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Christ is thrilled whenever we turn to Him with thanks and praise, showing our delight in His care for us. He sees millions of people, sad to say, who sit in pubs and hostelries, bored and unhappy, not knowing the purpose of life; and, without the help that our prayers or witness can bring, millions might die whilst never having offered a word of praise to God for His love, nor a word of gratitude for His gifts.

Right from the early times, the Church has honoured the holy Mother of God: Mary. The Church does not teach that Mary won salvation for sinners. Jesus Christ is the only Saviour. By His Passion and Death He won forgiveness for all who repent and put their trust in Him; but Mary suffered, willingly, as she stood beneath the Cross, uniting her prayers and sufferings to His. She had benefited, in advance, at her Conception, from His Redeeming Work; but when she, the Immaculate, stood by the Cross, she had no sin in her. She was one with her Son in praying for sinners. She deserves to be formally proclaimed: 'Co-Redemptrix'.

The Lord wants to see His Mother honoured by a formal declaration that she does indeed merit the two titles long-applied to her: 'Co-Redemptrix', and, 'Mediatrix of all Graces'. Only Christ, our Divine Saviour, merited our Salvation by His Passion and Death; but His Immaculate Mother willingly united her sufferings and prayers to His, as she stood beneath the Cross, hence, 'Co-Redemptrix', as she prayed for sinners; and since Christ came to us through her, so He still comes to us, spiritually, through her, hence the second title.

Some people seem content to live in spiritual darkness. It is important to persevere with our prayers of intercession, even for someone who seems to be preoccupied and unresponsive. The grace of God can penetrate hearts and minds without someone feeling anything, though it is when that person begins to reflect on his life and activities that he sees more clearly, and begins to see the need for change, and repentance.

By our intercessions we grow in holiness and help the Church; however, we must not become despondent if we seem to see no results from our prayers for those in spiritual need: people who do not love God or who have chosen one of a thousand ways in which to dismiss God from their lives, or to ignore His Son, Jesus Christ, or to leave the one true Church. Everyone has free will. And those who refuse to repent before they die will fall into a pit, as if through the floor of a rotten building which they chose to inhabit and refused to repair.

It is true that we are sometimes exhausted by our prayers and intercessions, as we grieve over the great evils in the world - such as abortion - as well as doing penance for our own sins, and for others; and it seems as if we always have another hill to climb, on the Holy Mountain; yet God treasures all our efforts, and delights in our love. Our efforts are all worthwhile.

Christ delights in our friendship! And Christ welcomes our sincere prayers: the ones we offer 'outside' the Mass as well as during the Mass. Every brief prayer honours Him as we go about our work, or pause for a moment before meals, or in our leisure. Yet He is especially delighted by our willingness to make a spiritual Communion. It's as if we open wide our heart, to say, Lord, shall I speak to You or shall I listen? What is your Will?

Even in a vast area of the country, Christ sees that it is difficult to find ten just persons who love Him wholeheartedly, believe in all that He teaches through His Church, and persevere in prayer, and acts of charity. Many Catholics pray when it suits them, attend Mass infrequently, design their own moral code, and yet hope to drift into Heaven when they die. They trust in His love for them, but show little love for Him.

Christ cannot fail to shower graces upon all who are struggling to follow in His footsteps, up the Holy Mountain, to Heaven. That is what all who go on pilgrimage are certainly doing, as they serve one another and honour God, in union with Christ, helped by the prayers of Christ's holy Mother, and with the sick and disabled lovingly cared for on the journey.

As a person in a story found herself trapped in a tiny room, we can become trapped, hiding away from God not in sin, but in fear and lack of confidence. It's as if we have fallen by fear or carelessness into a state of inactivity. Our prayers are infrequent and fruitless because we don't want to hear what He has to say, in case He asks us to take risks, in His service.

Jesus Christ is Divine. He is God-made-man, whereas His mother is only human - though very pure and holy. Christ did not simply use the Virgin Mary as a conduit for His arrival on earth. Her life is inextricably entwined with His, and will be so forever, as she intercedes for the Church, at His side in Heaven. It was by Divine grace that she was conceived Immaculate, worthy to be the mother of the Infant Jesus. She taught Him in His boyhood, then saw Him teach others, in His adult life. She suffered with Him, as He endured the Cross; and after His Resurrection and Ascension she guided the disciples. She was with them at Pentecost. But when her work on earth was done she was assumed, body and soul, to Heaven, to be with her beloved son forever, interceding for us who need their prayers.

Notes about prayer: Practical tips to help in prayer

Ways of praying

A pony waits patiently before moving up with his load; and the Holy Spirit 'waits' in patience, until we are recollected in prayer, before drawing us up high towards God's heart.

Keeping God out: attitudes, decisions and distractions that can keep God at a distance.

The view from Heaven: Christ, looking down at the world, sees his priests as 'other Christs', each a visible 'embodied' Christ in a particular place on earth, each chosen and made ready to sanctify the Faithful and to teach those who do not yet know Him, each one visible, truth-speaking, kind, prayerful, and trusting in the Father's plans and the Spirit's power.

The light of prayer reveals the truth in our hearts and minds.