Thursday, December 24, 2009

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

Friday, November 20, 2009

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

Monday, October 19, 2009

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

Thursday, September 17, 2009

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

Wednesday, August 26, 2009

THE START OF A NEW ADVENTURE!





















Hello everyone

I hope you are well and have had a blessed summer.

I have been preparing over the last couple of weeks
for my upcoming trips. I will be doing a lot of
traveling. I have started in Scotland where I am
currently doing a parish mission in Newarthill, near
Glasgow. The Church has been absolutely full each
night and there have been some beautiful stories of
how God has been touching peoples lives. Two girls
who are sisters went to confession for the first
time in years, both of them had experienced incredible
difficulties but after going to confession they
attended a healing service where Jesus in the Blessed
Sacrament comes to each person. Both of them said that
they felt a powerful presence of God's love and that
they were going to start going to Mass every Sunday.

I received an email from a man I met whilst on holiday
who read my book and he said that not only he but also
his wife and children had stared going to Mass again.
It is amazing how the Holy Spirit works in peoples
lives. I try to pray about everything I do and beg
God to show me where to stay and even the smallest details
of my trips. Time and again God has shown me that he
hears these prayers and little miracles are always
happening that only he could bring about.

I also had a personal retreat for myself and the
community given by my Spiritual director Fr Jim Finn.
The theme was scripture and it reignited the passion
in my heart to read God's word. It is incredible how
God can speak to us through the scriptures and sometimes
a couple of sentences can feed us for weeks at a time.

I ask for your prayers because over the next few weeks
I will be visiting Florida, The Cayman Islands, Hong Kong,
Australia and Thailand to do talks. What a blessing it is
to be able to do this work for the Lord and the adventures
he leads us on when we try to follow him.

You and all those you love are in my heart and prayers.

God bless you in his deep love
John Pridmore

Saturday, August 1, 2009

DO NOT BE AFRAID TO PROCLAIM THE GOSPEL FROM THE ROOFTOPS!



















Hello everyone

I hope you are well and at peace.

Since the last blog I went to Spain to visit the shrine
of the Apostle St James (the brother of John) at Santiago
de Compostela. St James was the first of the twelve
Apostles to be martyred for his faith and as I knelt
before his tomb I really felt the power of his intercession.

It was here in August 1989 that Pope John Paul II gave a
famous speech where he told the young people of the world
not to be afraid to "proclaim the Gospel from the rooftops"
A young man called Ernest Williams listened to the speech
and was inspired to start a group called Youth 2000 which
is young people evangelizing other young people. This
is the group God used to bring me to a deep knowledge of
his love and mercy. So while I was there I felt a renewed
desire to do all I can to proclaim his love in my life.

After Spain I went to Switzerland to speak at a retreat for
youth. I was leading a small group and I asked them if they
knew they were loved by God. They all said yes. Then I said
is it a knowledge in their head or do they know it deep in
their heart? All of them said that they weren't really
convinced that God accepted them warts and all. I shared
with them the freedom I had received in understanding that
God loves me totally, especially in my weakness, and that
because of that I don't feel ruled by what others might
think of me. One teenage lad called Samuel suddenly said
"Can I have that?" I replied "I'd love to give it to you but
I can't, but you can give it to yourself!" One of the greatest
lessons I have learned in my life is that we shouldn't live
for others opinions of us, but for God.

After this I returned to Ireland where my community and I
were filmed by RTE for a programme called nationwide which
will be screened on September 11th at 7pm. I was also on
another RTE show called Spirit Level with Joe Duffy.
It can be viewed at the following link.

http://www.rte.ie/tv/spiritlevel/av_20090726.html?2586051,null,228


It was a real blessing to have my old friend and spiritual
director Fr Denis Herlihy with us to lead a retreat on
healing the child within. All the members of the community
were deeply touched by the grace of God and they were
shown the roots of the fears that can sometimes control
their lives. There were many tears and I know it was a life
changing experience for them as it had been for me when
I first did this about 9 years ago, it is only looking
back to see how many things God has changed in me since
then that I just thank him and praise him for all he given
to me.

I'm going to be spending a few weeks at the house now and
preparing for all the missions and talks which lie ahead
in the coming months. Please pray for me especially that
I might have good health and know that I am praying for
you.

God bless you in his deep love

John Pridmore.

Monday, June 29, 2009

LIVING THE NOW!










