"DON'T WORRY WHAT YOU ARE TO SAY"

Hello Everyone

I hope you are well and at peace.

During the time of lent I have been particularly busy
with parish missions. At Berkeley road in Dublin a
woman came up to me and said "well, you've converted
me!" she went on to tell me she had been to confession
for the first time in 30 years and the following
morning she was so full of joy that she wanted to dance
her way to Church.

Next I went to Milford in Donegal for a week long mission.
It was very uplifting to see the peoples faith with the
Church being packed every night and many people returning
to the Sacraments. There were two secondary schools in
Milford, both of them put the whole school together for
me to speak to all the students, one had 400 and the other
had 700, there was a great openness both from the pupils
and teachers.

After this I travelled to Derry to speak to 250 young people
in Lumen Christi College, It was a joy to be able to speak
to them in the school Chapel and to see my old friend
Stephen Doherty who is the chaplain there.

We returned to Uddingston in Glasgow for a second mission.
I really enjoy these because it takes me out of my safety
zone and often I have no idea what I'm going to say until
I actually start speaking, it encourages me to trust God
because he said "Don't worry what you are to say, because
what you are to say will be given you" and I've noticed
that when I do this, God can and will say something that I
could never have planned and he knows every person there
intimately and what they need to hear.

I always feel God calling me to true freedom in him, not
to be afraid what people think, to truly put him in the
first place in my heart. I think it brings great joy to
God's heart when we are ourselves and real not trying to
impress anyone and it is then that he uses us the most
powerfully.

I also had the great blessing to run two confirmation
retreats for youngsters in Ireland. I found it a breath
of fresh air to spend the day with these kids, in Ireland
they get confirmed at 11 and 12 years old. At that age
they still have that innocence and freedom to be themselves.
They asked me brilliant questions and were so open to
the Holy Spirit, at the end of the retreats there was a
joyful atmosphere and they all came up and asked for a hug.
As we approach Easter it is good for us to remember that is
why Christ came, to restore lost innocence and to heal our
souls so that we would know peace and joy in our lives once
more.

I also spent 3 days in Cumbria talking in schools. This was
arranged by a lady called Judy who is in the Salvation Army.
I was very impressed by her, all she was interested in was
bringing souls to God and that they would know Gods love for
them. I was speaking in schools with all faiths and
none and I tried not to have any agenda but to speak whatever
I felt God would like to say to them. I thank God that many
of them emailed to say how much it had meant to them. On
the Friday night I did a talk at the Salvation Army hall
and between 100 and 150 turned up including some of the
kids I'd spoken to in the schools.

At that evening I met a man called Jimmy who told me that
in his past he had been a gambler and a big drinker and had
been very unhappy in this lifestyle. One day he had seen a man on
the street crying and he had went and helped the man, this
incident changed his life and he ended up becoming an officer
in the salvation army. I was interested to learn that they
promise not to drink alcohol or to smoke as members of the
Salvation Army. I told him that three members of my community
were pioneers (they take a pledge not to drink and offer that
little sacrifice for those who are addicted to Alcohol).
I think that is a good witness of love for others, but I
personally haven't felt called to it, I still enjoy a glass
of wine and the odd glass of malt whiskey. I think that is
the beauty of our faith that even though we may have slightly
different approaches God uses us all to build his kingdom
if we desire it.

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

God bless you in his deep love
John Pridmore

"PRAYER, WORK AND RECREATION"

ST BENEDICT












Hello Everyone

I hope you are well and at peace.

I had a truly blessed trip to America especially
the Men of Christ conference that I spoke at in
Milwaukee, it was amazing to see 3000 men together
to express their Catholic faith. It was a grace
filled event with many men coming back to confession
after a long time including one man who said it was
50 years since he had been. To hear some of the
testimonies after the conference was very moving,
quite a few of them said it had brought them back to
Christ and had motivated them to become better husbands
and Fathers. I would love to see more Men's conferences
on this side of the pond.

I received many emails from the young people in the
American schools that I spoke in, and of course it
just reminded me that no matter where you travel people
are going through the same difficulties and struggles.
I thank God for their openness and also for the grace
that he is bringing about in their young lives. One girl
said she was new to the school and she wasn't expecting
to able to go there for several reasons. But at the
opening Mass for the year she kept crying throughout
as she felt God saying to her this is the place I have
planned for you. During my talk she felt God was again
confirming her that this was the place where he would
help her to grow closer to him and learn her Catholic
faith.

