THE FATHERS LOVE

Originally posted 21/06/2008 14:32:21

Hello everyone!

As summer arrives I pray that you are truly at peace. After arriving back from my break in Canada I was looking forward to a tour of Schools in England which I had been praying for for a long time. One of the first schools I spoke in was a boys School in North London, during the talk I started to tell them that God is a good Father who will never turn his back on us and will always look for new ways to help us understand his deep and lasting love for us, no matter what we may think of ourselves. As I was speaking I noticed that several of the boys began to cry and I realised that they had probably never known the love of a Father in their lives and I thanked God that he was showing that to them in their hearts. We all need to know that we are accepted by at least one person, God, and his opinion of us never changes.

I received an email from one girl who said that after listening to my talk she was deeply touched by Gods love and she decided that she wants to be confirmed and to start to take her faith seriously. I was confirmed when I was 27 and I can honestly say it was a major turning point in my life because it is during confirmation that we receive all the gifts of the Holy Spirit. For my Comfirmation Saint I chose St Thomas Moore who has been an inspiration and a help to me every day of my life since then.

As we travel around the schools it is always amazing to hear how God is working in the lives of those who invite me to speak. One woman who had asked me to a school in Oxford told me that a few years ago her life was in a real mess and she wasn't practicing her faith, but one day she wandered into the Padre Pio bookshop in London and someone who worked in the shop gave her a copy of my book (From Gangland to promised land) She ended up coming back to God and to a deep faith in him, and it is obvious to see that she is doing incredible work reaching out to others who are struggling.

It is often said that wherever our own wounds are, that is the very place our mission can be for God. He turns everything on its head and brings good even out of evil. That is the joy that we can experience if we give our lives to him.

The Chaplin of the final school I went into on the tour told me that while he was reading my book he came to the part part where I didn't understand that Jesus was really present in the blessed sacrament. So The next time I went to Holy communion I said to Jesus "If this is really you, Show me because I don't understand" and all I can say is that every good feeling I had ever felt was magnified a million times and I knew that it was Truly Jesus and I also knew that I would be a Catholic to the day I die. After reading this he realised that he didn't really understand either so he said the same prayer and he said for the next 2 hours he wept because of the love that Jesus showed him and that he really was present in Eucharist. I just reminded me of how simple our relationship with God can be, he is our best friend and he has the answers to all our questions.

Lastly, Please pray for all the Young people at World youth day in Sydney where I'll be speaking during July.

May God continue to bless you and show you his plans for your life

John Pridmore

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