness are self-chosen; yet by repentance, he exchanges his filthy rags for a clean white garment, and his sins are banished.

A priest who fails to teach about sin, and separation from God, is as irresponsible as a parent who allows a toddler to play by a busy road, or to open tin cans alone, or to replace the blade in his father's razor.

From the 'whirlwind' of love which is the life of the Three Divine Persons in the Godhead, Christ descended to earth at His Incarnation, in the womb of the Virgin Mary; and it was always part of the Father's plan of salvation that Christ would continue to be found amongst us, by His Real Presence in the Blessed Sacrament, the Holy Eucharist.

If we persevere in fervent love of God and of our neighbour we can arrive at the top of the mountain of holiness, and enter Heaven as soon as we die. Those friends of Christ who grow luke-warm or careless are collected, at death, and taken to Purgatory, to be made fully-alive and joyful, ready for Heaven. People who have walked down the mountain, of their own free will, are heading towards the Abyss, and doom.

Whenever we know we are dealing with a powerful substance, we wisely change our behaviour. We wear rubber-soled shoes if we work with electricity, lead aprons near X-ray machines, protective clothing for nuclear power. And we should act with care, with deepest reverence, respect and awe, when close to the Source of Divine power in our midst: Jesus our God, in the Blessed Sacrament.

Christ said that a person who professes to love Christ whilst refusing to keep the Commandments or do the Will of Christ in other matters is like a man holding up a door, to prevent someone approaching, whilst still smiling and expressing devotion.

Although God pours down grace upon us, like sunlight through a great cloud, whenever we ask for the prayers of one of the Saints of Heaven, even greater graces are given to us when we go to the shrine of one of the Saints, and there ask for his or her intercession, at a shrine authorised and blessed by the Church.

The Saints love to intercede with God for us, to draw down grace upon us like sunlight upon dark lives. The greatest help pours down - like a blazing gift of light, covering a huge area - when Christ's Mother intercedes for us, in response to our cries for help.

We are right to ask for the prayers of Our Blessed Lady, and to honour her as the Mother of God, and Queen of Heaven; but we are wise to remember how much she loves us with a tender, motherly love, longing for us to become holy. She is a mother who, at the edge of Heaven, is looking out, waiting for her children to come home.

How do we gain entry to Heaven? The Godhead is like an impenetrable cloud that no-one can enter by his own efforts, or by earning entry, or bargaining, or using skills. It is entered by humble souls who surrender to God; the Holy Spirit lifts them into the heart of the Godhead, where, at the centre, they join Christ and His Saints.

A charitable person teaches children how to behave in God's house and how to pray; and she therefore helps them to find inner peace in the Presence of their Saviour. It is not charitable to let a child run riot and disturb other people, in a place specially consecrated for Christian prayer.

Long ago, before Christ came to earth, people looked for signs and wonders, yearning for evidence of God's existence, or of His nature, and His wishes; they were like people searching for a 'gap in the cloud', as many do today.

It was as a 'cloud' over the earth had been rent apart, when Jesus toured Galilee, speaking the truth about the purpose of life, the glory of the Father, the need for repentance, and for Baptism. He showed out God's nature and God's Will. He revealed the extent of Divine Love by accepting death on a Cross, rather than give up His Mission. He proved His Divinity by His miracles, above all by His Resurrection.

It is as if, far above the earth, the Godhead holds at its heart an oasis of light. This is the city of God, home of the Saints and Angels for Eternity; and it is foolishness, in the Lord's sight, to risk losing an Eternity of bliss, there, for a moment's earthly pleasure or gain followed by Eternal pain and darkness.

Just as the Ark, in the story about Noah, provided a safe, warm place of safety not just for animals but for a human family, the Holy Virgin Mary was like an 'ark' for Jesus; she was a sinless, warm place of shelter for the Son of God, holding Him in her womb joyfully, and in her love.