"COME, FOLLOW ME!"

Hello Everyone

I hope you are well and at peace

At the moment I am taking a bit of a break for a couple of weeks and
I am travelling through San Francisco, Los Angeles, Mexico, Costa Rico
and Panama. It is the first proper rest I have taken for a long time
and I must say I feel rejuvenated.

Whilst I was in Los Angeles I met up with my friend Paul Kelmenson who
is a film producer in Hollywood and he is still eager the turn my book
"From Gangland to Promised land" into a film.

On my travels I have met some very interesting people, I met one man
from the Falls road in Belfast, a place very dear to my heart where
I have done quite a few talks over the years. I gave him a copy of
my book and I hope he is enjoying it.

I was on a boat for a few days when I was in the region of Costa Rica
and the entertainment director got wind of my life story and he asked
me to do a talk to 200 people. I knew only God could arrange such a
thing and it was my pleasure to say yes to his invitation and to speak
to those people of the love and power of God in my life.

God's plan for us is so awesome and I think he loves to be part of our
lives whether we are on holiday or whatever we are doing. I have found
that if my heart is open and I want to serve him, he sends me
opportunities and that is where his miracles happen. It has been such
a blessing for me to see the different cultures and peoples of the
countries I have visited, not only on this trip but on all the trips
that I have made since following God's call for my life. Millions of
people over the centuries have heard that same call from Jesus to "Follow
me" and like the poem footprints says, he never abandons us on our
journey and the reason why there is only one set of footprints in the
difficult times is because it is then that he carries us.

I will be returning to Ireland for a couple of days at the beginning
of next week where I will speak at a Parish Mission in Swinford Co. Mayo
in the Catholic Church at 7.30pm in the evening on monday 22nd February
and also the following evening at 7.30pm.

After this I will be heading to England for a tour of schools with my
Godson Stuart who will also be sharing his story. I am looking forward
to this as We will be speaking to well over five thousand young people
in schools in Manchester, Liverpool, Worcestershire, Cambridgeshire,
Hertfordshire, Kent, London and surrey. I would really appreciate if
you would keep this tour in your prayers.

May God bless you in his deep love
John Pridmore

THE SEEDS WILL GROW IN DUE SEASON!

Hello Everyone

I hope you are well and at peace.

I have just finished a tour of schools around England.
It was an amazing time with loads of little miracles
along the way. I always pray asking God to guide me
in every aspect of the tours including where I stay.
Many times people ask me what I do, and sometimes I give
them my book "From Gangland to Promised Land" I often
receive emails from them saying how God has touched
them through the book.

This last couple of weeks I have spoken to thousands
of young people in schools in Macclesfield, Lancaster,
Warrington, Preston, Workington, Whitehaven and Barrow-
in-Furness. Many of these emailed me telling me how
God has shown them that he is real and that he loves
them. Also some of their parents emailed me saying
how when the children got home thay couldn't stop
talking about what I'd said to them.

I think the outpouring of grace that happens on these
tours is because there are so many people praying for
them. All the contemplative religious orders in the
British Isles as well as many faithful souls around
the world including Australia, New Zealand and USA.
I thank God for their prayers and their love.

I spoke in the prison in Rochdale and the prisoners
were so open to God's love and all of them wanted to
chat afterwards, you could see the hope in their eyes.
The prison guards told me that when they saw the
group that had come to the talk (it was voluntary
for them to come) they were worried that there
was something afoot because some of them were
the most troublesome inmates in the prison, but the
only person who had brought them there was God, for
a meeting with his merciful heart.

Recently I received two emails that brought great joy
to my heart. One man told me that I came to his school
six years ago when he was a teenager and at the time
my story meant nothing to him, but he came to a period
in his life when he went through a lot of difficulty
and the words I had spoken about God's love came back
to him, and now he has started to pray and read the
bible. Another man said I had spoken in his school
years ago also and he had purchased my book, but he
only read the first part because he was interested in
the gangster lifestyle but he never read the second
part where God came into my life. The years passed, he
got married and had children and he started searching
for a deeper meaning in his life. He found my book and
read the second half and God touched him in a profound
way with his love.

When I read these emails it just reminded me that all
we are called to is to be faithful to what God asks us
to do. He watches over all the seeds that are planted
and brings them to friution.