Hello everyone

I hope you are well and at peace.

After returning from my trip to Liberia I spoke at
the Northern Catholic Conference at Liverpool hope
university. I did three talks, one to the youth and
two to the adults. About 500 people attended the
weekend and it was a very blessed and special
occasion. Quite a few of those I spoke to came up
to me and told me how much God had touched them
through what I'd said, so I knew I was in the right
place. It was nice to have my mum there with me,
she had travelled up from London to spend the
weekend with me and enjoy the retreat.

Next I travelled to Medugorje in Bosnia to take
part in the Mary's meals conference. There were
speakers, both Priests and lay people, from all
over the world including India, Malawi, Liberia
Romania and the Phillipines explaining the work
they do in their countries to feed hungry children.
It was a truly inspirational experience.
I spoke about how we have raised money for this
beautiful charity in Ireland. One of the things
I shared was that after I had decided to offer my
support to Mary's Meals, Magnus McFarlane Barrow
the founder, asked me to visit their headquarters
at Craig Lodge. As we left to return to Ireland
one of my community members picked a saints name
from a box and said this saint will help us
establish the charity in Ireland. The saint he
picked was St Andrew the Patron of Scotland.

I must admit, I didn't really have a clue how to
go about raising money or awareness in Ireland.
One day an idea came to me to have a collection
for Mary's meals on the last day of our Parish
missions. When I went to Mass I discovered it
was the feast day of St Andrew and I knew the
idea was of God. We started to do just that and
to date we have raised over 450,000 Euro's in
Ireland alone and when you consider that you can
feed a child for a whole year for 7 euro's, that
makes a lot of children who are being fed.

The highpoint of the week for me was doing a talk
along with the visionary Jacov to hundreds of
people in the main hall. Many different people
contacted me by email to tell how much they had
received from hearing my story, including the
parents of a young lad from Cork called Joseph
who had been deeply moved by what he heard.

I had the chance to spend a couple of days on
the coast of Croatia. It was breathtakingly
beautiful and I felt a deep peace in my heart.
Once again God was showing me that we don't
have to go chasing him everywhere. He is right
there with us wherever we go as long as we seek
to do his will. If we live the present moment
with God (and not get caught up in future worries)
that is when miracles start to happen. If we
truly live the now we could even walk on water,
but as St Peter found as soon as we start to
doubt and worry we will sink.

Next I'm off to Spain for a Holiday/pilgrimage
to Santiago de Compostella, Avila and Valladolid
for couple of weeks. Following this I'll be
speaking at a retreat for young people at
Saint Maurice in Switzerland. Then I'll be
returning to Ireland for a weeks retreat
with my old friend and spiritual director Father
Denis Herlihy who brought me to deep inner
healing by facing the fears and wounds from
my childhood.

you are all in my heart and in my prayers.

God bless you in his deep love
John Pridmore

Thursday, June 4, 2009

THE LIGHT SHINES IN THE DARKNESS!



Hello Everyone

I hope you are well and at peace.

I have just returned from Liberia where I spoke to ex children soldiers
who were forced to take part and witness horrendous acts of violence
during the war which took place there starting in 1996 and continued in
various forms until 2002.

I went at the invitation of Magnus McFarlane Barrow the founder of Mary's
meals, which is an international movement to set up school feeding
projects in communities where poverty and hunger prevent children from
gaining an education.

I became involved in Mary's meals when on pilgrimage to Medugorje in
2005 I really felt that God wanted myself and my community to do
something, just a sense that the work we were doing of evangelisation
wasn't quite complete,something was missing and I didn't know what it
was. So I went to the Grave of a priest called Fr Slavko Barberic (the
first priest I ever went to confession to) whom many people think is
a Saint, and I prayed the rosary with the specific intention that Our
Lady would show me what this missing piece of the jigsaw was. Later
that day I bumped into Magnus (who was an old friend of mine) and he
told me about the work of Mary's meals and showed me a power point
presentation he had put together. As I watched I was deeply moved and
I knew Our Lady was saying to me "do whatever he asks you for this
charity, because it is mine."

Not long after this I set up Mary's meals in Ireland and over the last
4 years we have raised over 400,000 Euro's which goes directly towards
feeding hungry children.