One thing that God has taught me over the years is that
it is important to get a balance in what I do. At one point
in my life I was working 365 days a year and I thought
I was doing God a service through this. One day a priest
challenged me "when do you take a day off?" he said, because
if we don't take some time off eventually we become jaded
and burnt out and then we are no use to anyone, this happened
to me on a couple of occasions. For nearly a year I lived
with some Benedictine Priests in Liverpool and they taught
me that St Benedicts motto was "Prayer, work and recreation"
and that it is vital to get a balance between the three if
we want to lead fruitful lives for God.

I have just come back from a few days rest and even though I
have a very busy few weeks leading up to Easter I feel renewed
and ready for all the challenges ahead. Whilst I was in Chicago
I wanted to go and see a show, and as I was praying I felt God
was saying to go and watch Les Miserables even though I have
seen it several times before. At the theatre I had a great
chat with the man I was sitting next to and I told him about
my life story and what I do. A few days later I received a
lovely email from the man, who told me that he was a teacher
and he had told the boys he taught all about his chance meeting
with me, they all agreed it wasn't just a coincidence. In the
class they discussed what it means to be a Christian man and
they are now going to read my book in their class. Once again
God showed me that when I invite him in to any decision,even
the small ones he takes that invitation seriously.

This week I am running a parish mission at Berkeley road in
Dublin, on the monday morning a man came up to one of our
team and said he had attended another mission we had done in
Dublin a couple of years ago, he said it had been the turning
point in his life and now he goes to Mass every day, at this
he burst into tears and gave the team member a massive hug.
It is beautiful to hear stories like his because it encourages
us to continue and never to give up no matter what difficulties
come our way.

You are very much in my heart and prayers, please keep me in yours
as over the next couple of weeks I will be speaking in Schools
both in Ireland and England.

God bless you in his deep love
John Pridmore

"PRAY, HOPE AND DON'T WORRY!"

ST PADRE PIO











Hello everyone

I hope you are well and at peace.

After returning to Ireland from the tour of schools in England
I was struck by how many of the young people who contacted me
by email or on facebook were deeply searching for God in their
lives. Some of them have been through very difficult times and
have had to cope with emptiness, loneliness and rejection.
A few of them told me that when they were younger someone had
said to them "Remember you are never alone, God is always with you",
or words to that effect. At the time these words hadn't meant much
to them but at some point they had started to pray and speak to
God and they had started to believe for themselves. One girl
told me that she took the rosary pack we give out to the students
home with her and even though she isn't a Catholic she prayed it
for the first time in her life. I know from my own life that
prayer is the key, there are no short cuts, we have to spend
time with God and let him fill any emptiness with his love
and peace and far from it being wasted time I have always seen
that my days have been fruitful when I have invited God into
every situation.

The first parish mission of the new year was in Meadowbrook,
Dublin. We were inviting the people from weekend Masses to
come to the mission and a man came up and said that about
2 years ago he had been channel surfing on TV looking for
something interesting to watch and he came across me sharing my
testimony on EWTN. He said it had made him think about his life
because he very rarely went to church, so much so that he had
emailed me to find out if he could come to see us, however at
that time we weren’t doing a mission anywhere near him so it
never happened. The reason he came to the Mass this particular
weekend was that his son was making his confirmation and was
doing a reading from scripture. When he heard us speaking at
the mass he said he nearly fell off the bench in surprise. He
not only came to the mission but brought a large group of people
with him. This just showed me the power the media can have in
reaching out to people who are searching in their lives and also
how perfectly God arranges all our circumstances if we give him
permission.

That same week I travelled down to Waterford to run a couple of
one day school retreats. For both retreats we had between 70 and
80 seventeen year old boys. At the end of each day we held a
Eucharistic healing service with them in the chapel, the teachers
said they had never seen the lads so reverent and I think God
really touched them in a way they could understand. One funny
thing that happened was during the second day 10 of the boys who
had made the retreat the day before returned to do it again because
they had enjoyed the day so much, the teachers were pretty surprised
by this and because they thought only good can come from it, they
didn't stop them. Once again I think prayer is the key, before any
talk or retreat we would pray and intercede for those we are meeting
and ask God to remove any blockages to his grace and also we write
to every contemplative order in Ireland and the UK and ask them to
pray for our work.

The next mission was in Dromahane, Co Cork. The Church was absolutely
packed with people from all age groups, it was quite literally
standing room only. After one of the nights a priest said he had
heard confessions the whole night through, until long after the
service had ended and for most of them it was their first time to
confession for at least 10 years.

St Padre Pio always used to say "Pray, hope and don't worry" to do
our best and leave the rest to the power of God. I know for me these
last few weeks the Lord has been reminding me to put prayer in the
first place in my life and everything else will work out in God's
way and in God's time.