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

God bless you in his deep love
John Pridmore

ST JUDE "THE PATRON SAINT OF HOPELESS CASES"!

Hello everyone
I hope you had a truly blessed Christmas and New year.

I had the grace to spend a lot of time with my mum during this period
and I thank God for the gift that she is to me. When I was a gangster
in the darkest period of my life, I never knew it but my mum used to
pray for me every day. Eventually she prayed a Novena to St Jude
(the patron Saint of hopeless cases) that Jesus would take me and
that I wouldn’t hurt myself or anyone else any more.

Soon after this, God stepped into my life in a powerful way and I ended
up going to a retreat at Aylesford priory in kent. I went to confession
and I had an incredible experience of Jesus when I received him in
Holy Communion that changed me forever, everything I had searched
for and had never found was with me in that moment, the one thing
that truly satisfies our wayward hearts, the love of God.

That took place eighteen years ago and just this week a friend of
mine called Michael was visiting from Australia, I stayed with him and
his family last year when I doing talks over there. I took him
to Aylesford to show him around, I brought him into one of the chapels
which I told him was one my favourites, it is the Chapel of
St Jude, and I became very emotional because I knew in a deep way that
it was his and my mum’s prayers that had led me to that place and to
Jesus, and I felt like he was saying to me that there is no such thing
as a hopeless case with God.

This week I have started a speaking tour in England, the first engagement
was at Westminster Cathedral hall. That evening the weather was truly
awful, there was a heavy snowfall all over London and the Southeast.
I was amazed to see so many people turn up in these conditions. I received
an email from one young man who told me he had been touched by God’s
love during the talk and particularly when I spoke about the fact that it
says in the bible three hundred and sixty six times “Do not be afraid” that’s
one for every day of the year even one for a leap year. He told me that he
made a decision in his heart at that moment to go ahead and make enquiries
about becoming a Priest (which he had been thinking about for some time
but kept putting it off) I will be keeping him in my prayers that God will
continue to bless and guide him.

That evening after the talk we travelled down to Brighton, even though the
roads were covered with deep snow, I really felt that God was asking me to
travel anyway. The school I was meant to be speaking at was closed because
of the weather but despite this I ended up meeting with Fr Graham Ricketts
and had a truly Blessed time with him and also Dominic Dring a teacher from
the school I had been due to speak in just happened to be at the Mass we had attended and I had a grace filled conversation with him also. After this I was filled a great joy because he showed me once again that his plans are so much
better than our plans if we can just be open to the guidance of his Holy Spirit.

Please keep this tour in your prayers I am due to speak to several thousand
Young people in schools across the country.

You are very much in my prayers.

God bless you in his deep love
John Pridmore

THE WORD WAS MADE FLESH AND DWELT AMONGST US!

Hello Everyone

I hope you are well and at peace.

As Christmas day draws near and we await the
celebration of the birth of Jesus into a stable
at Bethlehem I know that the Lord has been
preparing all our hearts so that we can receive
him with great joy on that day. I am still
amazed by his love that he would come to us and
not despise to dwell in our hearts as our intimate
friend and saviour.

We just finished a mission at Letterkenny Cathedral
it was the second time we had done a mission there
and one of the nights was about the power of the Angels.
I shared with them an experience I had a couple of years
before my conversion when I was still a gangster, I was
on my way to collect a debt from someone who lived in
a block of flats, I must have looked incredibly menacing,
my hair was gelled back and I was carrying a machete in my
pocket in case there was any trouble. I got into the
lift to get to the floor where the man lived who I was
to collect the debt from, and into the lift came a young
lad maybe 13 years of age. All of a sudden this lad looked
me right in the eye without any fear and he said "Jesus
loves you man" and then he left. I was stunned and I just
replied "I'm glad someone does". After this I didn't go
and collect the debt, it just didn't seem important.

Now I don't know who that boy was, but he was an angel to
me (after all an angel is a messenger from God) what courage
it must have taken to say that to me. I am sure it had a
big effect on me and prepared my heart for what God was
planning in the future.I always try to remember things
like that, a simple word of truth or encouragement
can genuinely change someones life if it is the Holy Spirit
who inspires it.

