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Christian women who live and work in the world need not fear they are sinful if they take care of their appearance, and try to look attractive for their husbands. Sensible decisions about clothing and hair care are necessary; it is only vanity and extravagance that are unworthy of people bound for Heaven.

God understands the sacrifice of celibate men who serve Him. When priests have lived well, they have been Christ amongst others, and have drawn down grace in torrents upon a darkened world. These men, when they die, are greeted by Christ and Our Lady at the edge of Heaven; then they make their way to the Father, in the heights, Who sees in them the image of His Son.

People give joy to Christ by their gratitude for the gift of life. If the whole world were to show such delight at the birth of children, how much happier a place it would be! And how terrible for Christ, to see His gift of life despised and discarded.

Just as God has gifts for the Church, such as the Holy Eucharist, for His friends, so he has gifts for the whole world, the greatest of which - given even to those who ignore or hate God - is the gift of life. But when people reject life, and destroy innocent babies in the womb in the horror of abortion, they reject God the Father, whether or not they realise it.

In our country, in a supposedly civilised part of the world, hundreds of babies a day are being slaughtered. That is what Christ has to watch, just as He watches those who want to defend the practice. Other people want to defend their clinics and their income; but Christ is determined to bring about change, and banish this horrible destruction.

Jesus Christ our God asks us to gaze above the rooftops, and across the whole of our land. He asks us to be aware that in this supposedly Christian country, in a supposedly civilised world, some politicians want to issue edicts that forbid us to teach right and wrong - especially about marriage, and purity.

When we feel nearly overcome by the troubles of the world, or temptations from Satan, we can turn to Our Lady, Who loves to help us by her prayers. It's as if she raises her hand to God, who sends down grace that causes a pathway to appear amidst the tangle of coils in which we feel trapped. With such help we can be freed from anxiety and helped to endure our pains.

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.

Whenever Christ sees writing which conveys the truth about human nature; its flaws, its potential - and about the temptations people suffer, He sees Truth going up to Heaven like a fragrance, in a world where there is so much lying and deceit.

The Church is like a walled garden, in which both the clergy and the laity have opportunities to resist temptations in the clamour of the world, and to become peaceful, holy people - able to become free of greed, selfish ambitions and other dangers. All of us need to stay close to Christ in prayer.

If Christ had been born today to poor people, in a cave, in freezing weather, someone would have said: "He's got very poor prospects; He should have been aborted". Yet what a gift he was to the world! And everyone has gifts, above all the gift of life, even if he or she needs care and attention. It is wicked to slaughter tiny persons in the womb.

In all sorts of buildings where people gather to worship with those of the same beliefs, there can be found aspects of truth; yet the Truth that God the Father wants everyone to know is that His Son has been sent into our world, as man, to save sinners and to bring us to Eternal Life. Only in one place - the Catholic Church - is the Truth shown out in its fullness, and the full means of Salvation given.

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.

By sincere prayer in Christ's name, we can make a 'bridge' - thanks to Divine grace - between what we desire now, and what we ought to desire in order to become holy. A new stage of determination and repentance can give us a real hope of making progress on our spiritual journey instead of continuing in mediocrity or worldliness.

Pornography is like a thick, poisonous cloud emerging from our world, and which is enveloping the globe, as people hide within it, and commit all sorts of sins and types of indecency, including drunkenness and multiple sexual partners. Brave politicians and brave people involved in televisual and other communications are needed, to halt this cloud of filth.

Christ wants priests to be identifiable as priests by their clerical wear, all around the world, so that people everywhere have a means of knowing that Christ is caring for them in a special way by placing these 'other Christs' amongst them. This need not mean that priests should be confrontational - and there are exceptional circumstances where visibility is imprudent.

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.

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.

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.