OUR HOPE IS IN JESUS CHRIST

Hello everyone

I hope you have had a very blessed and Holy
eastertide! I had a restful time over easter
in Ireland and it was nice to spend 10 days
in our community house. When I reflect
back to when I arrived in Ireland 14 years
ago with a few clothes, a secondhand car
which was given to me and 60 pounds in my
pocket, it has been amazing how God has
provided everything I've needed to do
his most holy will. I have never gone
without a bed or missed a meal (as my
waistline will attest to) When Jesus says
"Do not worry about what you are to eat, or
what you are to wear" it is as true today
as it was 2000 years ago.

After easter I travelled to Birmingham
to speak at a number of schools. It was a
great grace to see Christ being resurrected
in so many young people and their teachers.
One of my greatest joys is to speak in
secondary schools and to bring hope into
young peoples lives about how much God
loves them and how important they are to
him. After speaking in 4 schools to over
1000 young people the emails and feedback
were humbling and is always a reminder
of how God's light shines through our very
brokeness and in our weaknesses God's
strength is made perfect.

One of my friends once said to me, "I am praying
for you to be like St Juan Diego" who by simply
sharing his story converted 10 million
Mexicans. When we share our testimony, we
share God's miracles and he able to create
many more.

When I got back from Birmingham to Ireland
we gave a mission in Mayfield in Cork city.
One of the things that touched me from this
mission was the amount of young people who
came from the school to the amazement of the
some of the parishioners. One parishioner
commented on the radio "You must come to
this mission it was full of skinheads, punks
and young people of every background that
you wouldn't expect to see in a church".

I then travelled to Beaumont in North
Dublin. This is a city parish and the
people are amazingly friendly with a great
love and openness for God. The mission
was very blessed in so many ways and
some of the people came up and told me
how through the mission they felt Jesus
was walking with them even in the pain
of their lives.

When we are going through a tough time
or feel we are failures, it is then that God's
grace is the most powerful. In the worlds
eyes the crucifixion of Jesus was a total
failure but this victory was God conquering
death. Some people in Ireland and the
world feel the recent referendum to open
marriage to homosexual couples was a
failure, but I believe God will use this to
wake up the Irish people into seeing that
God's law cannot be changed. He will also
bring about an overwhelming grace to the
wonderful Holy Sacrament of true marriage
between a man and a woman. As my old
spiritual director Fr Andrew Apostolli from
the CFRs once said to me "If a million people
say this is right, but in God's law it is wrong,
it is still wrong" Our hope as always is in
Jesus Christ.

Having given another mission in Belturbet,
Co Cavan, and speaking at the secondary
school I flew to Newcastle where I gave a
number of talks in schools parishes and a
doctors conference. At this event it was very
inspiring to meet so many doctors and nurses
who stand up for the teachings of the Catholic
Church and will not compromise these ethics
in all that they do in their chosen professions.

In all the parish based missions, schools
and other talks I give I find that there is
an ocean of grace available if I spend
enough time in prayer. More and more I
understand that when we want God
to create miracles then we have to give him
permission and this comes through prayer
and sacrifice.

As Mother Teresa said
"The fruit of silence is prayer,
The fruit of prayer is faith,
The fruit of faith is love,
The fruit of love is service
and the fruit of service is peace"

Please keep me in your prayers over the coming
months as I will be travelling to Denmark, Russia,
Belgium, England, Germany, USA and Canada.

You are very much in my prayers

God bless you in his deep love
John Pridmore