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Just as Christ was touched by the people who lowered their sick friend through the roof, so that he could be healed, so He is touched when we bring our sick or sad friends to Him, through our intercessions. Through our faith, and His merciful love, people in need receive help, even if we cannot yet see the results.

A person who tries to lead a life worthy of Heaven is guaranteed the help of Heaven, even if not seeing exactly how the graces of God are poured out from Heaven, or for what specific purposes. Faith is necessary; yet faith is never confounded, since God is faithful.

We celebrate all the souls of holy lives, on All Saints Day. Holy Patriarchs and Prophets have already reached Heaven. It's as if they are held in a Fire of Love, in ecstasy, in blazing light, as a mighty Breath sweeps their robes around them. They did what the Father asked of them rather than their own will. They had responded to the Spirit's promptings, out of love for the Father Who created them and calls sinners to repentance.

If we look at the long line of Popes, from the present day, back to Pope Saint Pius X and then back through Popes of many earlier centuries, as far as St. Peter, we see that the true doctrine of the Church has been handed on by the Popes, even if individuals here and there have been very sinful. Christ wants wavering souls to know that, in doctrinal matters, we are 'safe with Peter'.

Helped by our prayers, offered in the name of Christ, the Holy Souls make their way towards Heaven. All those who are about to be welcomed into Heaven are by now carefree, purified, and no longer remorseful or saddened by their sins. They see Heaven as an undeserved free gift, so their hearts and minds are full of thanks and praise - just like the Saints whose company they are about to enjoy.

It is tragic, that a human being can arrive at great old age - as if on a pinnacle, after a lengthy life on earth - without having given any thought to God. What a shock such a person has, if she dies in such a state, having been devoted to her own pleasure, and sees that she has spent an entire life without praising or thanking God, or doing His Will.

People in mortal sin are being swept towards damnation as if in the waters of a great river that tumbles towards a large hole in the ground. The plight of many of them is due to abortion or pornography; but whoever calls out to God, 'I am sorry, Lord', can be rescued from her sinful state and restored to a life of grace and obedience.

People who live in mortal sin can be seen as immersed in a great river of sin which is sweeping them along, towards a great pit, where the waters fall underground. These people will be lost forever, unless they repent before they die. The Lord is especially aware of the horror, in our age, of the grave sins of abortion and pornography.

Christ wants us to know that He speaks to us about sin and Hell because of His great love for us. Just as a householder acts with kindness if he warns a new neighbour that there is an old well in that person's garden, where anyone could be lost, so Christ acts with kindness when He explains in various ways that certain types of behaviour can destroy the life of grace within our souls, extinguishing the light of the Holy Spirit within us - unless we repent and change.

Priests who find joy in the knowledge of God's love for them are like men who raise their faces to the sunshine to enjoy its warmth. Someone unhappy is as if holding an umbrella over his head, and shutting out the sun's rays. The umbrella represents any sin not yet confessed, or any injustice not yet put right, of which he was the cause. He needs to be at peace with God.

If a carpenter makes a good table, but finds that the table wishes to be a truck, he would be amazed. Just as silly would be a hedgehog who wishes to be a gazelle, or a person destined for sainthood, and Heaven, who wishes to spend his life fulfilling selfish ambitions, careless about his eternal destiny and even involved in grave sin.

Sin is like a spiritual leprosy that can be marvellously banished through our sincere repentance. Christ forgives every repentant sinner; and He is deeply touched when people then turn to Him in gratitude and love.

Bishops are appointed to teach, and to lead the Church in prayer. When the Pope's advisors are discussing which men might be appointed as Bishops, it is not enough for anyone to say that a certain man is very 'pastoral', if he is not also doctrinally-sound in his beliefs, and fervent in ensuring the reverent conduct of the Sacred Liturgy.

Good art is a gift made possible by God; but like all gifts it should be used wisely. It should never serve to offer malicious depictions of certain groups of persons or individuals, nor to inflame sinful desires by pornographic content, nor to corrupt the minds of the viewers, for example, by making an evil ideology or regime seem admirable.

There is no doubt that our priests deserve care and respect both from their parishioners and their Bishops, as well as sufficient rest, and free time. Yet priestly life can only be renewed, where priests are dispirited or dejected, if there is also a humble, sincere, renewal of trusting prayer to Christ, and devotion to His Holy Mother Mary.

If we lead a life free from sin, by co-operation with God's grace, and we avoid deliberate distractions in our prayer, it's as if we stand and pray before Heaven in a tunnel of light. Divine grace pours upon us, increasing both our desire for wisdom and understanding and our ability to do God's Will in every circumstance.

Faith is a gift from God, but it comes when people who have heard the story of God's action proclaimed, accept the grace to believe it. That story or proclamation is about God's plan of Salvation. It includes His gradual Revelation of Himself to Abraham, Moses, and others, and His Revelation in His Son, Jesus Christ, who is God-made-man, and who lived on earth, and died, and rose from the dead, to conquer sin and death, to save sinners.

A priest has been ordained in order to preach the Gospel and to offer sacrifice, in order to rescue souls from their sins and lead them towards Heaven. So a priest who leads a soul towards Hell by suggesting his mortal sins are not serious, and that, in fact, someone can continue in his sins without any pangs of conscience, is a monster, in God's sight, because he is doing Satan's work.

By our Baptism we leap over a wall, it seems, that separates the holy from the unholy, no longer being stained by original sin. But the city beyond the wall represents earthly life, through which we should travel without being enslaved by sin. Heaven lies ahead, for the faithful, hence the importance of good preaching, as the clergy urge people not to grow weary, and never to betray Christ. Only the holy can enter Heaven.

Christ wants us to think carefully about 'environmentalism'. We are right to be concerned for people all over the world - to ensure clean water supplies, and reduced pollution, for example. It is a mistake, if we become concerned with the care of the planet almost to the point of excluding from our minds any interest in the state of our souls. The heart of the Gospel message concerns liberation from sin, and preparation for Eternal Life.