The mission in Letterkenny was truly blessed, on the wednesday
night we had more than twenty priests hearing confessions
for two hours and every night the Cathedral was full. It was
great to spend some time with my old friend Fr Eamon Kelly
who is the administrator of the Cathedral, his gift of joy
and his heart of love for his people are a fantastic witness
to me.

The final mission of the year was in Kentstown, Co Meath, one
man from Poland was very touched by Gods love for him and
he said with tears in his eyes that this was going to be his
best Christmas ever because he knew deep in his heart Jesus'
love for him and his family. That is what it is all about
as far as I'm concerned, we all need to know that love which
brings meaning and purpose to our lives.

I am spending Christmas with my mum and just trying to take
a bit of quiet time and prepare for a tour of schools in
England in the new year, I am really looking forward to that!

I will be sharing my story at Westmister Cathedral hall on
Wednesday 6th January at 7.30pm for anyone who is able to come.
I'd love to see you there.

You are in my heart and prayers please keep me in yours.

God bless you in his deep love
John Pridmore

GOD'S TENDER LOVE AND MERCY!

I hope you are well and at peace.

Since coming back from my travels it has been
nice to spend a couple of weeks in Ireland.
I had been looking forward to going to Malta to
do some talks but unfortunately I got a serious
dose of the flu and that wiped me out for about
10 days and I wasn’t able to travel.

Last week I spoke at a parish mission in Charlestown
Co. Mayo, the Church was packed and it was very
heartening to see many young people coming to the
mission and this week I have been running a mission
in Oldcastle Co. Meath. At both of these missions
we had reconciliation services where everyone had a
chance to go to confession, we had about 12 priests
available both nights. It was amazing to see hundreds
of people going to say sorry to God and receive his
healing and peace in that beautiful sacrament.

One girl told me how she had been no longer going to
Mass, but she came to the mission and went to
confession for the first time in over 15 years and she
said she felt so happy and had a great warmth in her
heart which she knew was Gods love. Another man told
me how when he was a young boy he had been sexually
abused and also badly beaten and as he had got older
he turned to drink to try to mask the terrible pain
he was in. He had gone to confession for the first
time in many years and he said that God had done
something special in his heart because the hardness
and coldness he had felt for so long was starting
to melt away, he also said he felt Our Lady very
close to him and she was going to teach him how to
love again.

The greatest joy in my life is to be able to speak
to the young people in schools and to tell them
truth about Gods love for them. I think God wants
to work through everyone and all it takes is for
someone to be open for a miracle to happen. A few
months ago I did a interview for an Irish Television
show called Nationwide with a woman called Mary Fanning.
Mary went away and arranged for me to speak to the
young men at Clongowes College in Co. Kildare. It was a
really blessed talk and the boys responded so well,
many of them purchased my book with their own money
and told me how God had inspired them through my story,
one of the boys was Mary’s son. Because of her openness
many lives were touched. That was a great witness to me
of following the promptings of the Holy Spirit and if
only good can come of it just go ahead and do it!

I also spoke at another school in Maynooth and the
students were equally touched. I have often heard it
said that religion isn’t cool these days, but I have
found that if you really give young people the truth
they are hungry for it. I receive hundreds of emails
after giving talks in schools and when I hear some of
the situations the young people are dealing with it
would break your heart.

I thank God for his heart of compassion which is always
seeking out those who feel lost and abandoned and
showing us his tender love and Mercy.

You are in my heart and in my prayers, please keep me in yours!

God bless you in his deep love
John Pridmore

IN GIVING WE RECEIVE!

Hello Everyone

I hope you are well and at peace.

The last few weeks have been amazing, first of all I
travelled to Hong kong where I spoke in a school to
300 young people but also another couple of talks came
about that hadn't been arranged in advance one in a
prayer group the other at a healing Mass in Macau. The
whole stay was a great blessing and the people were so
friendly and open.

Next stop was Australia where there seemed to be a lot
of people coming to my talks probably because I had spoken
at the World Youth Day in Sydney the year previously.I spoke
at a theology on tap event and it was a grace filled evening
with many confessions taking place.

