Search Page

No matter how much confusion or uncertainty we experience - even in sickness or danger - there is one, living God in control of the Universe, in Whose care we live. Whether we live or die, we live and die at times appointed by Him, even when we object.

No matter how much confusion or uncertainty we experience - even in sickness or danger - there is one, living God in control of the Universe, in Whose care we live. Whether we live or die, we live and die at times appointed by Him, even when we object.

Some priests want to follow their vocation on their own terms. There are warning signs to be seen, when a priest is in danger of preaching his own version of the Faith, and not the Faith in its fullness as handed on since the time of Christ. These signs are a lack of respect for the Pope, contempt for the Catechism, combined with an unhealthy acceptance of serious sin in the lives of his flock.

Christ is pleased when we step forward when people are grieving, to offer comfort, or to make kind enquiries - even if those people are strangers. It is better than hurrying past, worrying about them but not acting.

It is a terrible thing, that people in many parts of the world are enslaved by other human beings. The worst sort of slavery, however, in God's sight, is enslavement to sin, because, in it, people are in danger of losing not just earthly joy but Eternal happiness, if they do not repent.

There are priests in great moral danger who need our prayers. A priest who leaves his sacristy in order to commit deliberate sin is like a man who leaves a clean room to enter immediately into a filthy alley, where he will inevitably become dirty and foul-smelling, and unworthy to celebrate the sacraments.

Christ wants us to respect priests who are 'other Christs' amongst us. But when a priest publicly speaks against the teaching of the Church on faith or morals we are not wrong to warn others about the danger of listening to his advice - though we must not speak with scorn or malice. And we should pray for him.

We should trust that God sees our efforts to love Him. If we worry about our little failings, when we are exhausted from having done great work for Him amidst opposition and spiritual assaults, we are like a soldier who has travelled hundreds of miles in dangerous mountains to save the lives of his comrades, and who now lies wounded, but who apologises for not having cleaned his teeth or done up his top shirt button.

Christ said that by offering up our sufferings in union with Him, in intercession for others, we can (by His grace) save people from committing mortal sin, or save sinners who are dying from falling unrepentant into Hell.

Christ said that by offering up our sufferings in union with Him, in intercession for others, we can (by His grace) save people from committing mortal sin, or save sinners who are dying from falling unrepentant into Hell.

Many priests fail to mention the Cross. Jesus died on it, because of our sins. Few warnings are given from the pulpit, by many priests, about the serious sin by which people condemn themselves to Hell if they do not repent before they die. Many are lost because they have failed to repent of their adulteries, suicides, abortions, and lack of faith in God.

As we hope to end our lives with Jesus forever, the Christian journey is like a walk across the Sea of Galilee on a path of stepping-stones: quite safe as long as no-one trips. A person determined to reach the other side would be wise to have someone near her to 'put out a hand' if she should trip and be in danger of falling.

The greatest fall occurs when a person slips from the heights of intimacy with God into the depths of sin. That is what happened to Satan, the rebellious Angel; and that is why we should serve the Lord in humility, simplicity and patience to avoid that fate.

Some people say it is wrong to request clarity in doctrine or to criticize the words of dissenters in the Church. Truth sets us free, however. Heresy and dissent needs to be uncovered, so that people are not led astray, their souls endangered - just as a doctor is being kind when he tells a patient that he has discovered an undiscovered wound. Only by speaking about a wound can he gain consent to cure it, restoring the patient to health.

Christ said to me: 'Beware the Serpent'. He was referring to the evil one who likes to disturb my evening prayers in one disguise or another but who is put to flight by Holy Water and by prayer to the Holy Trinity.

We should be obedient to Christ, Who teaches through His Church. A lone soldier working on a special mission in a dangerous country can be more likely to stay out of danger if he obeys the precise instructions given by his commander, who can see the whole area. We too should obey our Commander's instructions even when we do not understand the need for certain moves. He wants to save us.

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.

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.

Some people want intimate friendship with Christ, but refuse to keep His Commandments. In refusing, it is as though they insist on walking a different road from His Way to Heaven. They end up on dangerous side-roads or cul-de-sacs.

Each priest should be 'another Christ' for us; yet we should not be surprised if we are treated unjustly by a priest. Christ Himself was hustled towards the edge of a cliff by men who were pillars of the local synagogue. Christ escaped, then; but until we die, we are in danger of treating others unjustly, and must resist temptation.