It was a truly humbling experience to visit the school feeding shelters
in Liberia and to see the dedication and love of the volunteers who
prepare the meals, and to witness the massive effect it has on the
children. I could really sense the grace of God at work. Starting with
the generosity of those who make donation’s in Ireland and England,
without whom none of this would be possible.It has been amazing to
watch this small acorn grow into an oak tree with God's help and
blessing. Now Mary's meals feeds 350,000 of the world’s poorest
children daily and 15,000 in Liberia alone.

The experience of speaking to the children soldiers is one I'll never
forget, I shared my story with them and I could see that it was
something they could deeply identify with. One of the young men described
how when he was eight years old, his cousin and he were forced into
working as part of a group providing security for General Taylor.
His cousin fell ill through malaria, and was unable to complete
his duties for the general which included acquiring hot water
for Taylor’s bath. For failure to comply with orders when he was
sick, the cousin was placed against a tree and shot with the intention
of the murder being witnessed by the other children so they would
learn not to go against orders placed on them. Another young man
still has 20 bullets in him, and was forced to carry out orders
of murder of men, women and children, throughout the war.

Despite everything these young men have been through they have
an incredible resilience I felt a deep sense of love for them that
they had seen such evil in their lives, something which they could
do nothing about because they were so young, I actually wept because
it reminded me of the crucifixion of Jesus, total innocence meeting
such darkness. But the light shines in the darkness and I could see
such hope in these lads and I thank God for the chance to meet and
speak with them.

I met with a SMA priest, Fr. Garry, who is looking after over 100
children soldiers, providing them with food, shelter, and an
opportunity to have their lost childhoods restored. He has been
helping the Gola people recover from the civil war, and has worked
with them for over 30 years. During the war he refused to leave
the village where he ministers to them because he knew without
him the people would almost certainly perish. He himself was
kidnapped and that was where he first befriended the children
soldiers who were his kidnappers. He stated to me how ‘without
justice there can be no lasting peace’ alluding to how quickly
another war can begin when the deeper issues are left unresolved.

One man I met gave me immense hope for the future, that was the
monsignor who is effectively the acting Bishop at this time, he
is a real man of God and a great witness of love. Also mother
Teresa's Missionaries of Charity are there bringing God's
tenderness and compassion to the poorest of the poor.

After returning home I feel a profound sense of love in my heart
and a faith that God never abandons any of his children
especially those who have suffered.

If you would like any information on the work of Mary's Meals
you can find it on www.marysmeals.org

You and all those you love are in my prayers

God bless you in his deep love
John Pridmore

Friday, May 15, 2009

WHEN I AM WEAK THEN I AM STRONG!



Hello Everyone

I hope you are well and at peace.

For the first time in quite a few years I had the joy to do some talks in Wales, and I spent a bit of time with my old friend Fr Gareth Leyshon, I had known him long before he entered seminary and we had worked together often in the past. It was a powerful time talking to many young people in schools and I received lots of emails telling how God had really touched the life of these students.

I also took part in a weekend youth retreat and I ended up running a reconciliation service where up to 60 people went to confession and some of them told me how this had transformed their lives. The great thing about our faith is that even if we mess things up, (which we all do), the moment that we return to our God with sorrow and a desire to change we can start again.

One of the priests at the retreat said to me that the thing that had deeply struck him during my talk was that God works so powerfully in us in our brokenness. He wants to use us to bring his light to others just as we are! We can't come any other way. We don't have to pretend to ourselves or others that we are perfect, just simply be ourselves and be free to tell of God's patience and goodness. Let us not be afraid of our weakness because as we know Jesus used a donkey more than once!

I have spent the last week with my Godson Stuart doing talks in schools in England, some of you may know I met him over 10 years ago when he was 12 years old and living in foster care, he had been rejected by all the people who were supposed to love him and was already in trouble with the police and taking drugs. I spoke in his school and we had to get special permission from social services for him to come on a retreat. During that weekend he went to confession and said sorry to God (even though at that stage he wasn't even baptised) After the confession he knelt beside me at a healing service and as the Priest brought Jesus in the blessed Sacrament to him he threw himself into my arms with tears running down his face saying "For the first time in my life I know that I'm loved, I know that Jesus loves me". Six months after this Stuart was baptised a Catholic and he is an incredible witness of how the love of God can transform someone’s life.

While Stuart was talking in the schools of what God had done in his life, he was crying because the love of God was moving him so much, and I noticed that many of the students were wiping away the tears also because I'm sure they could relate to the things he has been through in his life.