One young man of about 17 years of age asked me to pray over
him because he had a tremendous amount of anger in his heart,
I prayed asking Jesus to come into the situation and whatever
was causing the anger, he said he felt a tingling all over him
and a deep peace. I saw him again a few days later and he told
me he was doing the same thing I had done and asking Jesus into
every situation that troubled him. When he done this he said he
felt the tingling and the peace once again and he knew that Jesus
was showing him that he was with him in all his struggles.

I stayed with a beautiful family Paul, Annette and the children
who were an incredible witness to me of love and generousity
It was a real joy and an honour for me to spend time with them
and get to know them.

I did a lot of talks and prayed over many people whilst I was
in Australia, but as always with God he gives us far more than
we give him. A couple of times members of the Servants of Jesus
Community (a fantastic community based in Australia from whom I
learned loads during my stay) prayed over me and it was a
tremendous blessing for me. One of them told me that as he prayed
he saw me as a little child in God the Fathers arms. Afterwards
I felt a real closeness to our Heavenly Father. It is in giving
that we receive!

I also met up with my old friend Fr Richard Aladics and as always
that was a joyful time. He is now ministering at Campion College
in Sydney where I spoke to the students.

I love the way that God organises these trips and all the pieces
of the jigsaw seem to fall into place. I met someone who has invited
me to come to Malta next year and speak to the young people. I'm
looking forward to that already and everything else that God has
in store.

I'm heading back to Ireland now where I'll be speaking at a Parish
mission in Celbridge on monday 26th october.

Be assured that you are in my prayers, please pray for me and those
I will be meeting in the coming weeks

God bless you in his deep love
John Pridmore

GOD DOESN'T CALL US TO BE SUCCESSFUL, HE CALLS US TO TO BE FAITHFUL!

Hello everyone

I hope you are well and at peace.

I have just returned from the Cayman Islands where
I was invited to speak to many of the young people
and share my story with them. The person who invited
me was Diana who a few years previously had been a
chaplain for a school in Leeds where I visited to
speak to the students.

Diana told me that my visit to Leeds had made a deep
impression on the kids many of whom had started to become
involved in crime, breaking into cars and were
beginning to lose their way. She told me that some
of the ones who had started to get into trouble had
completely changed after the talk and one of the
lads is now in seminary. It is such a blessing to
hear, sometimes years later how God has been working.
At the time we can't see the fruit of what
we're doing but we can trust that God is always working
whether we see it or not.

Another example of this is that recently I received an email
from one young man in his twenties who told me that I came
into his school when he was a teenager and gave my testimony.
He said at the time it hadn't meant much to him but he had
come to a time of great difficulty in his life and all the
words I spoke came back to him and now he has a deep faith in
God.

Also I spoke to a man in Scotland who I'd met for a brief time
when I'd been staying at Craig Lodge house of prayer. He told
me the conversation I had with him changed his life and led him
to a deep encounter with God's love for him. I am very grateful
to God for letting me see these fruits and it just gives me the
encouragement I need to continue doing what I'm doing.

The actual trip to the Cayman Islands was very blessed and I met
some fantastic people.I got to speak to a great number of young
people in the schools. One of the highlights for me was speaking
in the prison and when I finished my talk one of the prisoners
approached me and told me that whist I was speaking he had felt
the love of Christ for the first time in his life and he felt
he now had the strength to change his life.

When I arrived back in the UK I travelled up by train to Glasgow
to join the rest of the community for a Parish mission. On my
journey up to Glasgow my train suddenly ground to a halt and
tragically a young girl had killed herself by throwing herself
in front of the train. I prayed for her soul and also for her
family. It just reminded me how important it is for young people
to know the message of God's love for them. I am just about to
leave for a speaking tour of Hong Kong, Australia and Thailand
where I will be sharing my story in many schools and I would
ask you to keep this in your prayers, because it is these prayers
which are the most important thing for all those I speak to.

The mission in Port Glasgow was a joy to be part of and numerous
people experienced the mercy and forgiveness of God in confession.
It was great to see the joy in the Parish and to know the God is
working powerfully among them and has great plans for them.

Mother Teresa said "God doesn't call us to be successful, he calls
us to be faithful" but if we try (even in our weakness) to be faithful
to what he has called us to do, it will always bear fruit eventually.

You are in my heart and in my prayers.

God bless you in his deep love
John Pridmore