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An astronaut who looks back towards the earth he has left can see things in their correct perspective, seeing what was important for the flight and what caused needless worry. We ought to examine our lives, to see what is essential, as we prepare for eternal life, and what is distracting or even dangerous.

When a man lives only to satisfy his own appetites, and even treats a child with cruelty, he needs a miracle of grace, if he is to be changed and one day to be ready for Heaven, not Hell - to live amongst the Saints and Angels.

When a man lives only to satisfy his own appetites, and even treats a child with cruelty, he needs a miracle of grace, if he is to be changed and one day to be ready for Heaven, not Hell - to live amongst the Saints and Angels.

A person who dies, and who is ready for Heaven, moves to the heart of the Holy Trinity, to live in Eternal bliss and fulfilment. He has been saved by the merits of Jesus, the only Saviour, and the prayers of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

No sick person should believe that he is 'useless'. The Lord invites each one to prepare for Heaven, to practice patience, to pray simple prayers and to trust in the love of the Holy Trinity.

Then the Lord took my soul as if to the heights of Heaven, to show me that, from such a perspective, Earth is very small, and earthly life very brief; and so we who live on earth act wisely if we do good, out of love for God, while we still have time.

The Saints of Heaven are aware of the problem of sin. They pray that we will turn to Christ, put our trust in Him, and find grace to be worthy, when our work is done, to enter Heaven and join them.

God wants everyone to know that we don't need special circumstances in which to show out love for God and our neighbour, or advanced education or special training or equipment. In whatever vocation God has called us to undertake, we can show our love, and - by the graces won for us by Christ - prepare for Eternity in Heaven.

The cliff-face represents the apparent separation from God which is experienced by those who are being purified in Purgatory to prepare them for the perfection of Heaven. They are helped by our prayers, as surely as people at the foot of a cliff are helped by those who send down ropes, to pull up the helpless people.

Those Holy Souls who have been helped by our prayers, and who are ready for Heaven, are like people who have been hauled up a great cliff, to arrive in joy and gratitude at the top, from which they can see Heaven's glory nearby.

Those Holy Souls who have been helped by our prayers, and who are ready for Heaven, are like people who have been hauled up a great cliff, to arrive in joy and gratitude at the top, from which they can see Heaven's glory nearby.

Those repentant Catholics who serve Christ in the home, at work and in the priesthood, for example, live deep in the heart of Christ. They are growing in holiness, ready to live one day as Saints, with the Father in Heaven.

It is a work of mercy to pray and preach so that people who are cruel and thoughtless towards others will repent before they die. Those who have no respect for fellow human beings, or no respect for the poor and the weak, are as if an inch away from Hell, should death suddenly arrive before they can repent and avoid eternal punishment.

A good preparation for Mass consists of prayer, with reflection on the Company of Heaven with whom we pray, and on the Eternal Father, Source of all Love, wisdom and life, to Whom we shall offer Christ's sacrificial praise, in the Holy Eucharist.

Those souls who live as Catholics but who never use the Sacraments of Penance are like people who never wash or clean their teeth but who imagine that they are pleasant to be with. Souls not properly purified stink before Heaven.

If we persevere in fervent love of God and of our neighbour we can arrive at the top of the mountain of holiness, and enter Heaven as soon as we die. Those friends of Christ who grow luke-warm or careless are collected, at death, and taken to Purgatory, to be made fully-alive and joyful, ready for Heaven. People who have walked down the mountain, of their own free will, are heading towards the Abyss, and doom.

Unless a seminarian becomes a man of prayer, with a deep love for Christ, a belief in the Spirit's power, and the Father's providential care, he will not be a good priest, nor will he be able to persevere in the Priesthood.

As the Son of God looked down from Heaven towards the filth and darkness which He would enter, far below, when He came into our sinful world, He saw the Blessed Virgin Mary, who had been prepared, at her consent, as a safe place for Him who is all purity and goodness. She was like an 'ark', to hold and protect Him for a while.

Catholics, more than other people, have so many opportunities for prayer, yet many cannot be bothered to praise Christ for Creation, or for His Incarnation, or for His Church, or when receiving Him in Holy Communion, or when near the tabernacle, or during each day as He sustains our lives, or at death when we shall meet Him and find out what we have done with our lives and whether we are ready for Heaven.

Christ is pleased to be honoured by preparation for His visit in Holy Communion to the housebound. Jesus stood in my room, as I waited to receive Him in Holy Communion. He showed me how joyful He was to be here. He gazed around Him, looking at the crucifix and the candles put out in His honour, and at the pictures of His Mother, and other Saints, nearby. He said: "IT IS GOOD TO BE HERE, WHERE I AM HONOURED". He meant, in a place where He is plainly held in high esteem as our God and Saviour: our joy and strength.