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Jesus our High Priest, through the Holy Spirit, draws us into the Father's love

Jesus our High Priest, through the Holy Spirit, draws us into the Father's love

Jesus our High Priest, through the Holy Spirit, draws us into the Father's love

Jesus our High Priest, through the Holy Spirit, draws us into the Father's love

Jesus our High Priest, through the Holy Spirit, draws us into the Father's love

When a person meets Christ in a spiritual Communion, or in contemplation, it's as if she has a secret chamber - her own soul - where she can meet Christ, to adore Him, talk with Him, ask His advice, or rest in Him, even if her exterior life seems limited or restricted. Through Christ, furthermore, she can reach up to Heaven!

When we rest in silent prayer with Christ in holy Communion, or at other times, He is not offended if we briefly pay attention to something important, whether a necessary distraction or a nearby activity. Christ and the soul are like lovers, seated on a park bench, happy together, and sharing every thought.

When I made a spiritual Communion, early one morning, Christ showed me that He was very close to me. He said: 'Picture Me as already waiting for you. Together, we can turn to the Father in Heaven; and you can offer your morning prayer.'

A person who is content to serve God in faith and darkness, and to be obedient to His wishes in everyday life, persevering in prayer and acts of charity, is swiftly drawn by Him into contemplation - even experiencing, when God Wills, the type of prayer and union in which she leaves behind earthly things, to soar upwards into His heart.

The Church teaches the truth, in every age of our history, yet each of the mystics experiences it - for example, St Paul, St Teresa of Avila, St Thomas Aquinas. It is the Christian mystic who prays with trust, reverence and humility, who knows God better than anyone, through union with Christ in prayer. The mystics have produced the most lyrical and intellectually-coherent accounts of what they have learned of God - which knowledge echoes and confirms the truths taught by the Church, and illumines them.

When we pray for the Faithful Departed we not only help them to be drawn closer to the light of Heaven - by the grace of Christ - we also bring them the consolation of knowing that they are not forgotten: that their friends and relations on earth hold them in their hearts, and long for them to find joy, on entering Heaven's glory.