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A couple who enter marriage while planning to disobey the moral laws, for example, by the use of contraceptives, or having agreed to divorce if they don't feel happy, are in great spiritual danger. It's as if they enter a meadow to begin the dancing after their wedding, yet do so near an old well, unfenced, nearby. It is very likely that someone will fall in and be lost.

We should follow the example of the holy Angels. When Christ comes to us in Holy Communion, or when we know He is Present in the tabernacle or on the altar, our attitude should be like that of the Angels, who adore Him profoundly, in His Divinity. He is worthy of their adoration, and ours. They never leave Him alone; and we, for our part, should always show Him reverence and love.

A priest is called to be 'another Christ'; to lead people, by his ministry, word and example, to holiness and to Heaven

All who do the Will of God will act justly. His Will has been made known fully through Jesus Christ Who was sent to us from Heaven. If we disobey the laws of God and the will of Christ in attempts to promote what we call 'justice' we in fact promote things that are unwise or unjust, even if doing so through ignorance or fear, for example, trying to cure poverty by offering abortions.

Just as skiers might find themselves on a dangerous slope, so, we can find ourselves in spiritual danger through, for example, current wrong ideas about morality, or through worship with pagans, or through unholy behaviour in the home such as neglect of prayer, or self-indulgence or pornographic television viewing.

We need not be surprised if enemies of the Church shout out their opposition to her on seeing the Pope, for example, as he pays a visit to another country. Even the Head of the Church, Jesus Christ, experienced opposition, mockery, and worse. But we must keep the Pope and all the Clergy - and the whole Church - in our prayers.

Wise people look at human life from the perspective of Eternity. We are right to try to be free of our ailments and handicaps - which seem like a great 'cloud' above us - as we move through life, towards Eternity. But even people who are, for example, deaf, or have speech problems, should be confident about life. What is important is communion with God, Who can 'hear' a single thought. Our ailments need not stop us from being close to Him, until our lives end in His presence, where He welcomes His friends into His embrace, in perfect communion, for all Eternity, all 'clouds' dispersed.

Already, God sees the end of each of us. From Eternity, God can see, all at once, the whole of human history. He sees which human beings have persevered in the 'race' to holiness and triumph, and which have come to grief through their own sin and foolishness, and have also set a bad example. This is true of the lowliest amongst us, and of clergy as well. Each of us must be alert, because, by some carelessness, or a moment's selfishness, we can drastically alter our direction, take a foolish course, and even lead others astray.

A Pope hands on the Faith, telling us what must be believed if we are to live, pray and love and teach to live as faithful Catholics. He can impose discipline, and even decide whom he permits to teach in the name of the Church; but it is no part of his task to speak 'outside' his area of competence, for example, to tell us what to believe about fossils. He is no more an expert on these matters not directly relevant to the Faith than a farmer is an expert on how to cook the produce from his fields.

In St. Joseph's shrine, in Missouri, for example, people of earlier centuries were immersed in Catholic imagery and culture. Absorbing it, they were helped to withstand the alien culture outside the places of worship. Today, we need to be so immersed; and since so many of our Catholic churches have been stripped bare of imagery, that is both inspiring and educational, God has provided both truth and beauty in the Radiant Light collection of pictures, in which anyone on-line can be immersed.

God gives us all sorts of help, in earthly life. When we turn to a favourite saint, to ask for his or her prayers, it's as though we have turned towards an elder brother or other relation about building a home, for example, if he were an architect. Christians are wise if they turn to the great experts in the Faith: the heroes and heroines who remained faithful and reached Heaven.

Catholics who choose to disbelieve major truths of faith and morals are in danger of going astray, further and further away from Christ. For example, anyone who approves of abortion, which is the equivalent of throwing away a baby into a deep pit, or who herself thinks she will choose an abortion, is in danger of falling in herself, or, rather, of falling into the pit that, for her, would represent Hell.

Any priest or bishop who makes compromises in his teaching or example, to fit into society, is as if living in semi-darkness; and to die in that state is to be far from the 'ladder' which represents a swift ascent to Heaven for those who have lived in the light.

We might even risk our salvation if, on Sundays or holy days, we choose to miss Mass, in order to amuse ourselves, or for trivial reasons. Unless we are caring for the sick, for example, or are ourselves sick or without transport, it is to refuse to obey the First Commandment and the Church's command. It is to act as if we have no need of the graces that Christ offers, and no need of His prayer that we achieve Salvation.

It takes courage to be faithful to Catholic teaching on marriage. What Christ wants to see are many more faithful Catholic women: women who accept God's plan for married life, for example, and who avoid all sinful practices so common in our culture, and who do not neglect their children; women who pursue a career only if their children are genuinely well cared for; women who do not see it as demeaning to serve the family, and to respect their husbands, yet with each spouse respecting the other.

We are not wrong to say things have gone wrong, in Church life. Sensible people draw sensible conclusions from evidence - for example, if we saw blood flowing past us, in a gutter, we would conclude that a body must be nearby, perhaps mortally wounded. So when there are clear signs of a disaster in the Church, with priests and religious having left, in thousands, and with children often uncatechised and irreverent, it is plain that the so-called 'Renewal' of the Church after the Second Vatican Council was in many ways a time of chaos, dissent and exaggeration of the reforms proposed, with disastrous results.

There are millions of people in the world who have been deprived of knowledge, or opportunities for advancement, or freedom of various sorts, or the Gospel, living in poverty, or under atheistic governments, for example. Yet the internet is bringing a huge amount of knowledge to these millions, in an extraordinary manner. Though there are evil influences on the web, the Gospel is being told through it - and it is powerfully told, for example, through the pictures and teachings of 'Radiant Light'.