In one school that I visited was a teacher who is a very good friend of mine and he had just received the news that his sister has breast cancer (please keep her in your prayers) and of course it was very difficult for him. But he said that after our talk and just spending a bit of time together, he felt the grace to be able to trust God and had a deep peace in his heart, which he deserves because he is someone who really tries to serve God and place him in the centre of his life.

One of the days Stuart and myself went to visit Sr Maria Nutella a Dominican nun who is based in the New Forest in Hampshire. It was a real blessing to see her again and we ended up praying over one another. As she prayed over me she received a picture of lots of little boats with people in them and these boats were tied up with heavy ropes. This represented the fact the souls of these people were not free to follow God fully. But
as she watched she saw that I began to cut the ropes so that these people could respond to God's love for them. It was a confirmation to me that my mission is to speak to whoever God sends me to and hopefully that they may have the grace to respond to whatever he is calling them to in their lives.

She also saw clearly that wherever I went the devil was waiting to attack the work that God wanted to do. There is nothing to fear in this because God is infinitely more powerful than him, but we must have our eyes open to the reality of spiritual warfare and be ready to combat him with the weapons that God gives us. Every day I and my community would pray protection prayers such as the Holy Michael the Arc angel prayer and others like it, with the express purpose to repulse his attacks on us and on the people we minister to, it really works! and I would recommend it to everyone.

Finally It has been amazing to see God working in the ordinary everyday circumstances, I have given books and miraculous medals to countless people I have met on my travels and the thing that blows me away is that every one of them is so important to God that he would arrange the whole trip just for them if it were necessary.

Just to assure you that you and all your loved ones are in my prayers.
God bless you in his deep love
John Pridmore.

Friday, April 24, 2009

FACING OUR FEARS



Hello everyone

I hope you are well and at peace.

After arriving back from the amazing few weeks I was ministering in New York I spent two weeks at the community house (pictured above) in Carrick on Shannon, County Leitrim. The name of our group is The St Patricks Community and we run Parish missions across Ireland and the UK.

It started about 8 years ago when I arrived in Ireland with nothing but a bag full of clothes and a car but the conviction that God was calling me to Ireland to Evangelise. I went on the road speaking in schools and parishes with a friend of mine called Padraig and it was incredible the miracles God worked in that time. Even though we didn’t have a penny to our names, we never had to spend a night without a roof over our heads and it was an exiting adventure travelling from place to place never quite knowing what the Lord had in store for us next.

Gradually as time went by more people came to join me and at the moment there are five of us, 3 guys and 2 girls, who make up the team. God has really taught me that if I want to be truly intimate with him the only way that can happen is if I am vulnerable. That means really sharing with him what is going on in my heart and not trying to hide or disguise my deepest fears but exposing them to him.

Each of the team members are at different stages on that journey to the freedom that God wants for them and one thing we have found is that if we are not prepared to be vulnerable with one another and share our fears and brokenness it is very unlikely we will share it with God. Community life has a habit of very quickly exposing all the masks we wear to make people love and accept us. When all of this stuff comes to the surface and you realise that the people you are living with are just the same as you, then that is the beginning of the healing process. God will never withhold his love and tenderness from us when we come to him in our weakness.

After Easter I went to speak at a Parish mission at Glasnevin in Dublin. On the Tuesday night we had 14 priests hearing confessions and many people ended up going for the first time in years, it was great to see the joy on their faces afterwards. I also spoke in a school in Dublin and the young people were so open while listening to what God had done in my life. Many of them emailed me and told of how God had touched them through my talk and they wanted to read my book to find out more.

I am the so thankful to God for the privilege of doing what I do, the greatest joy I have in my life is to see someone realise that they are precious to God and he loves them.

God bless you in his deep love
John Pridmore

Friday, April 3, 2009

BE YOURSELF NO MATTER WHAT THEY SAY!



Hello Everyone

I hope you are well and at peace.

I have spent the last couple of weeks in New York. During this time I spoke at a mens day of prayer where 3000 attended.After my testimony one of the Priests from the Franciscans of the Renewal came to speak to me and shared how while I was speaking he could really feel the love of God the Father and how it had a powerful effect on him. He also said that for some time he had experienced the pain that people where suffering and would shed tears for them at the drop of a hat, I told him that it was the same for me and that this deep compassion for others was a beautiful gift from God and nothing to be afraid of.

