Catholic Outlook June 2016

NEWS & EVENTS
JOHN PRIDMORE’S MISSION DATES IN SYDNEY
1ST MISSION:
4-10 June,
Our Lady of
the Rosary
Parish,
St Marys, at
7.30pm.
2ND MISSION:
11-17 June,
St Benedict’s
Parish,
Arcadia, at
7pm.
3RD MISSION:
25 June - 1 July,
St Gertrude’s
Parish,
Smithfield, at
7pm.
4TH MISSION:
2-8 July,
St Benedict’s
Parish,
Broadway, at
7pm.
The power of a
GANGSTER’S TESTIMONY
By Elizabeth McFarlane
JOHN Pridmore was a London gangster,
immersed in the violent criminal underworld
and swept up in his desire for money, women
and drugs.
But the former mobster is now finding power
in a new line of work, preaching the Gospel and
sharing his testimony.
Heading down under, John will be sharing his
story at four different mission talks, and all ages
are welcome.
Six-feet tall with an intimidatingly broad
stature, John is a force to be reckoned with.
It was outside a nightclub in London’s West
End where John’s life took a turn towards God.
“I hit this guy with my knuckleduster, but
when I hit him he fell straight back and smashed
his head on the curb,” John said.
“I could see blood everywhere and people
around me started screaming, so I fled the scene
and I remember being in my car thinking, ‘I
could get 10 years in jail for this.’”
John had almost killed a man.
“I was destroying everything and everyone
in my path. After nearly taking that man’s life,
something incredible happened and my life
began to change,” he said.
“I fell to my knees and prayed for the first
time and it felt incredible. I've taken every drug
there is but the feeling I had that night was the
best I have ever felt.”
But there was still a long road for John to
travel before he could stand in front of a crowd
of people and tell them his transformative story.
Having served time in prison, John was angry
and found himself struggling with forgiveness.
“One of the people who really hurt me when I
was a kid was my step-mum. She was very cruel
to me and even though I didn’t put it too much
in my book, From Gangland to Promised Land,
when I started praying for her, I’d say, ‘Lord bless
her, but make sure she suffers.’
“But after a few months, I stopped saying,
‘Make sure she suffers.’ I just said, ‘Lord bless
her.’”
It was after going to Confession that John was
able to unchain himself from the belief that he
wasn’t good enough for God’s mercy.
“I had experienced the biggest attribute of
God’s heart, His mercy,” John said. “It was one
thing to have God forgive me. It was another to
forgive myself and those who have hurt me.
“As I started praying for other people who
had hurt me, I started being set free. And I think
that’s what led me to be able to see myself as God
sees me, without judgment or condemnation
but with mercy and understanding.”
Michael Axiak has known John since 2008 and
in 2013, he spent 14 months working with him
on his mission team, St Patrick’s Community, in
Ireland, running parish missions.
“When hearing John share his testimony for
the first time people are generally astounded at
the transformation that has taken place in his
life,” Michael said.
“People will be challenged to look at their
own lives and search their own consciences.
“John's story will touch the hearts of his
listeners. Each and every time you hear it, you
get something new out of it and you’re further
drawn back into the loving heart of our Father."
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