GIVE UNTIL IT HURTS!

Hello everyone

I hope you are well and at peace

Just before Christmas I was running a Parish mission
at Ayrfield in Dublin. There I met a man who had been
very badly betrayed by some people he trusted, because
of this he found it very hard to trust anyone again. But
because he had read my book he was willing to open
up to me, he wanted to go to confession but he was

scared, so I introduced him to Fr Tom the Parish Priest

who has an incredible gift of loving, he was able to unload
all the burdens he was carrying to him and afterwards he
was deeply touched by the love of God in the healing service.
Fr Tom said that the whole mission was worthwhile just
for him.

Next I flew to Los Angeles and as I was going through

border control entering the United States, the man who
was checking my passport said "You seem to have visited
a lot of different countries, for what purpose" I told him that
I am an evangelist and I write books. "What kind of books?"
was his reply, so I told him I used to be a Gangster in
London until God changed my life.  He then asked "did
you spend time in prison?" I said "I'm not going to tell you!"
(there was always the possibility that he wouldn't let me into
the country with my record) we both laughed and he said
"I love books like that!" so I gave him a copy, and he cleared
me to enter country. I had to smile because only God
could have arranged such an incident.

We arrived in LA on Christmas Eve and we where driving
around looking for a place to eat, but of course everywhere
was full, I pulled up outside a Polish restaurant, Niall
went in to see if there was any tables free and while he was
waiting he felt inspired to give one of the waitresses a miraculous
medal and she was so delighted, it obviously meant a lot to
her. Even though it was very busy they cleared a table for us
and we had a lovely meal and despite being half way round
the world they made as feel like a part of their family in the
restaurant. At the end of the meal I gave the same waitress
my rosary beads and she was very moved and just gave
me a big hug, she had a deep faith in God and he seemed
to be showing her on Christmas Eve how precious she was
to him.

Even though we were on holiday there were many occasions
where the Holy Spirit asked us to be available to him and
as Mother Teresa used to say "Give until it hurts"

Whilst in Los Angeles I spent some time with Paul Kelmenson
who you might remember is a big producer that would like
to turn my book into a film, his mother who is an actress herself
joined us and we had a blessed time together. We discussed
how difficult it is to give witness to God in an environment like
Hollywood. In my opinion he is a great witness as is his mum.
We went to Mass together in Beverley hills in the Church where
Frank Sinatra's funeral took place and where many of the stars
have worshiped God.

We then traveled to Mexico City to visit the shrine of Our Lady
of Guadalupe, years previously I had consecrated my heart to
Mary before this very image and it was always my desire to
visit the shrine. During Mass in the Basilica, a family sat beside
me who were obviously very poor and had probably walked
a long way to get there as they were covered in dust.They had
a young son, I felt Our Lady ask me to give the little boy some
money, as I did so I told him "this is for Christmas" and he lit up
and he gestured that he would pray for me, I said I would do
the same.

After flying back from the States, we departed directly for
England to run two weeks of  retreats at a school
in Canterbury, even before we started we were jet lagged.
It was a hard slog and we had to be up at 5am each morning
and there were also talks in the evenings, after having been
in the school all day. We had a day off scheduled, but lo and
behold talks were arranged on that day also. By this stage
we all felt tired, but then the words of Mother Teresa came
back to me once more "Give until it hurts". God asks us to
be generous, especially when we don't particularly feel like it.

Each day of the retreat the students had the opportunity
to go to confession and over the two weeks literally hundreds
of them took advantage of this sacrament of forgiveness and
there were a lot of tears during these services. Many of them
emailed me to tell of there experience of meeting Jesus in a
very real way and they said it had changed their lives. Some
days the demand for confession was simply too great for the
number of priests we had.

On the final day of the retreat we had a school Mass and
Bishop John Hine presided and eight other priests concelebrated
with him, these had come because they had been so moved
by hearing the young peoples confessions and by the retreats
during the fortnight we were there. This was a truly joyful end
to the mission and the words of scripture came to me "Those
who are sowing in tears will sing when they reap."

