MERCY AT CHRISTMAS

Hello Everyone

I hope you are well and at peace, wishing 
you a very merry Christmas.

Recently we did a parish mission where all the students from 
the local secondary school came into the Church to hear me 
share my story. On the way out some of them asked for a hug
which I found deeply moving because of their age group (15

to 18  years olds). The next day I received an email from the mother

of one of the young people who had attended. She told me

that her teenage son had been hurt when he was a young boy.

During the talk he just decided he wanted to come up

and give me a hug afterwards. When his mum asked him why?

he said “I just wanted to”. She said this was a very big thing for

him to do after what had happened to him and that he never

allowed anyone to hug him. I feel somehow God was

reaching into his heart to bring healing and helping him to be

able to trust again.

The following week we did our third mission in Letterkenny

Cathedral. My good friend Father Eamonn Kelly arranged for

all the students from the local schools to come into the

Cathedral over three days. The first day I spoke to

700 boys and I shared about the forgiveness and mercy of

God and how it had transformed my own life. At the end

I explained to them the power of the sacrament of reconciliation

and invited them to go to confession. We had 14 priests

present and the confessions continued for over an hour

and a half. The amazing thing was that the young people

could have left at the end of my talk but instead many of them

chose to give up their entire lunch hour to go to confession.

The same thing was repeated over the next couple of days

with the girls school and the two mixed schools from the

town. I could see that some of the students had tears in

their eyes as they were walking away from this beautiful

Sacrament because they knew the gift of innocence and

peace in their hearts. One girl told me she was so happy

she felt like dancing.

Jesus said to one of the Saints that his heart was broken by

the way young people were being lured by darkness rather

than being led to his light. All of us fall down, all of us sin,

but Jesus has paid for us with his Blood. I have never seen

anything to give a young person hope, healing and self

worth like when they experience the unconditional love

of Christ through the priest in confession. In my own case this

is the grace that completely changed my life, when I went to

confession for the first time at the age of 27 God’s mercy touched

my heart so deeply that I wept with joy for three days. The young

people of Letterkenny showed that given the choice most people

will jump at the chance to receive that light of Christ and

the happiness and freedom that comes with it. We must

always look for ways of providing these opportunities.

The final mission of the year took place at Gorey, Co Wexford.

As the people were leaving the church on the last night a

Seventy year old man came up to me and said “This mission

has completely changed my life!” His eyes were glowing with

Innocence and joy. No matter what age we are, this Christmas

the baby Jesus is coming to each one of us. There is no better

way to prepare for His coming than by going to confession and

being completely honest, maybe by getting rid of those sins we

have never had the courage to confess before. Then we can walk

towards the New Year knowing that we are loved and that we

have absolutely nothing to fear, because the perfect love of God

drives out all fear, which was revealed in that mans eyes.

I pray that you and all those you love have a truly amazing

Christmas and a happy New Year!

God bless you in his deep love

John Pridmore