I had the joy to do a live show on EWTN (a Catholic television network) with my old spiritual director Fr Andrew Apostolli, it was fantastic to spend the
day with him and I learnt so much from him. The day after the show I received an email from a man who said he decided to go to confession after what we had said on the show. He been going to Mass without receiving the Eucharist for some years, after his confession he went to Mass and received Holy communion and God showed him his presence and his love for him in a deep way. He wanted to say to me that these programmes were doing great good.

While I was in New York city I stayed in the house of formation for the novices of the Greyfriars. This year they have seventeen young men who desire to give their lives totally to the service of the Lord and especially the poorest of the poor. What a witness to me of dedicaton and generous hearts.

I went to speak at an event called theology on tap in Buffalo. I shared the story of a girl I know who when she was a little girl was sexually abused by
someone outside her family and had later gone on to become very promiscuous as a teenager. On one particular occasion she been with several guys at the same time and afterwards had felt such a sense of shame that she had attempted to kill herself. She ended up going to a priest for confession and during the confession the priest had placed her head on his heart and she had wept tears of joy. The only problem was that even after this confession she couldn't forgive herself for the things she had done. One day she asked me to pray over her to heal the memories of the situation where she had been with several guys at once. I told her to place herself back in that situation in her imagination and I would pray for Jesus to come with his healing, very quickly she began to cry so much that at first I was quite concerned. After about half an hour when she seemd totally at peace I asked her what had happened when
we prayed. She told me that in her imagination she had been back in the situation where the several guys were using her and she felt disgusted with herself when suddenly Jesus appeared with a white gown that he placed upon her and he said the words "my innocent little seven year old girl" and he covered all her shame with his love. She realised that God wasn't looking at her with disgust for the things she had done but could only see a little girl who should never have suffered in that way. What an immense healing for her that was.

After this talk a girl approached me with tears flowing and she told me how she had lived a similar life to my friend and that through her story she realised that God was looking at her with utter compassion and understanding and that now she would be able to forgive herself and really begin to live her life anew.

The next day I said to John (the man who had invited me over for the talk) "there was a lot of tears last night" and he replied "Yeah, including mine" and we both laughed, grateful to God for all he had done. The two families that I spent time with were a real inspiration of what family life can be, one had nine children the other had ten.They had so much love and concern for each other and a joy which was infectious.

Lastly my friend Fr Robert Stanion (pictured above) passed away. I thank God for his life and how he taught me by his example that the greatest way we can serve God is by being ourselves. He was always very real and never pretended to be anything other than what he was, but his heart was so full of love that he was always ready to lift the burdens from all those who crossed his path, may he rest in peace.

Know that you and your loved ones are in my prayers.

God bless you in his deep love
John Pridmore

Monday, March 16, 2009

BRING MY LOVE TO OTHERS!


Hello everyone
I hope you are well and at peace.

I had an incredibly blessed time in New Zealand and God taught me many lessons. Whilst I was in Christchurch I had the privilege to meet with with Sister Dorothea, she has been an enclosed Carmelite nun for the past 25 years. She herself was converted during a Black sabbath Rock concert and has an amazing heart to pray for the young people of the world to experience the fire of Gods love. Over 20 years ago God inspired her to pray for one person in particular that would have a mission to spread that same fire. As we talked together I really saw that her prayers were instrumental in my conversion and sustained me in all the battles I've had as I've tried to follow Gods path for me. I thank God that we had a chance to meet up and see the perfection of his plans coming together.

I was asked to speak in a prison, on arrival I was told they expected me as an educational speaker. There was some pressure to not mention God in the talk. I went ahead and spoke about how it was God and him alone who had transformed my life. You could see that the prisoners were deeply moved and the woman who arranged the talk came up to me and said "If God isn't educational then I don't know who is!"

On my journey home I stopped off in Los Angeles for a couple of days and a mutual friend had arranged for me to meet up with Jim Caviezel (the actor who played Jesus in the passion of the Christ) I went to pray a rosary to ask God to bless this meeting and as I was praying I suddenly remembered how a few weeks previously I had been driving from Auckland to do a school three hours north, I was feeling very tired. The evening after I had spoken in the school I ran a reconciliation and healing service in a local church, after which a girl from the school came up to me with tears running down her face and explained how during my talk in the school God's love had touched her heart, so she had come along in the evening in the hope the same experience, When the Priest carried Jesus in the blessed sacrament to her God had brought massive healing into her heart and she was crying with pure joy. The same evening a 22 year old lad told me how he had been to confession for the first time in over 10 years. All this reminded me that the greatest thing we can ever do is to introduce someone to the God who loves us, and that is what is important to God. After all of this I didn't end up meeting with Jim Caviezel and it was the meeting with the mutual friend Paul which was important to the Lord because he said the conversation had changed his life.