Here are a couple of the emails the students sent after the retreats;
one young lad wrote "Thanks for what you did at the school today,
I felt a big emptiness in me for a long time but I was afraid to tell
anyone, God has filled that emptiness and made me feel loved."
one of the girls said "I just wanted to email and say thank you for
the mission it really made me feel better about being open about
my religion, I used to get teased but your retreat helped me realise
I shouldn't hide who I am, so thanks." Finally another girl expressed
"After I went to confession at the retreat today I felt a wave of relief
pour out over me, and I realised what a good day it had been as I
had found a way back into Jesus. The miraculous medal you gave
us is on me, and I doubt it will come off, and I have just done a decade
of the rosary, I haven't done one in years, again after it an overwhelming
sense of peace came over me, I'm also going back to church on Sunday.
I've realised what a beautiful place the world is and how everyone fits
into that beauty."

I really believe the more we give the more we receive and God is never
outdone in generosity, even though I'm tired I know how much God has
used his broken instruments.

Rich Mullins the famous christian singer/songwriter once said, "Unless we
fall into bed each night exhausted, from bringing souls to God, what right
do we have to say we are christian?"

You  and all those you love are very much in my prayers

God bless you in his deep love
John Pridmore

"BECOME VULNERABLE LIKE THE CHILD JESUS"

Hello Everyone


I hope you are well and at peace


I have just returned to Ireland after a tour of England
and Scotland running parish missions and speaking
in schools across the country.


The last day of the tour I got up early in the morning
and drove two hours to speak in a school at Barrow
in Furness, Cumbria. After the talk was finished I
then drove four hours up to Cairnryan to catch my
ferry to Belfast and by this stage I was looking 
forward to getting home. But when the ferry got to
Belfast and I was in my car ready to drive off, for
some reason the ramp wouldn't open and I was
stuck for two hours, I felt like Jonah in the belly
of the whale. When I eventually got back to our 
house I must admit I was pretty tired and 
discouraged and moaning a bit to God. I went to 
check my emails and the first one I read was the
following,


"Hello, I was at the school today when you did the 
talk. Before you came I was a strong athiest, I 
believed God did not choose me as one he will 
love. But today when you told us to say the prayer 
in the silence of our hearts, my heart felt warm and 
I had such a strong feeling inside me that Jesus was 
very close to me. I now believe there is someone
looking down on me and protecting me. I want a 
crucifix like the one you had today to show God 
suffered out of love for us."


I can honestly say I was blown away by God's 
goodness at that moment, the way he shows us
his grace when we least expect it and when we 
don't deserve it.


Next week I will be meeting a woman called
Betty Brennan, a few years ago I heard her testimony
and it made a deep impact on my life. The thing that
hit me was when she said before she did a talk she was
always very honest with God, and she would give him her 
desire to be loved and accepted by the people she was 
speaking to, also her pride and ego and all the secret 
emotions that we all have. In other words being open 
and vulnerable before God and not pretending that these 
things are not in us. Since then I have always tried to do 
the same. I had a spiritual director called Fr Denis Herlihy 
and he said that all spiritual growth depends on honesty with
ourselves and honesty with God.


One time I was asked to come and help run a youth
retreat and the organiser of the retreat kept telling me
that he loved what I  had done and was going to get me to
speak in many different places where he had connections.
As the week of the retreat went by I noticed that it could
have been run in a way which the kids would have a much
greater chance of a personal encounter with God. I had
a dilemma, should I say something or keep quiet? I went
into the chapel and began to speak to God about it, the
more I prayed the more I felt I should say something, then
I said to God, what if I say something and because of that
I won't be asked to do all these other talks? I felt God
responded, Who do you serve? Who do you think arranges
your schedule, him or me?


I knew what I had to do, I spoke to the man about the changes
that I felt would help and there really was great grace because
of them, but sure enough there was no contact from him from
that time onwards about the talks he had promised. But just a
few weeks later my phone rang and I was invited to come and
speak at the World Youth Day in Sydney to nearly half a million
young people in one talk. I knew that only God could have
arranged it, and he was showing me that when I serve him he
will take care of everything else.


Shortly before that talk took place, I was in a gathering of youth
leaders and we were singing praise to God, around that time I
had been doing a lot of media work with TV and radio and there
was a loads of hype connected with World Youth Day. But during
this time of prayer I felt like a little child kneeling before the throne
of God, naked with nothing between me and that gaze of the Lord,
he could see straight past all the outward things and I felt him say
"It is you that I love!" All I could do was thank him that he would
give someone like me the privilage of speaking on his behalf.


