A SUMMER OF GOD FIRST

I hope you are well and at peace,

Over the last few months I have visited
many countries including Germany,
Sweden, Denmark, Estonia, Russia,
Belgium, Scotland, England and the
Czech Republic.

When we try to put God first he seems to 

be able to bless our life so much more. 

In the first years of being converted I felt 

that to show God that I loved him I 

needed to pray and go to Mass, as if I 

was doing God a favour. Now I 

understand the more time I can give God, 

the more he can bless my life. God has a 

wonderful plan for us, but can only show 

us this plan if we put him firmly first in our 

lives.

Over the Summer I had the blessing to 

speak to Priests and religious in Waterford, 

at the Little sisters of the poor. This was a 

real Grace for me because when I first 

came to Ireland, I had no house or place 

to stay and the Little sisters put me up 

many times, fed me and looked after me. 

At the talk there were about 200 people, 

it was to celebrate the gift of religious life. 

Again people who have tried to put God 

first in there lives, and have the wonderful 

Joy that goes with it.

 I also had the pleasure of spending time 

in Russia,Prague and Estonia, it is a 

wonderful gift to see the openness now

to faith, when for so many years the 

people and church was so persecuted. 

There is a real hunger in the people for 

the truth of the Catholic Church and its 

teachings. The pain in the older people is 

still there and the stories I heard of some 

of the struggles under the communists 

were quite remarkable. When a country 

turns away from God it turns away from 

love, mercy, openness and goodness.

I traveled over to Scotland and England 

visiting the Cenacolo  community and the 

Shrine to our Lady of Walsingham. The 

Cenacolo community was started for men 

struggling with addictions, I shared my 

story and one of the men asked me how I 

stopped hating myself. I said I started 

seeing myself as God sees me without 

Judgment, anger or condemnation, but 

with mercy, love and understanding.

When I wrote my first book my mum 

would not read the part of the book 

where I was so bad as a gangster in 

London, she did not mind reading the 

other parts where I tried to be good and 

had found God. Then she told me she 

had read the bad bits.  When I asked 

what she thought, she started crying and 

said, I thought my poor wounded little boy, 

she did not see me as a monster only a 

hurt little boy making so many bad choices.

And I knew this was a slight reflection of 

how God sees us, with an amazing mercy, 

love, and understanding, as his beautiful 

little boy or girl who have been hurt by 

our sins and other peoples sins and 

needing him to hold us and heal us in his 

forgiveness and love. At the Shrine to our 

Blessed Mother I was able to spend some 

time in prayer and meet good friends.

My last trip was to Munich to give some 

talks at a youth prayer festival, it was very 

blessed with hundred of people going to 

confession, many inner healings of 

forgiveness and self worth. My high point 

was a 22 year old homeless guy who had 

heard me on the radio and came as his 

story was like mine, we met and spent time 

chatting and he made his first confession 

and just cried and cried because he felt 

so loved by God, when I left he stayed on 

to help, and you could see God was going 

to look after him as he had chosen to try 

and put God first in his life.

Please pray for me as I have visits to England,

Los Angeles, Washington and Toronto in the

next few weeks.

You are very much in my heart and prayers,

God bless you in his deep love

John Pridmore