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Have we climbed the mountain of holiness, by God's grace, ready to arrive peacefully at the door to Heaven? God asks us to ask ourselves: Do I love God with my whole heart? Do I favour His Will, above all things? If we do not love God and want to thank and praise Him, we are not ready for Heaven; but what if He should suddenly call us, to leave this earthly life? Wise people get ready, now.

We pray, in the Mass, "Save us from final damnation". It is Jesus Christ who calls out from our altar, across the Abyss which separates earth from Heaven, and asks the Father to save those who are present, or who are associated with the Mass, for example sick members. The Faithful Departed are the other people helped by His sacrificial prayer. Catholics who refuse to attend regularly or at all, are refusing to be present as Christ prays for them. They condemn themselves, by their attitude.

If we do not repent of our sins before we die, death will result in the sudden appearance of the brilliant light of the Godhead shining down upon our lives, piercing and dividing the great cloud in which we have tried to hide away from God, hoping He doesn't see our sins. All our misdeeds will be revealed to our gaze.

Each of us should pause to ask: "Am I worthy to enter Heaven?" Heaven is a place of peace, purity, thankfulness and joy; we need to repent, and to ask God's grace in order to change, if we are still disfigured by turmoil, immorality, ingratitude or discontent. How can we praise God with the Saints unless we are like them?

God sees an extraordinary sight, as He looks down upon countless members of the Church who plan their own lives, according to their own ideas and desires, yet deign to give only a moment of their time, now and then, for prayer, unaware of His immense holiness, or His Sovereignty as well as His love.

In God's sight, it is a cause for sadness that some of the Clergy, who have been ordained to preach the truths handed down in the Church, now teach a religion which they have tailored to suit their own ideas and desires. Most of these do not realise that they are being used by the evil one to lead people astray. Priests endanger their own souls, too, when they are proud and disobedient.

A surgeon takes tremendous care in his preparations for his work, just as a good mother takes great care, in cleanliness and nutrition, as she prepares food for a little child; and even greater care is necessary when everyone prepares for an event that is not only important, but sacred: receiving Christ in Holy Communion, or taking part in any of the Sacraments, in which our all-holy, glorious God is at work.

In Christ's sight, a person shows lack of love and respect for Christ when he is unwilling to prepare for an intimate encounter with his Saviour and God in Holy Communion. That preparation, for all who have gravely sinned, should consist of seeking forgiveness in Confession, called the Sacrament of Penance. In a state of grace, a person approaches Christ as if clothed in a pure garment of holiness, not the filthy rags of unrepented sin.

Some people cannot be bothered to prepare for Holy Communion, or for death. It is impossible for a person befouled with serious sin to enter Heaven. It's as though, when a person has not repented, but dies, he moves towards God whilst still clothed in filthy rags, whereas those who have repented are wearing clean garments. They have been made pure and holy, by Christ, and are worthy to enter Heaven's purity and holiness.

Those whom Christ has called has called to exercise a Sacred Ministry as members of the Clergy, in the sanctuary, should see themselves as required to live in such a way as to be always worthy to enter to ascend a flight of steps which symbolise the privileged ascent the priest has to the 'altar of God', to meet his Divine Saviour. Confession is the answer for any priest who has been deliberately unkind, disobedient or unchaste, or otherwise unworthy to be at the altar.

People trapped in mortal sin are helpless to change. They need the grace of God, if they wish to repent and be made holy: grace brought through God's promptings or the intercessions of other people. It's as if they are trapped in an underground cave, waiting for a rope to be lowered, to draw them up to safety, into the light.

The gift of a child is meant to bring joy and gratitude to all members of a family. It pleases God to see people welcome a pregnancy and to look forward hopefully to the birth. It gives Him joy when people do not grumble about 'inconvenience', as many might call it, or about hard work, but see the life of a child as a gift from God.

Children deserve to be helped to reflect on their behaviour. When Bishops and others hand on the Faith to children, they should ask: Are you worthy to enter Heaven's glory, when your life ends? Are you ready to be carried by the Holy Spirit, across the Abyss, into the purity of the Godhead? Are you willing to prepare for that time?

A person who decides to leave the simple Way of Christ, of regular prayer, faithfulness to the sacraments, and simple goodness, is like a foolish man who decides to leap off a moving train which is on its way to Heaven. He will not be able to climb back on, unless he receives power directly from Heaven, or mediated through the prayers of someone who cares for him and his salvation.

Older children deserve to hear the truth: "If you throw away your life - your spiritual life - by immorality, drunkenness, pornography or violence, it will be impossible to regain holiness by your own power. You can then only hope to reach Heaven one day if you receive from God the grace to repent: a grace perhaps brought to you through the prayers and penances of people who care about you.

By our intercessions we can bring Divine grace upon a person trapped in a 'cloud' of sin. By Divine power, that person can be helped to see the spiritual danger he is in, so close to being lost in the Abyss. As his cloud of ignorance is blown away, or his sinful desires, he is helped to make wise choices about loving God and striving for holiness.

There are scientists at work who are careless about human life, and who think nothing of creating embryos in their laboratories, for experimentation; or they freeze embryos, or destroy them, as surplus to requirements. They forget, or do not care, or do not believe that God gives the gift of life. In rejecting His gift they insult and disobey their Creator. In overstepping His laws, they break the fence which would have saved them from the Abyss.

God has made a Way, through His Son, Jesus Christ, by which we can walk straight towards Heaven, with His help. It is our duty to co-operate, in love, and to resist all temptations: all temptations to over-indulge in natural earthly pleasures, and temptations to indulge in perverted, evil actions and ways, hidden away in sin.

A priest who is dispirited about the state of the Church should resist temptations to leave and to enjoy earthly pleasures. By the altar, he can receive power from God, to help him to renew the Church, and to encourage people towards obedience to God, sound Catechesis, profound reverence in prayer, and respect for the Pope, as well as love for the needy.

Like a mountaineer in a dangerous place, someone who is trying to escape from a sinful way of life needs the intercessions of other people. He also needs trust in God's power, and the virtue of hope, by which he will persevere in the belief that God can change him, save him, make him holy and happy, and bring him in the end to Heaven.