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Christ comforted me by drawing up my soul towards Heaven and showing me the company of Saints. They look with amazement, He said, and gladness, when they see any of us act in obedience, and love for Christ.
Our prayers, with the prayers of the Saints (whose intercession we seek), rise up like incense to Heaven, like a fragrant offering which is acceptable to Him.
The prayers of the Saints rise up to join the sacrificial prayer of Christ, as it rose from the Cross and rises still from Christ Who offers the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, which is Calvary's offering, re-presented.
The prayers of the Saints, offered for needy souls, are like a fragrant offering to God. As they rise to Heaven, they can penetrate even those hearts which are locked 'from the inside', and persuade sinners to open their hearts to God.
People who repent of their sins show their contrition in different ways. Real repentance causes souls to turn to God as did St. Ignatius Loyola and others. But Judas rushed away to kill himself, despite his sorrow. Hence the need to pray for one another.
Christ told me of the message He offers to all who dissent from the teaching of the Catholic Church: "Imagine, if you can, that the Church's teachings are all true, that her discipline is wise, her customs admirable, her Saints active and the holy Angels powerful. There things are true; and I invite you to believe Me".
It is the Lord Who has inspired the Church to celebrate special anniversaries in her own life and in the lives of the Saints. He invites us to celebrate not just those feast-days, but also our own: for example, the anniversary of a baptism, a conversion, or reception.
We can picture the life of Heaven as being like a sort of parallel universe, right beside us: just as real as the visible, everyday life we know, or even more real, yet at present invisible. If we are faithful we will one day pierce the veil, to be with Christ and the Saints when we die, to stay with them for all Eternity.
For a life that is truly worthwhile we need faith in God, trust in His goodness and power, and in the merits of Jesus' Passion and death. Even a person stranded on a desert island, with no-one in sight, is connected to God the Father, through Jesus, and to the Saints and Angels of Heaven, and to the Catholic Church throughout the world, as long as he has faith. We must do all we can to make that faith grow.
Christ asked me to forget about my little faults, and to be joyful at the wonderful company of the Saints. They gather here with us, at Mass, to praise the Father through Christ, at the offering of the Holy Sacrifice.
The glory of Heaven, which seems to be like a glorious sun, seen from earthly life, stretches upwards into infinite heights, coiled upon itself; and the happy Saints within those vast interiors are astonished by the vistas spread out before them in eternal newness and beauty, with nothing tedious or stale.
People who fulfil their everyday tasks in union with Christ, in the home or the workplace - or in the Priesthood - grow in holiness. Their communion with Him drives them to do everything for love of Him and of the Father, Who is the Source of all holiness. They are becoming ready to live one day as Saints, with the Father in Heaven.
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.
In our everyday lives, people who fulfil their everyday tasks out of love for Christ, are held in His care, close to Him, helped to grow in holiness by their Communion with Him.They are becoming ready to live one day as Saints, with the Father in Heaven.
In our everyday lives, people who fulfil their everyday tasks out of love for Christ, are held in His care, close to Him, helped to grow in holiness by their Communion with Him.They are becoming ready to live one day as Saints, with the Father in Heaven.
Through Christ, at every Mass, we share in His praise of the Father, and are brought into the presence of the whole company of Heaven. It is tragic if we show little gratitude or devotion.
The Lord wants us all to know that when we pray through and with Christ in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass we pray to the Father, in the Spirit, amidst the Saints, the Angels and the Holy Souls, who are united with us in our praise and thanksgiving.
As we gather in church for Mass, we can be sure that Christ Himself will be with us, offering worthy praise to the Father from our sanctuary, in the presence of all the Saints and Angels. And we unite our prayers with His.
No one achieves sanctity by looking timidly at the waters of holiness, or trying to remain on the surface. It is the Saints, who believe that the water can support them, and who want to accept Christ's invitation, who plunge in, experience transformation, and persevere. With a special diet, and with courage, training and good instruction they become champion swimmers.
All the souls in Purgatory join in our prayers, as we praise the Father, through Christ, in the Spirit, at Mass. Yet each one longs for the day when he will not only praise God but will also see Him, from amongst the Saints, who also pray with us and who enjoy the glory of God, and His beauty.
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