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When we turn to Christ in prayer, in gratitude for His gifts and graces, all the Saints are close to us, glad to hear our thanks and praise for the One Who has brought them to Heaven. They long for us to find everlasting joy with Him, and help us by their prayers.

In the play called 'Pygmalion', a rich man gave lessons to a poor working girl, and transformed her speech and outlook, and clothing. Christ works an even more marvellous transformation, by His grace acting within a willing soul. He transforms the whole person, leading each to Him, to find security, joy, peace-of-soul and fulfilment in sharing His life, and also to grow in wisdom, purity, courage, hope and charity.

Just as a doctor with a patient in poor health can be pessimistic, or can choose to say: "There is life still. Celebrate it, even if we don't know what the future holds", so a Catholic can say either: "The Church is failing; we have fewer priests", or, "God exists, Christ is alive and at work in the Church, which is growing word-wide. We can meet Christ in Person in the Blessed Sacrament!" The hopeful Catholic gives joy, as well as truth.

God created good people. But those first human beings rebelled against God, and so turned a corner in the great 'road' of our salvation history. They left behind the joys of Eden; but God would choose a people to follow Him, and would promise a Saviour Who would help people to regain their lost innocence. He would restore the life of Divine grace to their souls.

God wants us to be at peace in our souls and minds. When our lists of things to do become so large that we seem to have a dark cloud over us, crushing our joy, it is time to shorten the list: to work out what is essential, and to do some of the rest when it is possible later on.

People forget that the vows or promises they have made in church, in either marriage or religious life or Priesthood, are vows made to almighty God. To break those vows selfishly is to act against God. A special vocation cannot be treated as a merry-go-round, on which people enjoy themselves for a while, but leave when they are bored, or dislike the music or the same views at each turn.

When we greet Christ carelessly in Holy Communion we treat Him, our God, with a dreadful lack of respect, even worse than when people show disrespect towards a Monarch in earthly life by casual or rude behaviour. Our God, coming to our hearts, deserves to be greeted with humility, reverence, joy and gratitude.

God looks on with joy when people treasure their families, and treasure their heritage - which means their good traditions, memories, artefacts, cultural specialities and stories, though excluding what is evil, scandalous, or unwise, and not revering family practices to the point of idolatry.

It is part of God's plan that we respect what is worthwhile in our culture and heritage, that we treasure our families, and worthwhile traditions, stories, and means of enriching everyday life in ways pleasing to God. Even cookery recipes, handed on through the generations, can cement bonds in family life, preserve customs, and bring joy in shared meals.

Whenever we pray in the name of Christ to our Heavenly Father, we are wise to keep in mind that Heaven should be our final destination. Christ has made possible our contact with Heaven, and the promise of Eternal joy for the faithful. If we could peer through a little window into Heaven, without being dazzled by Divine glory, we would see the wonders prepared for all of Christ's true friends.

A person who enjoys an intimate relationship with Christ, in the heights of the spiritual life, must not feel ashamed if she is not feeling as awe-struck and astonished as in the earlier years. If her heart has grown even more grateful to Christ, and even more glad about opportunities to share Good News, she can enjoy His blessed, quiet friendship in peace

There are many people who have been urged to have abortions, but who have been given little advice or encouragement on the subject of adoption. This is usually second best, after caring by the birth parent; but it is always better than the killing of an unborn child; and it can give joy to couples unable to conceive children of their own.

It is as if the Holy Souls are suspended in God's love, as they move closer to the light, little by little, helped by our prayers, until the moment when each can enter joyfully into Heaven, and share in the blissful life of the Saints, at the heart of the Most Blessed Trinity.

People wonder if Christ and the Saints can be joyful, if they know that some souls are in Hell. The answer is that anyone in Hell has got what he wanted. If he freely chose to reject Christ, until death, he now has no contact with Christ: just as he chose; nor has he the joy, peace and beauty which are found in Christ, alas. So the Saints pity the lost souls, but realise that the damned choose their destination.

A person who is plagued with unhappy memories can freely choose to avoid them, and to dwell on present joys, just as a sensible person who is extremely upset by distressing scenes in a cinema is free to leave, to go into the daylight and enjoy the real world outside that darkened enclosure.

Whether we suffer from frail minds, or assaults from the evil one, if sad memories of past times keep on cruelly returning, we can freely choose with God's help to turn away, and to dwell on present-day gifts and grace. We can be like a sensible person who, instead of staying in a cinema to finish watching a horrifying film, for 'entertainment', goes through the exit, to enjoy sunlight, and real life.

Christ our God, Who created the whole Universe, with the Father and the Holy Spirit, is over-joyed by those who appreciate His Creation, which the Blessed Trinity made in order to delight us. We are right to see, in nature, evidence of the existence of God, and of God's Wisdom, and artistry and beauty.

Mother Teresa, and Pope John Paul II, each suffered greatly in earthly life, but did so without grumbling; rather, they accepted and offered up their pains in union with Christ, to save souls and to help the Church; and, through their faith in Christ, and His grace, they are now being embraced by Him in Heaven. They are immensely joyful.

The life we lead on earth must inevitably lead to either Heaven and Hell (even if to Heaven via Purgatory). Those who love Christ, and persevere in charity and purity in earthly life, will enjoy Eternal life in even greater charity and peace, with Christ. People who seethe with hatred, ambition or resentment, in this life, and persist in their selfish ambitions, will find themselves in Hell with others who are self-centered and lack love for Christ.

Whenever new priests have been ordained, and have devoted themselves to Christ, their Saviour in Heaven is praying to His Father with outstretched hands, praising the Father for His goodness in giving priests to the Church Christ founded. Christ is full of joy - yet longing for more men to hear His call to the Sacred Ministry and to respond.