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In the spiritual life, we are never stationary. We are either moving closer to God or further away from Him. We either increase our union with Him, or diminish it, by every one of our thoughts, acts, words and choices.

Christ makes the souls of sinners beautiful by His grace; and we sinful people can make our souls very beautiful by our trust in Him. When we really believe in His love for us, and act as though we believe that - confident in the power of prayer, and of the action of Divine Grace - our soul is like a beautiful temple, in His sight.

It is important that we persevere in our intercessions for the needy. There are many people who have not yet accepted the truth about God's love for them, His desire to free them from their sins, and the need for repentance and prayer, so that they can share God's life, through Christ, and follow the sure Way to holiness and Heaven. Without the life of grace, within them, people are trapped in sin and ignorance, as if in semi-darkness, in an area of chaos and hopelessness, beneath a shining highway.

Satan is tireless in his efforts to corrupt and endanger God's friends. There is a holy Way on which we can walk: a way of light and peace, on which we can walk in the knowledge and love of God, confident that by His grace and mercy we are making our way towards Heaven. Yet we must be vigilant until the moment of death, determined not to allow Satan's tricks, or our own weaknesses and sinful instincts, to draw us off that road.

Christ wants us to realise that wherever there is suffering and injustice, His love is needed: His love, and respect for all who are generally treated as inferior or even worthless: girls and women, the uneducated or sick or disabled, or people of another race or background. A really just society is one that follows the teachings of Christ. We can ask, as a 'measure' of justice anywhere on earth, 'How are women treated in their families?'

Many people inhabit houses which were once a safe distance from the sea; but nearby cliffs have eroded, and the houses are in imminent danger of collapse. This plight mirrors the state of spiritual danger of Catholics who neglect the sacraments and rarely or never pray, and have not repented of their sins. God invites them to act, to find safety, to be freed from fear and danger. Unless they heed Him, they will fall, not into the sea but into the Abyss, for all Eternity.

In St. Joseph's shrine, in Missouri, for example, people of earlier centuries were immersed in Catholic imagery and culture. Absorbing it, they were helped to withstand the alien culture outside the places of worship. Today, we need to be so immersed; and since so many of our Catholic churches have been stripped bare of imagery, that is both inspiring and educational, God has provided both truth and beauty in the Radiant Light collection of pictures, in which anyone on-line can be immersed.

Christ is weeping, horrified at witnessing the abuse of innocent children by priests who should have been trustworthy figures in their lives, indeed, should have been 'icons of Christ', holy, loveable and loving, chaste and kind.

When we turn to our friends, the Saints, to request their prayers for ourselves and our intentions, it's as if the Saints lead by the hand the one who prays, to bring her closer to God. It has been the delight of Christians, since the earliest days of the Church, to know that those who have gone before them, to Heaven, are alive in Christ, and praying for them.

Only the holy can share God's holiness in Heaven, in perfect joy and peace. There are people who say - 'I'm not a bad person. I try to be good, but I don't need all that advice about prayer and Church-going'. They reveal the depth of their ignorance by such words, and on their state of soul. It's as if, within them, is a labyrinth of blocked passages and alley-ways: of unchristian attitudes, prejudices, unused spiritual faculties, a dark conscience locked in a cul-de-sac, and the gloom caused by Original Sin.

The Church is a home like no other: a true home for sinners. Christ wants us to hold up our heads bravely despite all the criticism currently made of the entire Church because of the wicked acts of a very small number of priests. He sees the Church as a giant, amongst institutions and organisations as She sustains and promotes life through her medical work, educational projects and care of the poor - as well as her main task: the care and salvation of souls, for the glory of God and our eternal joy.

Christ rejected Satan's offer to give Him the glory of the kingdoms of the world, if Christ would worship him - and then Christ gave a demonstration of humility, to help us, since He knows that the most common temptation of weak human beings is to pride, and self-sufficiency. Other weak people are tempted to despondency, thinking themselves unlovable. These too need Christ's powerful help.

Satan is at work to draw us towards foolishness and sin. Wherever there is a crisis, stirred up by the influence and power of the evil one, innocent bystanders are caused to suffer - just as our Blessed Lady suffered as she stood beneath the Cross, though she was innocent, and watched her son die in agony. We must pray for all who become embroiled in tragic events, that they will remain united to Christ, and not lose heart.

The fact that the Catholic Church is persecuted is a sign that she shares in the sufferings of her Master, as the True Church that has been criticised in every age. If the people of the world were to march past us, criticising Catholics, even the very last of the persons would have something bad to say about the Church; but the Church consists of the Saints and the Holy Souls too. We must not lose heart, but trust in the promises of our Saviour, and in His graces.

The Church hands on the message of Jesus Christ. People who ignore God, and hate the Church or her teachings are seen by Christ as living in a degree of spiritual darkness, even if they were not told good things about the Catholic Faith when they were young. And no-one can enter Heaven without having shown some degree of humility and penitence before God. That is why we, today, should proclaim the message of St. Peter: "Repent - that your sins may be blotted out". Unbelievers, and proud people, cannot enter.

The smoke from volcanoes can endanger aircraft. People are understandably sad and upset when their earthly plans are foiled by upheavals in the natural world, yet those are comparatively minor tragedies when compared with the loss of God, which occurs when a person dies without having repented of serious sin; and the great cloud of smoke that rises from Hell obscures from them, forever, the sight of God in His glory and beauty.

Obstinate souls require firm 'treatment'. A soul that is well-cared for, in the sense of being pleasing to God because of its purity, humility and love, is like a beautiful lawn that is pleasant to walk upon; but a soul that neglects its spiritual health is like a place of dry grass broken up by patches of mud. It needs to be well-dug before new seed can be sown; and that 'digging' might take the form of an apparent catastrophe in ordinary life.

All over the world, people pray prayers, sending them up towards God the Father Who hears everything. But when there are prayers that rise up in the Name of Jesus by people faithful to Jesus, it's as if Jesus Himself is rising up to intercede with the Father, Who cannot fail to hear and answer such prayers; hence our confidence, if we live in a state of grace.

Some of us imagine that if we have set out on a sinful way of life we can never escape from it - as if we have entered a train that is carrying us away to our doom; but even trains have an emergency cord to pull, if we are brave. And in the spiritual life, we can decide, of our free will, to co-operate with Divine Grace, and to 'stop in our tracks', to change our way.

Whenever we offer up our sufferings, willingly accepting them in union with Christ in His Passion, we can know that we win graces for the Holy Souls in Purgatory, or for people on earth who are trapped in sin. We enable someone, somewhere, to leave gloom behind and to move towards the light of Heaven. We do their penance, for them.