As we approach Christmas and the birth of Jesus, who humbled
himself to come to us as a helpless child and entrusted himself
into the safe arms of Our Lady, I am reminded that every time
I feel down or crushed by the difficulties and pressures of life,
I can go to Our Lady and ask her to hold me in her arms and it 
is there we can always find the peace and strength that we all need.


You and all your loved ones are in my heart and prayers this 
Christmas.


God bless you in his deep love
John Pridmore




  

DO YOU LIVE YOUR LIFE FOR JESUS CHRIST?

Hello everyone 


I hope you are well and at peace,


Recently I did a talk in Ireland and whilst I was speaking
I really felt called to challenge the people to put God first
in their lives and afterwards as I was reflecting on what had 
been said I received the following email which the girl who 
sent it asked that I might share with others.


She said "Around ten years ago I attended my first ever
retreat. You were one of the main speakers. I was 24 then 
and never, ever in my life before had I heard the 
Truth spoken with such conviction and courage than I did 
the day I heard it from you that weekend. It was like Jesus 
himself was speaking not you!!! After your talk, although I 
was somewhat a shy person back then I wanted to speak 
to you. At the lunch time (even though I was a wee bit 
scared of you) I sat myself in the seat right beside yours 
at the dinner table and began to ask you lots of questions. 
In mid sentence you stopped me and asked me a question 
I shall never forget, nor the look on your face when you 
asked me: " Do you live your life for Jesus Christ?". I 
couldn't believe the brass neck of you at the time and I think 
I was a little embarrassed as I muttered something like 
"eee yes of course i do..." rather defensively. Enroute to my 
room that evening my heart was challenged like never before. 
I was thinking to myself how dare he be so rude. I don't think I 
like him any more.  He's judging me because I'm wearing nice 
clothes and make-up etc. shortly after this thought, I heard a 
very still inner voice saying "well do you?" I knew, up until that 
point that I didn't because I was afraid, but then I said to myself, 
I want to let the yes that I told him become true, I really do want 
to live my entire life for Jesus Christ and nobody else. I believe 
without a shadow of a doubt that The person of Jesus Christ 
became real to me during that weekend in a moment of grace 
through encountering you. That was it. I met Him and my life 
has never ever been the same,and it never will it be the same!  
To give a person Jesus is to give them EVERYTHING!! You 
told me my Saviour's name and that He existed and that he 
loved me and that he wanted to share his life with me !!! This 
was worth more than gold!!! His love is so powerful that I had 
a permanent smile on my face for a whole year after that. No 
doubt people knew I was happy because I could not hide it 
even if I wanted to - I had truly fallen deeply deeply in Love with 
Jesus.  The truth you spoke turned into Joy for me and it was 
completely transparent!" When I read this email I knew that
God was showing me that it is always our responsibility to 
speak the truth in love.


Several years ago We were running a retreat in London and
all the way through the weekend I couldn't help but feel there
was something missing from the message which was being
proclaimed, it was nice but nothing more than that. Then during
the final talk of the retreat the Priest said if you want to know
what Jesus wants, the answer is simple, he wants everything!
He gives us himself completely and he wants us to give him
everything in return, it is only then that we truly experience the
joy which is his plan for us. It was than that I realised that what
was mussing was feeling challenged by the talks. God's message 
to us can sometimes be challenging but it always sets us free to 
know his love and friendship in a deeper way.


I have just returned from Italy where I spoke in many schools,
and Parishes. It was a grace filled time and I was very
impressed by the priests and sisters that I met there who had
a deep love for God which shone through. Also Augusto who
was my translator who organised the trip was a great 
witness to me of faith and service.


Over the next few weeks I will be speaking to many thousands
of young people in secondary schools across England and
Scotland, please pray for them that they might experience
God's love and plan for them.


I remember one time I was struggling with my own brokenness
and wondering what Jesus was going to do with me, because even
though I was trying sometimes I would say things I wished I hadn't  
and I was feeling a bit down that I couldn't be a better person. 
That day I went to Mass and the Priest got up and said there are
some people in this Church who when we stand before 
Jesus will feel ashamed and like total failures, then Jesus will 
say to us "look behind you" and there will thousands of souls
who are there because of what we have done with our lives.
Sometimes when we serve God we may not feel popular but
we live to hear those words "come in good and faithful servant".


