Search Page

The Holy Souls have only each other for company: such sad company, as they weep, and bewail the times they wasted on earth when they might have shown more love for God or their neighbour, or might have been quicker to repent of their sins. But at least they are safe now, and grateful for safety - with Heaven to look forward to, in the end.

The Holy Souls have only each other for company: such sad company, as they weep, and bewail the times they wasted on earth when they might have shown more love for God or their neighbour, or might have been quicker to repent of their sins. But at least they are safe now, and grateful for safety - with Heaven to look forward to, in the end.

Christ was paraded by His captors before jeering crowds; yet He accepted without hatred or impatience the humiliating treatment he received because of His words. He let nothing stop Him from His mission to show out His Divine nature and to rescue us from our sins. We cannot repay Him for all He suffered to bring truth and salvation to the world; but we give joy to Him when, in gratitude, we show love towards Him and our neighbour.

Christ was paraded by His captors before jeering crowds; yet He accepted without hatred or impatience the humiliating treatment he received because of His words. He let nothing stop Him from His mission to show out His Divine nature and to rescue us from our sins. We cannot repay Him for all He suffered to bring truth and salvation to the world; but we give joy to Him when, in gratitude, we show love towards Him and our neighbour.

There are priests in great moral danger who need our prayers. A priest who leaves his sacristy in order to commit deliberate sin is like a man who leaves a clean room to enter immediately into a filthy alley, where he will inevitably become dirty and foul-smelling, and unworthy to celebrate the sacraments.

When a priest commits grave sin, and does not repent, it is as if he dirties everything he touches, as he goes about his duties; but nothing can sully the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass or Christ the pure and Holy Saviour, Son of God, Whose once-for-all Sacrifice each priest offers from the altar.

A person who rarely prays, or who prays but does not open her heart completely to Christ cannot develop an intimate friendship with Him. It is as if she declares that He is a good friend but, not trusting Him, keeps the door of her soul on the chain.

Can we imagine that the Blessed Virgin Mary did not know when her son had risen from the dead? She knew, at the moment of His rising, as she experienced in her own heart His bliss and glory. She cried out in joy - and later on was overwhelmed with joy when He visited her before anyone else.

People usurp the Father's role when they act against His wishes (even without realising it) by their suicide or self-harm. Life is a gift from God, not to be thrown away or damaged.

God can see that some atheists are muddled and badly-taught; yet there are some who have made themselves 'blind' to His existence, have refused to listen to the truth about His existence, have ignored the promptings of God, and have failed to respect His laws or to offer a single word of thanks for the gifts of God which include life itself. Someone like this has chosen to be separated from God - and he remains separate, in Hell, for all eternity, if he does not repent before he dies.

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.

The faith of Catholics is not based on a theory, or a calculation, but a Person. It's as if a special person has been sent in a capsule from outer space! Some people picture the many religions, sects and cults as being like goods in a shop. We survey the shelves until we find the one that suits us - we are told. Christianity is different. We are given, above all, a Person: the Divine Person who gave Himself to us, in our world, as a baby. He lived, taught, grew up, was killed, and rose from the dead, so proving His power, and making a way back to Heaven for all who would repent of sin and follow Him.

The Father in Heaven looks down upon many children who have been badly instructed. It is amazing that at their First Holy Communion many know nothing about sin, about the Saviour Who died for us, about the Sacrifice of Calvary, and about that same sacrifice being re-presented here, in the Mass.

As a drug-user suffers when his supply of drugs is withdrawn, and his whole body cries out for its former source of pleasure and well-being, so a soul in Hell suffers - because of his own free choices - when, in Hell, he is suddenly without all those things that make it pleasurable and joyful to be a human being. He is without light, love, joy, peace, beauty, comfort or tenderness - all through his own fault, by his sinful choices.

By the powerful prayer we offer in the name of Jesus Christ, we can - by His grace - help to remove evil influences from the souls of people trapped in sin. Demons flee at the sound of Jesus's name, and peace is restored to the heart, soul and mind, with a renewal of innocence and trust.

Christ said that by offering up our sufferings in union with Him, in intercession for others, we can (by His grace) save people from committing mortal sin, or save sinners who are dying from falling unrepentant into Hell.

Just as a dying sinner can (by God's grace) be saved from Hell by the visit of a charitable person, such as a nurse, for example, who pauses to pray with him, so sinners can be held back from committing mortal sin if we pause to 'offer up' our sufferings in intercession.

Christ said that by offering up our sufferings in union with Him, in intercession for others, we can (by His grace) save people from committing mortal sin, or save sinners who are dying from falling unrepentant into Hell.

Christ told me how little the Cross is mentioned by preachers and teachers today: the Cross on which He suffered because of the grievous sins no longer mentioned. He is grieving, too, because people say that devotion to His Mother is old fashioned, and because Catholic school children are often taught more about self-esteem than humility.

Many priests fail to mention the Cross. Jesus died on it, because of our sins. Few warnings are given from the pulpit, by many priests, about the serious sin by which people condemn themselves to Hell if they do not repent before they die. Many are lost because they have failed to repent of their adulteries, suicides, abortions, and lack of faith in God.