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True intimacy with Christ can be achieved, by His grace. A person who genuinely loves Christ might begin with only an image of Him, as she prays; but if she perseveres in prayer and acts out of charity, throughout all difficulties, and remains full of faith, she will come to know the living Christ, as if through a door, behind the image; and she will move towards Heaven in His company, in peace and joy.

Pride was the sin of the Angels, as described in Sacred Scripture, when some rebelled against God and fell from grace. Pride, too, with stubbornness, is the sin which the Lord sees in the hearts of those who persist in disbelief even until death, ignoring His invitations to believe and to repent, so that they can enter Eternal life with Him and not fall into Hell.

There is one great blessing received by many poor people in so-called 'third world' countries. They receive a full account of Catholic teaching, and embrace it with fervour and joy - unlike many European Christians who have been offered a distorted or truncated version of the Faith that can neither inspire nor hold them.

Even sick, disabled and paralyzed people, like every conscious person above the age of reason, can exercise his or her free will, in order to choose to live with a loving and grateful heart and outlook, or to live in self-pity and even despair. Plainly, God lovingly makes allowances for the troubles people suffer, but each person can develop a soul radiant with Divine Light, or, refusing grace, have a soul which is shrivelled and lifeless.

There are times in a person's life when he might not want to be separated from God, and so have opened the door of his soul by good thoughts, or prayer, but looking upwards, realises he has not yet gained the courage to make real changes in his behaviour. He can be powerfully helped by the prayers of people aware of his plight - by the grace of Christ.

Christ really cares about us; and He cares about our attitude to Him. If we picture Christ in Heaven, as He looks down upon the earth, we can understand how much it delights Him, and warms His heart, when He sees someone who really loves Him, loves the Mass, loves the Clergy, loves the Church, and also endures sufferings with patience, by the grace of Christ, and out of love for Christ.

Just as a conifer develops good health, and fruit, if it is well-nourished and watered, but dies if it lacks nourishment, or is poisoned by a neighbour, so the person full of grace produces good works, if nourished on prayer and the sacraments, but suffers spiritual death if it fails to take necessary nourishment of the sacraments or accepts the 'poison' which is the devil's temptations to sin.

A Catholic in a state of grace who wants to be helped to understand her union with the Blessed Trinity is not wrong to use imagery, of various kinds; yet rather than picturing herself as being in front of Three Divine Persons Who are, somehow, one God, she will be helped by seeing herself as if within a transparent globe, which is Their life of light and love.

It is good practice, to send greetings cards, with sincere good wishes. Christ sends down grace like an arrow, to the hearts and minds of those to whom we send loving Christmas greetings and for whom we pray, in our concern for their wellbeing now and their Eternal welfare.

Prayer for evil rulers is more important than political activism. The mind and will of a person enslaved by evil is like a temple of doom, where Satan is at work. Principles and persons are sacrificed on the altar of personal ambition, lust or greed; and that person is incapable of doing good because of his enslavement, unless he repents. By the grace of God, he could change.

God the Father sent His Son to earth not just to die for our sins, but also to found a Church. If we follow her teachings about good and evil, by the grace of Christ, we bring about the fulfilment of God's plan for human life. People who claim to be practicing Catholics but who dispute long-standing teaching and discipline are like jigsaw pieces who agreed to be parts of a beautiful landscape but who now do what they please, and refuse to complete the Designer's plan.

It is nice to be in a warm room, at Christmas, yet if we go out into the garden at night, we might wonder what someone might think of our world, if he had come down from a far-away star. For Christ, coming from Heaven was like coming from a star of light and grace to a world of sinful people, many of whom persecuted and killed Him - but could not prevent His Resurrection. All who believe that He came from Heaven to save us from sin can be transformed by His power, and have a sure hope of reaching Heaven.

For progress in prayer, and union with God, we ought to trust God, and be willing to be converted, again. People who don't want God don't pray much, or well, even if they believe in God. They don't want God's light to shine into their souls, encouraging them to give up their bad habits, unloving attitudes, selfish plans or uncharitable schemes. It's as though they keep the 'door' of their souls almost shut; alas, they themselves shut out God's graces in this way.

God looks upon the world, His Creation, with its vast plains, seas and mountain ranges - and great gatherings of people, many struggling against their sinful natures instead of giving in to selfishness. But only a few are using the most effective and available means, effected by the grace of God in repentance, prayer and penance.

Christ asks us to be bolder and braver, in direct proclamation of the Gospel message, that God loves us so much that He came from Heaven to live here as man, to save us from sin, and the fear of death. If we repent and trust in Him, we can be transformed, by the graces received in prayer, and through the Church. At present there is too much 'pre-evangelisation', which is not converting people, but causing some to think conversion is not important.

A Catholic who puts himself, by a deliberate act or choice, out of Communion with the Church, in mortal sin, is as if standing on a ladder, near the top of a huge pit, in danger of falling; if he dies before he repents and is reconciled he will certainly fall into Hell. He needs God's grace to take the wiser course: to repent, and so climb the ladder and stay on firm ground, out of danger.

A home where God's Will is believed and acted upon is like a lit cottage in a frozen landscape - so pleasing to God, but rare, in that there are few households even amongst Catholics where is found neither contraception nor abortion or pornography or adultery and where charitable speech and behaviour is the norm, by the grace of Christ. These bright households also care for their sick members if they can, including the elderly.

The soul of a person who lives to please and obey Christ is like a fertile valley. Although enemies might rain down missiles from above, behind the mountain tops, they cannot conquer, if that devoted soul relies on God's grace, given in prayer and the sacraments. This keeps the valley peaceful and beautiful, whether the enemies are the worldly-wise, or the demons who bring torments and temptations.

Some people refuse to be helped towards salvation and joy. When we pray in the name of Jesus we should be confident that the Father will hear our prayers and grant many of our wishes: if they are in accordance with His Will; but it can happen that certain persons refuse to benefit from our intercessions. If they are people who insist on walking away from God, refusing to co-operate with His graces, we cannot raise them up to Heaven by our prayer. God has given them free will; and some condemn themselves.

Christ's friends live as if within a bight cloud, of God's love. When we live in union with God in everyday life, nourished by the Sacraments, forgiven and in a state of grace, we do not need to see the path ahead, before we can love and serve God well. We don't need to picture the future. Even if we are uncertain of His plans for us, or unsure of our vocation, we should be confident that here, from moment to moment, we can delight Him by doing His Will, in our ordinary circumstances.