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There are clear signs at a roundabout; so, as soon as people take the wrong road at a roundabout and realise it, they are wise if they turn back to the roundabout rather than blunder about in the woods, and risk being lost; and so it is in the Christian Life. Anyone who loses his way should not blunder around, or ask advice of people who, also, are lost, but go back to the 'signs', which are the Commandments, and the Precepts of the Church.

Wise people reflect, and actively prepare for Heaven. As we occupy ourselves with ordinary concerns, it's as if we are on a walkway which moves slowly towards the moment of our death. Then, the quality of our relationship with God will be revealed - or even the lack of one. Some people will see God and leap into His embrace. Others gladly surrender to purification, ashamed at not being ready for Heaven. Others continue to do what they did on earth, ignoring or despising God, and freely walking away on the steep road to Hell.

Christ gives to many women the greatest gift they could receive from Him (apart from the gift of salvation), the gift of a child. But when a woman refuses the gift of life and asks for her unborn baby to be destroyed within her, it is, in Christ's sight, as if she is not just refusing the gift but also jumping up and down on it, determined to ruin it, whilst Christ looks on.

It is not the Bishop's primary task to encourage people to 'save the planet' or merely to leave the world a better place - though we are trying to build God's Kingdom. The Bishop is a man who stands in front of the Abyss, his arms upraised, preaching, as he strives to lead his flock to repent of their sins while they can, to confess them, and to lead holy lives in preparation for Heaven.

Bishops are called to do more than show out niceness. The Bishops of the Church should act, in their faithfulness and preaching, like a 'wall' of truth and care, to prevent any of their flock from falling into the Abyss. When Bishops neglect to preach about sin, but are mainly concerned to be nice to everyone, they will have to account to God for the souls of those whom they let through the gap in the 'wall', without a word of warning.

Some Catholics spread distorted beliefs through emotive speech and amusing stories; but Christ knows that the 'wheat and tares' are growing in the Church, side by side. If the weeds are a danger to the Church, the 'wheat' keeps growing, for example, the 'wheat' of the wise teaching of Pope Benedict in his books, interviews and homilies.

If we were able to look over a huge hedge that surrounds Heaven, we would see gleaming squares and bright fountains where people can stroll in perfect companionship, if they are not busy praising God. Heaven is beautiful, and goes on forever; but everyone who enters must have a beautiful, holy soul. Wise people try, by God's grace, to get ready in good time.

The soul of a person who freely chooses to sin can be pictured as a beautiful chamber, with a pair of inward-opening doors; but this place is filled by filthy water, which leaks into that room whenever that person sins. If he does not repent, he is in danger of drowning. Even worse, if he dies, unrepentant, the doors will be unable to open, inwards, because of the weight of the filthy water. He will be sealed with his sins forever, unable to enter Heaven.

Modern countries call themselves civilized. But they differ from those ancient cultures who offered human sacrifice only in that people today usually try to hide what they do. Unborn babies are routinely killed, supposedly to bring happiness to the mothers, and some elderly or sick persons are killed, to make life easier for other people: killed in modern hospitals, quietly, by professionals who defy God and ruin their own souls.

Christ's attitude is one of eternal surrender to the Father's Will; yet Father, Son and Holy Spirit have one single, loving purpose: by the lifting-up of Christ, in His Death and Resurrection, to make a Way in which weak people can follow: people who have also surrendered to God's plans and have become Christlike, loving, obedient and dutiful, relying on Divine Grace.

Membership of Parliament can be like a journey on a boat downstream, in which people occasionally find themselves going over a weir, to experience turbulence and danger. People who are courageous, and prepared for such upheavals, do not panic, but don't allow plans to be wrecked. They persevere, to relaunch a boat, refusing to let their good intentions be wrecked by careless members more concerned with self-interest than with service of the nation's voters.

It can sometimes seem as if the small number of Parliamentarians who want to do God's Will in opposing laws which permit abortion, and the killing of the sick or the elderly, cannot possibly succeed. Yet Christians do not work for good all alone. Just as an army of Angels accompanied the brave men who once crossed the Channel to defeat an evil regime, so armies of angels and Saints are ready to help any 'child of God' who calls for their aid and has confidence in their communion with him, 'in Christ'.

For every little or large suffering we willingly bear in patience - even an experience of pain at the dental surgery - we can help to save souls, by that offering of penance in union with Christ. We can help someone in mortal sin who suddenly realises what a dangerous state he is in, or perhaps a dying person, who suddenly receives the grace to turn to God, in trust and hope.

Good priests live as if in a radiant light, the light of grace, because of their love for Christ, which is shown out in love for the flocks they teach and cherish. Bad priests are like those areas in space called black holes, which emit no light, but draw in what is good, and destroy it.

We must pray with fervour, that everyone will see the truth: that from Christ, (and from His chosen Apostles) has come a river of redeemed humanity: each person forgiven and transformed by grace - except for those who now resemble dead fish floating in that river because they deserted Christ, whether through deliberate mortal sin or ceasing to believe in Him.

Terrible loss is risked by Catholics too proud to confess mortal sins. If it seems strange that forgiveness from Christ through His Church, in Confession, is like a 'door' to a state of grace, and the promise of Eternal Life if we remain faithful, we need only consider the fortunate few who enter a small gate in the great fence surrounding a great Palace. They have access to great riches, beautiful galleries and artefacts, and a close relationship with the Royal family, having consented to do as they were asked.

When we are too tired or too ill to name each precious friend and relation before God, to intercede for each in the name of God's Son, we can be certain that God understands our plight. He welcomes, all at once, all the people we have in mind, as if they are like a swarm of bees powerfully rising upwards to Heaven.

Our loving Father in Heaven invites us to share our lives with Him. We can be confident that He is just, kind and merciful, just like Jesus His Son; yet we are often afraid to show Him what our lives are really like. What do we try to keep secret from Him? What dark areas do we hide? Are we really sincere, as we say we are doing His Will and loving Him and our neighbour?

Just as desperate drifters all over the world might travel the highways of rich countries but have little hope, so, people who are spiritually lost might be in danger of despair. Yet to turn to God is to change things, by His grace. With encouragement from sincere God-loving people, those in turmoil can see a prospect of change.

Our Blessed Lady, standing in a snowy landscape, represents a perfect, sinless woman in a world populated by selfish, hard-hearted sinners. She was the perfect receptacle for the Son of God, descended from Heaven to save us. She never ceases to hold in her Immaculate heart the needs of all 'children of God', hence her numerous visits to this world throughout the centuries.