I will never forget a sermon I heard from Fr John Armitage who
said unless we are willing to be converted every single day we
are spiritually dead. A wise friend of mine once asked me what 
is the most important thing we can do with our lives? I replied 
that he was much older and wiser than me what did he think it is? 
He said "To bring as many souls as possible to God, starting with
our own." It was the best advice I ever received.


You are very much in my heart and prayers.


God bless you in his deep love
John Pridmore

EVERYTHING HAS ITS TIME AND SEASON WITH GOD!

Hello Everyone 

I hope you are well and at peace

One thing that God has been showing me recently is that everything has its time and season with him, we never know when God's grace will kick in.

I recently spoke at a mission in Co Cork. The next day
a woman asked to speak with me, she told me she had
come to a point of despair in her life, she felt she couldn't
carry on. She saw the mission advertised and she prayed
to God that he would help her, but she said if nothing
changed she planned to take her own life the next day. As
I was sharing my story and throughout the evening she had
a powerful encounter with the love of God. The next day
when she woke up she had a tremendous sense of joy in her
heart and all she wanted to do was pray and thank God. She
wanted me to know what had happened to her. The Parish
Priest had said to me that when he was blessing the people
with Jesus in the Eucharist he felt that many of them were
receiving great healing. Her words shared that this was true.

 There was one person I knew since my childhood who I had
been very hurt by, when I changed and started to try to live
for God, this person made life as difficult as possible for me,
and I don't mind admitting that at times I had a lot of anger
in me towards them. So I started to pray for the person and
at first I found it very, very difficult to do so. Somehow it didn't
seem real because part of me wanted them to suffer because of
the pain they had caused to me. But as the months and years
went by it became easier until I was genuinely wanting God to
bless them and show them his love. This person had no faith
whatsoever and was angry towards anyone who did. A few months
ago, to my absolute astonishment I heard that this person had a

conversion and had become a Catholic and is now attending mass every day.  This news showed me that absolutely nothing is impossible to God and that maybe in some small way my feeble prayers and desire to at least want to forgive might have had something to do with their conversion. 

A woman contacted me to say that nearly five years ago I spoke in her
daughters school, the girl brought my book home for her mum to read
because she knew her mum loves God and would be very interested in
my story. But to the family's surprise it was the dad who picked up the
book and his life has changed ever since. The mum said she had been
praying to God to speak to her husband’s heart and let him know that
he is real, and through the book he did. To me this was the power of 
this woman's prayers and the perfection of Gods timing.

A man in his twenties emailed me to say that I spoke in his school six

years ago and at the time all he had been interested in was the

Gangster bits, so he got a copy of my life story and read the first half,

but as soon as I found God in the book he put it down. Years later he was

going through a tough time and felt very alone, it was then that some

of the things I had said to him in his school came back to his mind. He

searched his house and found my book and this time he read it cover

to cover. He went to confession and started going to Mass again and

God completely transformed his life. I know that someone, somewhere

was praying for that lad. 


Also after world youth day in Sydney I shared my story in a secondary school there and only now over three year later one of the students contacted me saying that the words I spoke had made a deep impact on him and that he had a spiritual yearning and he was looking to come closer to God. Again Gods timing is not our timing but he waits patiently to work in a persons soul.

Years ago, when I first started to speak to young people in schools, my

friend Niall and I would visit the enclosed nuns, (the Carmelites and

Poor Clares for instance) and ask them to pray for us and the students

we would talk to. It was amazing the things which would happen,

because there is no more powerful weapon than prayer and there can

be no substitute for it. We can do our best and give our utmost but in

the end it is only God that can change a person’s heart.

We have many missions and school talks coming up over the next
couple of months in Ireland, England and Scotland as well as Italy.
Please keep these intentions in your prayers and that I don't get in the 
way of God's grace in my brokenness.

You are very much in my heart and in my prayers.

God bless you in his deep love
John Pridmore

FAITH THE SIZE OF A MUSTARD SEED!

Hello everyone

I hope you are well and at peace.

I recently had the joy to go and speak at
the Youth 2000 retreat at Our Lady's shrine
of Walsingham in England. It was quite a
moving experience for me because nearly
13 years ago, Robert Toone the leader of
Youth 2000 England at the time, sent me and my
friend Niall to Walsingham to look at the possibility
of running a retreat there.

When we arrived at the shrine we had no
idea where to start or who to speak to, so
we went into one of the fields and prayed
the Rosary and asked Our Lady to guide
us. Before long we had met up with Janie
an amazing Lady from the town who is our
friend to this day and we had arranged with
a local farmer to be able to use his fields.

