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Christ as an infant in the care of His Mother has set us an example of complete trust, which is a quality necessary for the good functioning of a good society. God the Father has arranged that people everywhere entrust themselves to the care of others: babies to parents, children to teachers, elderly people to their grown-up children, and spouses trusting one another. A good society should be ordered on the pre-supposition that citizens desire to lead good lives.

When we live in union with Christ, it's as if we find, through the union of our humanity with His humanity, that we achieve union with His Divinity, which is One with the Father; and so, through Christ, we have access to Heaven. Even though we cannot see it, we know that our prayers reach Heaven, through Christ, in the light of the Holy Spirit; and we are at peace.

We must persevere in our belief that God is good, whatever happens. God asks us to trust in Him, whatever we experience in life. Just as mountain-climbers keep on believing in the existence of the peaks, even when sudden mists obscure the view, so, faithful followers of Christ must trust that He will lead them Home to the Father and Heaven even when the Way ahead seems to be uncertain, or the Goal impossible to reach.

If we ask, God will rescue us wherther we are priests or laity. To live in alienation from God is like living, spiritually, in an Arctic world, cold and barren, swept away by icy winds, and not supportive of life. To choose to leave that world, by turning to God in trust and penitence is to find the road, that leads to Heaven: a road which is icy at first, but which leads to a warmer 'climate', and towards perfect union with God.

Really to love God is to prefer His Will to our ambitions. The Lord is glad to see a non-Catholic Christian come into full Communion with the Catholic Church. Yet from that 'spot' on the road there is a lengthy journey to be made, towards Heaven, and much to learn. Growth in faith, hope and love should be achieved, by God's grace, through prayer, spiritual reading, self-mastery, and acts of kindness, in humility, patience and trust.

God knows all our needs, fears, hopes and joys. God asks us to live in a beautiful relationship with Him, now that we have been reconciled. He asks us to entrust ourselves to Jesus as comfortably as a tiny child entrusts itself to a good mother, never doubting that she is there to feed, console, hold and nurture him.

God's entire nature is Love. He is never unloving. The Father wants us to entrust ourselves to His care as confidently as a tiny child who entrusts himself to the care of his good mother. He knows of our sufferings and problems; yet He can bring good out of evil, make the weak strong, and make us joyful, ready for the joy of Heaven.

Where there is a good relationship, and a man in a garden is confident that his neighbour steps onto his balcony every day, he calls out with confidence, and knows that he will engage in conversation, even if the balcony from which the neighbour speaks is entwined with foliage, blocking the view. We can be confident that Christ is close to us, glad to be in conversation, even if we can not see Him.

If we have abandoned our sins, by God's grace, and if we love God, and arrange our day so that we offer frequent, sincere prayers, we can be sure that God looks upon our soul with delight. It's as if He sees a well-tended, well-watered garden, with weeds under control. We are free to choose one type of prayer or another, just as a gardener can choose to grow more vegetables than flowers. The Holy Spirit guides us.

To be alienated from God by sin, or to be in a confused state, with little faith, can seem like being trapped in an underground cave, in the gloom, with no visible exit. Yet God is all-powerful and good. No-one need feel hopeless, if he turns to Him in trust and repentance.

While a man lives, he can hope to be saved. As long as a man lives, he can hope to be able to repent of his sins and to be saved. Even a priest, guilty of scandalous, sinful behaviour, has the hope of being forgiven, changed and made worthy of Heaven, if he is willing to repent, in sincere contrition, and sincere trust in Christ. Repentance is like a rope that God gives him, to draw him from the danger of eternal loss.

Just as we need to trust our judgement when we are in physical danger, so we must, too, in spiritual matters. Just as we are right to feel alarmed if someone entering a nearly-empty train carriage chooses to sit right next to us, so we are not wrong to feel alarmed at indications of spiritual danger; and we should call on the name of Jesus, and prayer of Our Lady to help us, and also use holy water to put Satan to flight.

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.

Wise people recognise the truth that there are three states of life, in relation to Eternity. There are people already on the Way to Heaven: the bright Way made by Christ; and His Church calls all people to walk along it. Other people are in a gloomy, rocky area, not yet having found Christ, or not yet having put their trust in Him. And here and there, another state is seen, as someone is sitting on the edge of the Way to Heaven, temporarily overcome by inertia or lack of hope.

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.

Some truths can scarcely by borne. It is tragic that a child in our world, who begins by trusting others, sometimes has that trust shattered - by family problems - or by war, when even children have ended a train journey in concentration camps. Despite these horrors, Christ asks us, who believe in Him, to trust Him, who is trustworthy. He asks us to be like little children, confident that He Who is good and loving, can help us to endure all trials, and eventually reach Heaven.

If we are willing to be united with Christ in bearing unavoidable sufferings with patience and trust, and praying for the Church and the world, we become like Him, we join in His redemptive work of the Cross. It's as though we are with Him, beside the Cross, busy applying His Precious Blood as a healing remedy to the wounded souls for whom we pray.

None of us can imagine how close Christ is to His holy Mother Mary. He Who created her was later born of her. Her love for Him, and her trust in Him, were perfect. He confided in her. She knew, even before the Apostles did, that Christ would suffer; and so she prayed, and endured, and waited; and she consoled her beloved son by her presence.

We should try to do everything calmly, trusting in God. If we rush and fuss, as we go about our ordinary activities, we are likely to trip up and make mistakes; and so it is in the spiritual life. If we try to rush ahead, unwilling to do God's Will carefully, and with patience, we are liable to make mistakes, to trip up and make silly decisions.

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.