Please keep me in your prayers this week I'm speaking in schools
and prisons in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and on Saturday 19th February I
will be speaking at a conference called "Men of Christ" held at the
Milwaukee theater. You can find more details on www.menofchrist.net

Please keep me in your prayers and know that you are in mine.

God bless you in his deep love
John Pridmore

"I HAVE OVERCOME THE WORLD"

ST PETERS BASILICA IN ROME



Hello Everyone

I hope you are well and at peace.

As the new year approached it was a
relief when the snow and ice eventually
melted in Ireland. I travelled over to
London to speak at the youth 2000 new year
retreat about the the grace of confession,
which is always a joy for me because it was
through this Sacrament that God transformed
my life. One of the leaders emailed me to let
me know that at the end of the retreat many
of the testimonies of the young people told of
how God had removed from them tremendous burdens
through an honest and genuine confession.

Next I travelled to Rome to share my story with
about 500 young people from all over Italy. I was
told that some of them were from areas such as
Naples and Sicily where there is a lot of pressure
to become involved in the criminal underworld. They
really responded to the message and many of them came
up to me to thank me afterwards. Also I spoke to them
of Mary's meals which I am involved with, which feeds
over 470,000 children in schools in some of the worlds
poorest countries. Translating for me was Augusto who
has translated my life story "From Gangland to Promised
Land" into Italian and it will be published this year.
I never cease to be amazed that the book is now available
in French, German, Italian and even Hungarian. I can
honestly say I never expected that to happen when I started
to write the book over ten years ago. Only God could do
that! When I was at school I had been told I was stupid and
would never amount to anything, actually I was dyslexic
but in those days they didn't know what that was. So it
just proves to me that God doesn't choose the qualified, he
qualifies the chosen.

One of the highlights of my trip to Rome was praying at
the tomb of Pope John Paul II in St Peters Basilica, this
incredible man who gave his whole life for Christ and
burned like a torch for God until he had nothing left to
give. I felt his presence as I prayed there and was deeped
moved to hear just yesterday that he will be Beatified in
May this year. What a witness to future generations he will be!

I am back in England now and halfway through a tour
speaking to over 7,000 young people in schools and prisons
around the country. The suffering that we come across is
heartbreaking. At one school a teacher asked me to
speak with one of the students, who told me that he had
got into serious trouble with the police and he deeply
regretted what had happened. His court case was looming
over him and he was facing the very real possibility of
a prison sentence, he asked me to pray over him because
he felt so afraid he couldn't even sleep. As soon as I
began to pray God's love touched him in a very powerful
way and he was amazed by what had happened and just how
much God cared about him, he knew that no matter what the
future held that God was in control of his life and was
more powerful that any foes he may come across even in
prison.

At another talk I was doing I met a young lad who was
covered in eczema and as you can imagine it made him
itch continuously, but you should have seen the joy in
this lad and the courage he faced this difficulty with. I
prayed with him and asked God to contiue to give him the
strength to be such a witness in adversity. But in truth
it was me who was blessed by meeting him.

At one place I stopped at a cafe to get some breakfast
(a full fry up of course!) but in the cafe there was
a young girl in a wheelchair who looked liked she was
suffering from something like leprosy all over her face.
Every time I looked at her she beamed a lovely smile
at me that melted my heart. I went over and gave her a
miraculous medal as a token of Our Lady's love for her
and she was just full of joy and thankfulness and in my
opinion full of God. Now she was a truly beautiful soul.

I met up with the fantastic Ladies who put together the
Rosary packs that we give out to the Kids. These women
give tirelessly of their time and finances because of
their love for God and the young people. They never seem
to think of themselves and yet I know that among them
they have suffered such difficulties as depression, Illness
and painful problems in family situations. I have never
known them to complain and I have to say that these people
are the hidden Saints in our Church. Please keep them in
your prayers that God will give them the strength to
continue their wonderful ministry.

Through all these witnesses that God has put in my path it
reminded me of the words of Jesus "In the world you might
have trouble, but do not be afraid because I have overcome
the world".

You are very much in my heart and prayers, please keep the
rest of this tour and all the young people I'll be meeting
in yours.

God bless you in his deep love
John Pridmore.

PROCLAIM THE GOSPEL FROM THE ROOFTOPS!

POPE JOHN PAUL 11







Hello Everyone

I hope you have had a blessed Christmas and the
new year will be a time of grace and peace.

I arrived back in Ireland at the beginning of
December after being travelling for nearly three
months. It was a great feeling to sleep in my
own bed again. I had the privilege to speak in
Blackrock College in Dublin to 400 boys, Myles
the teacher who invited in to speak told me that
afterwards the lads were very open to what was
said to them. One of the students was called
Pearce I had met at the World youth day in Sydney
and it was good to see how he was growing in his
faith.

