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Sick people have no special right to enter Heaven just because they have suffered much, no matter what sentimental onlookers say. The sick, too, are called to holiness. They need to believe, to think and act with charity, and to persevere, in order to be saved. Yet they have had greater than usual opportunities to do penance, by accepting their sufferings in patience.

How can a man 'lose' God after death, by being in Hell, separated from God, when it is God Who holds everyone in existence? It is as if a man were living in a bright, beautiful home, but insisted on building concrete walls of sinfulness around Himself, which he refused to destroy. He would have 'lost' the company of His family and friends, while his suffering would be entirely due to his own actions.

In no other way can I fulfil the will of God for me except by following in Christ's footsteps in obedience and patience. But Christ and His mother look with sympathy on us in our sufferings.

Everyone who discovers the Catholic Church can study, and ask questions, to learn more about the gift of faith. Some people shut their hearts and minds, to that free gift. They do not want to believe, because it would bring them the suffering of abandoning sinful habits. Yet the worst suffering of all is experienced at the loss of God, for unrepentant sinners.

Many of the Clergy are content to encourage their flocks in doing good; yet they neglect those people by failing to warn them of the grievous consequences of deliberate rejection of God, the Church or the Commandments. Falsely supposing that a man will be saved, no matter what sort of life he has led, they never mention Eternal suffering in Hell

One of the tricks of the evil one is to stir up grim memories in our minds at times when we have every right to be joyful. He stirs up images of wrongs endured, sins long ago forgiven, and of dangers and even assaults long-forgotten. He cannot bear to see us being carefree and joyful in Christ.

When Christ our God suffered on the Cross, as man, He endured His Passion for the sake of sinners. As God, He could see, even then, which sinners of future times would repent and turn to Him. He could see which of us, now loving Him, would turn to Him in prayer to offer Him love and consolation.

By turning to Christ our God, in prayer, it is as if we can touch, in His Godhead, as in a great cloud, each of the events of His earthly life, including all the sufferings of His Passion.

Christ in His Passion was cheered on by millions of watching Angels; and we who follow Him in our own work and sufferings can be certain that we have Saints as well as Angels cheering us on, encouraging us to persevere.

A disobedient man will one day learn the truth. Thousands of souls who persist in mortal sin fall into Hell, at death; yet even people guilty of lesser sins must suffer after death, if they are not fully purified and ready for Heaven. For example: Bishops, priests and theologians who have failed to teach the Faith in its fullness or who have led others astray by their support of heretical ideas.

At the Consecration, Christ said, of His Sacrifice on the Cross: "This is what sin did". He wants everyone to know that everyone who kills an unborn child commits a grievous sin. Each abortion is like the suffering meted out to Christ in His Passion: a crucifixion of the innocent.

Whoever 'offers up' her suffering in union with Christ in His Passion, and prays for people in need, can be sure of bringing help to sinners, or the sick or lonely, and others. It's as if those needy souls are brought close to God, in a great procession, as His healing light shines upon them - even if the one praying has no idea who is being helped.

It is true that Jesus healed everyone. But we cannot accuse sick people who fail to improve, after prayer, of having little faith. The Lord permits some people to bear sufferings so that - just like Him, on the Cross - they might do penance for the sins of other people. Others are allowed, by the Lord, a time in which to reflect on their lives and to amend their sinful ways. Others, by patience in sickness, set a good example.

There is only one Way to Heaven, made by Christ, Who had come down from Heaven; so if we picture life on earth, we should picture Christ on the Cross, on Calvary - with a ladder nearby, which reaches as far as Heaven. Christ made that Way, by His suffering and death and Resurrection. We are heirs and heiresses to life in Heaven if we have passed through the water of Baptism - like a cleansing river - and live for love of Christ until we die. That is 'salvation'.

There are times in our lives when we feel all alone, in pain and turmoil, as if far out to sea, longing for help, whilst people on the shore believe that we are enjoying ourselves. Yet there is one Friend Who always knows the truth, and is willing to help us.

Here, now, today, we are present to Calvary's Sacrifice. Christ, Really Present, prays to the Father for sinners today, just as He did on Calvary; and we can unite our prayers and works and sufferings with His, to the Father.

Whenever a person offers up, in union with Christ in His Passion, some painful or distressing experience or state or event, in patience, to help sinners, someone in spiritual danger is saved from falling into Hell. The prayers we offer in Jesus' name are powerful, especially when we do penance for those who refuse to do so.

Christ is our Creator, with the Father and the Holy Spirit. Because of His sincere love for us, we can be sure that whenever He has seen someone suffer - especially the martyrs - it has almost broken His heart to see it, though it has been necessary as part of the victory over evil.

Christ our Saviour is touched to heart - deeply touched - by all the suffering He sees. Every person who suffers, even those whose sufferings were caused by their own fault, can be certain of Christ's sympathy and compassion. Even when people are not healed, they should believe that Christ can bring good out of evil.

By offering up our pains and unavoidable sufferings in union with Christ in His Passion we join in His redeeming work in our generation and bring powerful help to needy souls caught in sin, sadness or near-despair.