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We are not trapped in darkness, far from Heaven. When we pray in a state of grace, in the name of Christ, it's as though, by the power of Christ, we hold up before the Father in Heaven the needy people in our hearts. Each is lifted closer to holiness and Heaven through our prayer - by the grace of Christ - unless he or she deliberately refuses the graces brought in this way, and acts as if to sever the cord that unites that person with our loving intention and with God.

We are not trapped in darkness, far from Heaven. When we pray in a state of grace, in the name of Christ, it's as though, by the power of Christ, we hold up before the Father in Heaven the needy people in our hearts. Each is lifted closer to holiness and Heaven through our prayer - by the grace of Christ - unless he or she deliberately refuses the graces brought in this way, and acts as if to sever the cord that unites that person with our loving intention and with God.

We are not trapped in darkness, far from Heaven. When we pray in a state of grace, in the name of Christ, it's as though, by the power of Christ, we hold up before the Father in Heaven the needy people in our hearts. Each is lifted closer to holiness and Heaven through our prayer - by the grace of Christ - unless he or she deliberately refuses the graces brought in this way, and acts as if to sever the cord that unites that person with our loving intention and with God.

We are not trapped in darkness, far from Heaven. When we pray in a state of grace, in the name of Christ, it's as though, by the power of Christ, we hold up before the Father in Heaven the needy people in our hearts. Each is lifted closer to holiness and Heaven through our prayer - by the grace of Christ - unless he or she deliberately refuses the graces brought in this way, and acts as if to sever the cord that unites that person with our loving intention and with God.

There are some people earnestly in need of the intercessions of the faithful. Those needing help are not just the people who do not yet know Christ, but also those Christians who ignore their spiritual obligations. In Christ's sight, it's as though these choose to live in the gutter, since they rarely, if ever, confess their sins, or offer sincere prayers.

It is important that we persevere in our intercessions for the needy. There are many people who have not yet accepted the truth about God's love for them, His desire to free them from their sins, and the need for repentance and prayer, so that they can share God's life, through Christ, and follow the sure Way to holiness and Heaven. Without the life of grace, within them, people are trapped in sin and ignorance, as if in semi-darkness, in an area of chaos and hopelessness, beneath a shining highway.

Whenever we offer up our sufferings, willingly accepting them in union with Christ in His Passion, we can know that we win graces for the Holy Souls in Purgatory, or for people on earth who are trapped in sin. We enable someone, somewhere, to leave gloom behind and to move towards the light of Heaven. We do their penance, for them.

Whenever we offer up, in prayer, in union with Christ our Saviour, whatever sufferings we currently try to endure with patience, we are helping souls in danger of spiritual disaster. It's as if we are calling out - by the power of Christ - to someone who is about to descend a flight of steps that lead down to Hell. It's as if we are calling out - 'Don't go down there; it's a dead end!' By the grace of Christ, and our prayer, we can help people to turn back to Christ.

If we cannot sweep aside injustice we can bring comfort by our prayers. God has given everyone free will, which means that He does not step in, every time someone makes an evil choice; which is why there is all sorts of wickedness, including abortion of helpless babies - and even forced abortions against the will of the mother. By our prayers and penances we can help those suffering people to endure, and not to give in to despair.

All Christians should recognise the power of Christian prayer. To pray 'in the name of Jesus' - or 'through Christ our Lord' - is to pray with faith in our union with our one and only Saviour: the God-man Who sacrificed His life for us, but conquered death and sin by His death and R+D5182esurrection. It is also to pray with faith in His prayer, Who perpetually intercedes for us with our Heavenly Father. It's as if all the people, projects and situations I pray about, or intercede for, are swept up in one great prayer from my heart to Heaven, in the power of the Holy Spirit: Spirit of Jesus.

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.