The first Parish mission I did on returning to
Ireland was in Drumshanbo, Co Leitrim. The snow
came down very heavily and then temperatures
plummeted to well below zero. the roads were
hazardous to say the least. The amazing thing
was the people still turned up to pack the church.
This was a great witness to me of the faith of
people in Ireland and their love for God. The
parish priest Fr Peter is a great man, full of
charity and wisdom and he taught me so much in
the time I spent with him.

The next mission was near Belfast and the thing
that stood out to me there was a conversation I
had with one of the priests. No matter what he
did it always seemed that someone wasn't happy
with the way things were done. I just encouraged
him that it was my experience that we are not
called to be popular but to serve God and to do
his will. That is where all the grace is and also
where true freedom is. Frank Duff who founded the
Legion of Mary only had one question when he was
discerning something and that was "Does God want
this" and if he felt it was God's will, he would
go ahead with it knowing that the Lord would
provide for his every need. Later that day the
Priest thanked me and told me it was just what he
needed to hear.

I remember hearing Pope John Paul II saying "Now
is the time to go out into the highways and the
byways and to proclaim the Gospel from the rooftops"
and telling us not to be afraid to proclaim the
truth in love. Time and again I see that it is the
truth that has a profound effect on people and
especially the young, even though it won't always
make us popular. I remember visiting the Holocaust
memorial in Jerusalem and being deeply affected by
what I saw, and wondering how could this have been
allowed to happen? and as you are leaving the building
there is a plaque on the wall with the words written
on it "All it takes for evil to succeed is for a few
good men to remain silent".

After returning to the house from Belfast I had
nothing in particular planned but then three things
just fell into place in the way that only God can
do it. I spoke to all the students in two local
schools. The teachers brought them over to their
churches and I spoke to all the young people at
once. Both groups were about 400. I thought it
showed an incredible openness on behalf of the
teachers to go to all that effort to make it happen.
Then in one of the evenings a meeting was arranged
for a project that I'm involved with called Salve
Regina Oige. We are in the process of building a
retreat house in Medugorje to bring teenagers in
groups of up to 60, to give them an experience of
God's love and peace in a safe and secure
environment. I love it when events fall into place
like that because it shows that God is well and truly
in charge if we keep seeking his guidance.

You are very much in my heart and prayers, please
pray for me as I am speaking to seven thousand kids
in schools across England in the new year.

God bless you in his deep love
John Pridmore

AMAZING GRACE!

WANDSWORTH PRISON

Hello everyone

I hope you are well and at peace

After spending a few weeks doing talks in different parts
of Australia I travelled back to London and I had the
privilege to go and do a talk to some of the prisoners
in Wandsworth prison. It was a voluntary talk so only
those who wanted to come were present, it was a blessing
to see that 200 men turned up. It was very moving for me
to be able to speak to them because I know what it is like
to be in their situation. As I was speaking I could see some
of them were crying and I hope and pray that it gives them hope
for their own lives. When I was in prison one of the main
ways God spoke to me was through books and at the end of
my talk all of them came to me and got a copy of my book.
The priest Fr Sylvester told me that 5 or 6 of men requested
the chance to go to confession.

Next I travelled to Wales to lead a parish mission in Caerphilly.
As part of this I spoke in the secondary schools. A young lad
took one of my business cards home with him and showed it to his
dad and told him about my life. His dad had been brought up a
Catholic but had drifted away from his faith, but he had started
searching for God in his life. So he ordered one of my books on
the Internet and when he received it he read it in less than a day.
Then he emailed me and asked me what else could he do to come closer
to God, I told him to go to confession and not to be afraid to be
totally honest and also not to be afraid of what the priest might
think because he would just be delighted to see him returning to
God. At this he journeyed down to the next mission we were running
in Porthcawl and he attended a healing service. During this he went
to confession for the first time in 23 years. As he left confession
Breda (our musician) began to sing amazing grace and he said he
didn't just sing the words he really heard them in his heart and he
said from then on he was coming back to mass.

It is amazing to see that after the talks how many young people
contact me on facebook to share their struggles and to ask questions.
After one school in Manchester more 60 students made contact.
It shows me just how powerful a tool for good that facebook can
possibly be.

