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The sacrificial prayer of Christ at Mass, to which we unite out prayers and praises, infallibly pierces the cloud between earth and Heaven and arrives at the throne of the Father, Who delights in pleasing His obedient Son.

Just as pond creatures which make their way to the surface of a pond are dazzled by the sunlight above, so human beings who rise up from earthly life and enter Heaven are dazzled by Divine glory; so as I paint them in my Last Judgement I should not paint them in much detail, but as if half hidden in dazzling light.

St. Francis de Sales is in Heaven, full of the bright cloud of Divine Love which now surrounds him. He breathed out that love, to surround me with it, long ago, as I was reading his 'Introduction to the Devout Life'. By his prayer for me, Divine love enfolded and enlightened me as I was reading.

It is the Will of Christ that we treat Sunday as a holy day and a day of rest. It delights Him to see us rest from our labours and to enjoy good things that we don't have time for on normal work-days.

God, who knows our nature, encourages us in holiness by giving us help, that we sinful humans need: things we can see, touch and feel, such as the water at Lourdes, the image of Our Lady, the grotto itself, the beautiful scenery, and lights and music and rituals, especially the Holy Eucharist.

The Lord delights in seeing mothers who love their children and who are able to care for them at home - though He understands that in sad circumstances this is not always possible, and knows that some mothers who wish to pursue a career make good arrangements for their childrens' well-being.

By some particular sins, many people put in place a dark blanket of cloud above them, which shuts out the light and grace of God from their lives; and those sins are an obsession with pornography and violence. There is an occasional gap in the clouds, made wherever good people make entertaining films and programmes that neither harm nor corrupt viewers.

A person who is deep in mortal sin, and does not care, whether through ignoring God's existence or His laws, is like a man playing cards in a coal-mine, unconcerned that the shaft leading out of the mine could collapse at any moment. Death is the 'collapse' that would leave him trapped, without God's love and light, forever.

By prayer and penance, which includes the offering-up of daily troubles, we can help to rescue people in danger of Hell, people who are unworried about mortal sin. It's as though such people are playing cards deep underground, unaware of the danger they are in; and the one who prays and does penance is crawling through a tunnel, to pull them out, to reach God's light and love.

When a monk or nun or devout lay-person offers prayers and penances in order to draw a soul away away from mortal sin, into a state of grace, it's as though that sinner has been pushed along in a dangerous coal-mine, helped to reach the main shaft leading upwards so that he can reach God's light, and freedom.

We might not always see the results of our prayer, but when a monk or nun or devout lay-person rescues a soul from sin by offering prayers and penances on his behalf, it's as though he had brought that soul from the depths of a dangerous mine, to emerge into sunlight, greeted by a joyful crowd: the Saints and Angels.

The Lord wants us to remember, when we speak to God to thank Him for the Saints, or when we ask them for their prayers, that they are real people, alive in Heaven, close by. We can count on their help. They love us, and delight in our devotion, and in our humble requests for their prayers.

People who live in the depths of sin, through drink, drugs, immoral relationships or pornography or other habits that alienate them from God, are like people lost in a smoke filled mine: unable to see how dangerous is their state or to find their way back to God's light. They desperately need the help of others' prayers and sufferings.

Christ assured me that the arrival in the Church of several new movements is like a new 'dawn'. A new light is brightening the horizon; and we can be sure that life in the Church is going to change for the better, with increased reverence, a desire for holiness, and greater love for Christ and His Holy Mother Mary.

When God created the world He prepared for us an amazing variety of created beauty, but no entirely blank areas. The icy poles of the earth shimmer with reflected light. The deserts are made beautiful by shadows and sunsets; and the plants and creatures astonish us in their great variety and infinity of extraordinary details. And human beings are glorious, in their variety.

Lapsed Catholics do not grow in the knowledge and love of God; and when they die, those who see God and are ashamed of their earlier indifference go to Purgatory, whilst those who hate God and are resolute in their rejection of Him hurl themselves away from Him and therefore into Hell, which is life without His light and peace.

Some Catholics who receive Christ in Holy Communion don't want to open their hearts and minds to Him, or His light might shine upon their sins and bad habits. It's as though they are heaping sacks of coal onto a trap door, to prevent Him from entering their lives; but in shutting Him out, they shut out His joy and peace too.

The very Spirit Who was with Christ in His Passion and Who raised Him up from the grave dwells - with the Father and Son - in the soul of every persecuted Christian; and each one who suffers for love of Christ should remember that whatever happens externally, that faithful soul is full of Divine Light.

Christ is Really Present in our church. He delights in our visits. When I was on retreat at Douai Abbey, Christ spoke to me, on Good Friday, about His delight that I had kept Him company in His Passion. He was even more pleased that I had offered my whole adult life to Him, for the doing of His Will; and so He gave me reassurance and comfort.

The lives of those people on earth who live according to God's laws are lived 'in the light'. They inhabit the 'City of God' on earth, which has at its centre a church, for the worship of the Father through Christ, in the Spirit. The light of Heaven shines down upon those lives, but others live in darkness.