On arriving back in Ireland I did a talk for a prayer group and I felt while I was talking that even though I had really prayed about the talk I was a bit all over the place, to my surprise the man who ran the prayer group came up and told me it was the best talk he had ever heard. This really taught me that we are not the best judges of how God is using us and that we should never analyse, just trust in him.

Finally I was down in Limerick for a fundraising evening for Mary's meals where I shared my story and met up with my old friend Magnus McFarlane Barrow who founded this fantastic charity which now feeds over 360,000 children in the poorest countries of the world every day.

You are in my prayers every day, please keep me in yours. I am off to New York to talk at a big Mens day of prayer among other things and I'm really looking forward to that.

God bless you in his dep love,
John Pridmore

Monday, February 23, 2009

LIGHT THE FIRE OF GODS LOVE!


Hello everyone,
I hope you are well and at peace.

I have arrived in New Zealand and have spoken to 4000 young people over the last week in various locations around Auckland. I received an email from a man who came to one of my talks, he told me he had been a bouncer and had been leading a wild life but after hearing my story he has decided to change his life and is now planning to go to bible school for a couple of years.

When you do a talk you never know the effect that it may have, so it is always encouraging to hear that God has been working. Since coming to New Zealand I have heard from several people who have told me of what has happened to them since my trip here last August. One young man who heard me speak at world youth day said he was heading down the wrong path in life but now he has let God into his life and it has transformed him.

One teacher told me that a group of young men whom I spoke with had been deeply impacted by Gods grace and are going from strength to strength. Also a prayer group that I visited has started many new ways of reaching out and serving God including a pro-life group to fight against the evil of abortion, the leader of the group told me these were all fruits of my talk.

The most important thing is to do whatever God leads us to, because that will always be what brings about the most grace. I had been feeling for some time that God might be asking me to spend more time travelling to different locations to do talks. One day someone was praying with me and they got the picture of a globe with various fires (representing God's love) been lit all over the world. I knew that God was confirming this new calling! within a matter of days I received invitations to come and speak in the Carribean, New York and other places in the USA. Add to this the trips I already had planned to New Zealand and Australia and you can see that the Lord sometimes works quickly when he wants something.

I must say I am really enjoying the incredible adventure of following him to the ends of the Earth. This week I will be talking in schools in Christchurch and flying to Wellington to speak on television and also in a school.

On the way back from New Zealand I will visit Los Angeles to visit a friend of mine, Paul Kelmenson a Hollywood producer who would like to turn my book into a film, so please keep that in your prayers.

The most important thing is that no matter where someone lives or what they may have done in their lives, God wants the fire of his love to burn in their hearts and to show them how important they are in his plans. All of us can make an immense difference if we say yes to him!

You are very much in much heart and prayers,
God bless you in his deep love
John Pridmore

Thursday, February 5, 2009

THE JOY OF SERVING GOD!



Hello Everyone

I hope you are well and at peace.

Since coming back to Ireland I have done two Parish missions one in Enniscroan and one in Waterford city. At Enniscroan the Church was packed every night and It was incredble to see the peace in the people at the end of the week.

During that week I had the joy to meet up with my old friend Fr Bernard Murphy, the head of the Franciscan friars of the renewal. He came into a school with me in Moyne, Co Longford. He said it was so important to see me witness to God's love without fear and with real conviction because that shows the young people that it is real, and that also when we follow God he sets us free to be ourselves and not to worry about what others think of us. After that talk I received many emails from the pupils telling how God had touched them and asking how to come closer to him.

The next weekend I did a talk in Wexford and a man came who had read my book and wanted to have a chat with me. He hadn't been going to Church for many years but someone had given him my book and it had opened him up to faith he had been taught as a child. He ended up coming to the Waterford mission and he went to confession for the first time in over twenty years. It was obvious that God had touched him in a deep way and I think he will do great things for the Lord in the future.