Six months later we returned to the same
field to say a Rosary in thanksgiving as the
retreat became a reality when 2000 young
people (many of whom had no faith at all)
arrived from every corner of the country for
the 5 day festival. God's grace worked in a
powerful way and it is amazing to see it
continuing 12 years on. It really was the
faith of a mustard seed because we didn't even
know if it was possible and there were many
easier ways of putting together a big retreat
for instance in a large city in a giant warehouse.
But the truth is that when it is God's idea, if
we are obedient to his inspiration it will bear
fruit and fruit that will last.

A couple of weeks ago were doing a mission at Drumoghill
in Co Donegal in Ireland, and on the Sunday some of the
team went to pray at a Holy well for the week ahead. They
got chatting to a woman there who said her daughter had
been talking about wanting to hear me speak because
she had read my book. The girl came to mission and God
really gave her a new lease of life, and she was so
moved by the fact that the Lord had arranged the meeting
with her mum at the well because she had been going
through a very difficult time and this showed her just
how much God cared about her and how important she was
to him.

We had a 16 year old lad called kevin with us for 10 days,
his mum had contacted me to ask if he could spend some
time with me because he had been in a lot of trouble for
the last few years. It was amazing to see the transformation
in him and the joy and peace that he received after going to
confession, he had made a decision himself that he wanted to
change and do something positive with his life. Please keep
him in your prayers as he heads home that he can continue to
grow in the grace that he has found.

Sometimes it is very difficult for these young men going back
to the environment where they have been in trouble, please continue
to pray for Anthony as he is struggling now he is back in London
that God would protect him and give the grace to make the
right decisions for his life.

Recently I ran a weekend retreat on the theme of healing the wounds
from our past, I know in my own life that it is only when we receive
that healing that we are truly free to love in the way that is God's
dream for us. It was held at Ards Friary in Donegal and it was such
a Blessed and special weekend. For me it was lovely to get to know
the people who came over the weekend and to be able to see God working
in so many ways. One man who came told me a few weeks later that his
children were saying he is a changed man and won't stop talking about
God, but he has an infectious joy and a deep sense of God's love for
him.

I am running another Healing weekend at Rossnowlagh Franciscan Friary
in County Donegal From Friday 9th to Sunday 11th of September and if
anyone is interested in coming you can call Paul on 071 985 2572 to
find out more details. I would love to see you there.

Just to let you know that you are very much in my heart and prayers.

God bless you in his deep love
John Pridmore

HE IS WITH US!

MOTHER ELVIRA
FOUNDER OF THE CENACOLO COMMUNITY






Hello Everyone

I hope you are well and at peace

I recently travelled to Florida where I spoke at a
Conference dedicated to Our Lady, I was very touched
by the peoples prayerfulness and Faith. Also speaking
there were two lads from the Cenacolo Community
(a community of young men and women who overcome addictions by
prayer and the grace of God) who shared their testimonies
about how God was changing their lives, hopefully these had a
big impact on Anthony (the seventeen year old lad who was
spending a few weeks with me) who was coming from a very
similar background.

After this we did a Parish Mission in Southampton, it
was a great witness to me of the Faith in England to
see so many people pack the Church each night. On the
confessions evening many people went for the first time
in years and some people emailed me to tell me there
was great healing for them that night, and they had
experienced a deep peace in their hearts.

I spoke to all the lads in one school in a tough area
of Southampton over the course of two days. Many of them
contacted me by email or facebook and shared their own
stories with me, all of them were very open to God and
some had been through very similar childhoods to myself.
The thing which I noticed was that all of them wanted to
do something good with their lives and were searching
for the right direction, so please keep them in your
prayers.

I did one talk to a Church group in Kent and I mentioned
that it was wrong that Homosexuality was being taught as
an equal right to marriage in our schools, and this to
children at a very vulnerable age. After the talk I was
approached by a man who said he found what I had said
offensive because he was homosexual and living in a sexual
relationship with his partner. I said to him that I loved
him and respected him as a person, but that what he was
doing was wrong. I knew that it would be unpopular but I
said it with compassion because the truth without love
isn't the truth. During the talk I had spoken about God's
mercy and forgiveness and that he loves us in our weakness
and struggles, but even in that we need to have the courage
to stand up for what is right, and we can't change Gods laws
to suit ourselves.