This week I have been running a Parish mission in Moss Side in
Manchester. The Priest here is Fr Pat Deegan, he is originally
from Dublin but has lived in England for a long time now. We
had a healing service on the Tuesday night and while I was
praying before the talk I felt God asking me to speak about
forgiveness. One of the hardest people for me to forgive in my
life was myself. I shared the story of a friend of mine called
Jimmy, and when he was a young man he was put in prison for a
violent crime and he said as the judge sentenced him he laughed
out loud in front of the whole courtroom to keep up his image of
a hardman. But that night as they locked him in his cell he cried
himself to sleep. The years passed and Jimmy was in and out of
prison and fell deeper and deeper into the world of drugs and
violence. A number of things happened to Jimmy including nearly
dying from a drugs overdose and he knew God was asking him to
change his life. One day he came to hear me speak at Our Lady's
shrine of Knock in Ireland and he ended up going to confession.
He came back to his faith and changed the way he was living
completely. The only problem was that he couldn't forgive himself
for his past, he had a son called Shane who was 8 years old and
he couldn't let the boy close to him because he felt so unworthy
to be able to love him, so he just used to give him money. But
of course the boy was in need of affection. One day Jimmy went on
pilgrimage to Medjugorje (where it is claimed that Our Lady has
been appearing since 1981). He was praying the Rosary at the grave
of a very Holy priest called Fr Slavko (who was the first priest
I ever went to confession to) and while he was praying Our Lady
appeared to him and he said she looked at him with such a tender
love that it melted his heart, then she said "Jimmy, why can you
not forgive yourself? my son died on the cross for you 2000 years
ago, Forgive yourself!" at this he began to cry and the floodgates
of God's love and healing were opened in his heart. When he came
home from there for the first time in his life he was able to hold
his son Shane and tell him that he loved him. you should see the
two of them together now, I have seldom seen a Father and so who
are so close.

After the healing service many people shared with me how much
this had helped them to let go of things from their past. I am
convinced that God doesn't want us stuck in the past, once we
have confessed our sins we should let them go forever, they no
longer exist in Gods eyes and he wants us to have the joy
of innocence once again.

I am heading back to Ireland now, I have been on the road for
nearly 3 months and it will be a great blessing to get back to
my own bed for once. Please keep me in your prayers as I have
quite a few talks and Parish missions before Christmas.

You are very much in my heart and prayers.

God bless you in his deep love
John Pridmore.

"THE RETURN OF LOST INNOCENCE"

THE RETURN OF THE PRODIGAL SON BY REMBRANDT











Hello everyone

I hope you are well and at peace

I am nearing the end of a very blessed time in Australia.
I have spoken in many different schools in Sydney, Brisbane,
Tasmania and Melbourne. One incident which particularly
touched me was at a school in Sydney where after the talk two
fifteen year old boys approached me seperately. They had both
had parents who had divorced and when they were listening to
my story and heard that I had been through similar pain to
to their own, God had really spoken to their hearts not to
give up on life or to stop loving.

Another thing that sometimes surprises me is that no matter what
age children are God can come to them and show them his love.
I spoke in a primary school (which is a little unusual for
me because I normally speak to the older kids) and one of the
young children began to cry during my talk, at first the teachers
were concerned that something was wrong with him, but it turned
out he experienced God's love for him in a deep way and they
were tears of joy

I spoke at a mens conference at a retreat centre overlooking a
beautiful beach in Sydney. One man told me that he hadn't been
to confession for many years and during the conference he approached
a priest and went to confession and got rid of all the burdens he
was carrying in his heart. He shared with me that it was only
when he came out of confession that he noticed the beauty of his
surroundings and the view took his breath away. He knew that God
was showing him that after confession we truly start again and
are renewed in his grace and restored to childlike innocence.
It reminded me of the first confession I had made when I was twenty
seven years old after which I could hear the birds singing and feel
the wind on my face and everything seemed different because I was
reunited with God.

One of the things that I have felt that God has been showing me is
to really love the Church, because it is Christs Church even though
it is made up of human beings who are not perfect, it is still
Gods gift to us to show us the sure way to follow him in this life.
I had the privilege of taking part in some events with ecumenical
communities here in Australia and it is surely the desire of Christs
heart that all christians would be one. But I feel that it is very
important that we not lose our Catholic identity and not be afraid
to witness to the power of the Sacraments and Our Lady's intercession
in our lives.

Over the last few weeks I have been travelling a lot and constantly
giving talks and it can get a bit tiring. One night I was thinking about
this and I remembered there was a Christian musician from America
called Rich Mullins and he was someone who gave of himself tirelessly
to serve God, and he once said "unless we are falling into bed exhausted
each night trying to bring souls to God what right do we have to call
ourselves Christians" and it just reminded me that even in the difficulties
it is an incredble blessing to be able work for the Lord.

Just to let you know that you are in my heart and in my prayers, please
keep me in yours.

God bless you in his deep love
John Pridmore