A woman came up to me at the mission and asked me to pray for a 4 month old Baby who has Down Syndrome but who was seriously ill with an infection and in danger of dying. I think these children are like angels who God has sent to bring his love and joy to the world, they are so full of God. A few days later she told one of my friends that the child was back to full health and that she thanked and praised God for it. The most beautiful part of it was that the mother, who had found it a bit difficult to accept the child at first thinking it would be a burden on her, had realised through the illness what a precious gift this child is to her.

At the moment I am in England doing a tour of schools, so please keep me and the children in your prayers. Next I will be travelling to Los Angeles and then on to New Zealand to speak at a big youth conference in Auckland.I will then share my story to thousands of teenagers in Schools in both Auckland and Christchurch. What a joy it is to serve God, I never thought I'd see so much of the world let alone doing something Which I love so much, telling others about the God who loves them!

You are all in my prayers
God bless you in his deep love.
John Pridmore

Saturday, January 17, 2009

WE NEVER WALK ALONE!



Hello everyone
I hope that you have had a blessed Christmas and you are at peace.

For Christmas this year I went away for a few days with my mum. First we went to Paris where I visited the beautiful church of the Rue de Bac where our lady appeared to St Catherine Laboure and gave her the miraculous medal. She said anyone who wears this medal will receive many graces and protection from God. I've given out literally hundreds of thousands of these medals to young people and Our Lady says they are an outward sign of how much we are loved by her.

Next we went to Bruges in Belgium and we went to Sunday mass after which they were venerating the miracle of the precious blood. Many years ago there was a Priest who was having doubts about whether Jesus was truly present in the blessed sacrament and during the Mass the wine turned into real blood and he doubted no more. They keep that blood of Christ in the church unto this day. It just reminded me of the incredible gift that Jesus gives us each time we go to mass.

At the beginning of January I started a tour of schools in England. I talked to over 4000 young people over the course of two weeks sharing with them how God has changed my life and brought me to a greater freedom and peace than I'd ever dreamed was possible.

In the schools many of the young people came up to me and shared the painful situations that they were living and asking me if God can really help them. I prayed with one girl who said she didn't believe that God exists asking God to show her he is with her in her suffering, and many others were asking for prayers to help with very difficult situations at home. I think God's heart bleeds for these his beautiful children and he asks all of us to reach out to them.

Before the tour began I had arranged for a meeting with a good man who has helped us out financially to make these tours possible and where we were to meet him was a long distance from the two talks I was doing that day. Then, an old friend from Ireland, who is a teacher, called me and said she had started work in a new school and would it be possible for me to come and speak to the students? Sure enough her new school was right beside where we were meeting the man who helps us. I knew this was God, only he can arrange these things to the smallest detail.

The talk was really blessed and all the students were so open to God's love for them. After the talk I ended up praying with a few teachers, including the headmaster. He asked if it might be possble for myself and my community to come to his school and help run a retreat day for his staff. I felt so thankful to God to be part of his plan and to see him working his miracles!

I am never ceased to be amazed how when we try to serve God he looks after us in the smallest details. One day we had been very busy since the early morning. We were on our way to another talk when I turned to Will and Niall who were in the car with me and said it would be just nice to sit down and have a nice meal together for an hour or so. Soon after I took a wrong turn and right in front of me was a harvester restaurant. I thanked God for his goodness that he gives us everything we need and loves to see us happy. It is often in the little things that God can show us just how precious we are to him and I pray that our eyes would be always open to see these gifts of love.

One of the days we had finished quite early and I really wanted to go for a walk to get some exercise, but unfortunately it was pouring down with rain. The only indoor place where I could get a decent walk was the Bullring shopping centre in Birmingham which was a fairly long drive away, but off I went and while mooching round the shops I ended up giving my book to two girls who worked behind the counter and I know it was going to be a blessing for them. Also because I was in Birmingham I met up with My old Friend Fr Richard Aladics who was visiting from Australia at the Chaplaincy of the university of Birmingham. We had a great chat with some of the students and it was a truly blessed evening. If it hadn't been raining I wouldn't have been in Birmingham at all. I love the way God can use everything to guide us.


One of the vital things on these tours of schools is the satellite navigation system for the car which guides us to all the addresses which we otherwise would struggle to find. It is the same in our lives, without the gift of Gods Holy Spirit we will always struggle and often get lost. When we surrender our lives to him and let him guide us then miracles start to happen and life becomes an exciting adventure. Somebody once said that the word faith could stand for a Fantastic Adventure In Trusting Him!

You and those you love are in my prayers every day.
God bless you.
John Pridmore.