I was invited to speak at a youth conference at the Sion
Community in Brentwood, Essex. As soon as I walked into the
tent where the conference was taking place I was moved to tears
by power of God's presence. I shared with them that sometimes
when I had prayed with young people in the past I had seen an
image of Jesus crying and saying to them that he never wanted
them to suffer, to feel the pain and loneliness that they had
and that he wants them to know that he is with them in their
suffering. After this many of them came forward asking for
prayer and there were a lot of tears.

Some of the young people shared with me that one of the biggest
struggles for them is purity, there is so much pressure on them
now and at a much earlier age than ever before, the pressure is
coming from all angles particularly from the media and from their
own peer group, as I was praying with one girl I had an image that
she was looking at a reflection of herself and throwing stones at
herself because she didn't like what she saw, then Jesus appeared
and took the stones from her hands and showed her how beautiful
she was in his eyes. Ultimately it is only God who can give us
that sense of identity, security and self worth that we all so
desperately need.

You are very much in my heart and prayers, please pray for me also.

God bless you in his deep love
John Pridmore

"THE LOVE OF GOD HEALS US AND GIVES US THE STRENGTH TO CHANGE"

ST JOHN BOSCO












Hello everyone

I hope you are well and at peace.

The last few weeks have been fairly hectic, as a team
we did six Parish Missions on the trot. It is always a
great experience to meet all the new people that God
puts in our paths. The Parish Priest at Swanlinbar in
Co. Cavan was so full of wisdom and good humour
that it was a joy to be with him. At the end of the
mission he said the thing that had touched him was
how vulnerable the team members had made themselves
in their testimonies. I think when we share something
deep from our own lives, particularly our weakness and
struggles it always reaches into the hearts of others.

I travelled to London to speak to a confirmation group
in Edgware, many people turned up for the talk and I
thank God that it was a grace filled night. Afterwards
I ended up praying for quite a few people and I was
overwhelmed by the suffering that some people have
to live with, but even more so with the compassion and
mercy that God has for us in that suffering.

It was my pleasure to speak at the Northern Catholic
Conference in Liverpool, both to the young people and
the adults. There seemed to be a tremendous sense of
joy at the conference and I really enjoyed meeting many
old friends, including one man who I hadn't seen in years
who from the kindness of his heart had paid for my airfare
when I went to join the Franciscan of the Renewal in New
York. I told him this changed my life and without him it
wouldn't have been possible.

I received a great grace myself when on a long car journey
I put on a CD called anger and unforgiveness by Deacon
Bob McDonald. In it he exposed that anger is never the right
way to deal with situations. In community life it is easy to
challenge people and to do it in an angry way and to justify
it by saying it is righteous anger. In truth our anger is never
righteous, only God is capable of that, and when we raise our
voice we create far more harm than good. This was a powerful
message to me and I knew that I could never again justify anger.
I pray for the grace to deal with everyone with gentleness and
patience. I suppose it comes down to the old saying that "The
truth without love isn't the truth" As St John Bosco said when
talking about the boys of whom he was in charge of "We must
be firm but kind, and be patient with them, never giving in to
anger"

About a week ago a young man called Anthony came to spend
some time with us on the team. I had known Anthony when he
was 11 years old and God had deeply touched his life at a retreat.
Now he is 17 years old and for the last few years he has been in
a lot of trouble with drugs and all the usual pain that goes with
that lifestyle. He told me that he came to a point of despair not
knowing what to do and not feeling the strength to change, he
went to Mass on a Sunday morning on his own (he hadn't been
to Church in years) and he begged God to help him. Within a few
days his uncle had contacted me and he ended up coming with
me to Medugorje where he went to confession and got rid of
everything that was burdening him. The hardest thing is for him
to forgive himself, but God has been showing him again and
again that not only is he totally forgiven but that he has great
plans for his life.

Being with Anthony reminds me of myself at his age, all the pain
and confusion and the search for love and meaning and trying to
make sense of the suffering that all of us face in life. Because of
this I find it easier to love him and accept him, because it is like
loving and accepting myself at his age. In the end it is always the
unconditional love of God that heals us and gives us the strength
to change, and even though many times I fail I know that is the
love God asks me to show to everyone that I meet.

You are very much in my prayers, please keep me and Anthony
in yours.

God bless you in his deep love.
John Pridmore