Here we share a wide variety of stories as they happened as we were out & about on the streets of London!
Hope for Everyone
Yesterday, I went to Hillsong which is in Central London, close to Soho.
The pastor prayed that throughout the week, we’d all have ‘prophetic encounters’ & be used to bring more people to know God’s goodness!
So, after the service, the Holy Spirit guided me to Soho & to a particular coffee shop, much like a GPS for the car.
I walked in & immediately knew the person that the Holy Spirit had in mind.
He was tall, skinny, bald, covered in tattoos, a massive nose-ring, old dirty clothes & just in case that wasn’t alarming enough, he was having a very long conversation out loud with HIMSELF!!
I ordered my coffee & was praying away thinking ‘this isn’t very comfortable ‘ while over-hearing some of his ramblings.
Suddenly it dawned on me, his accent sounded a little Irish and so there it was, the hook!
‘Are you Irish my friend?’ I asked enthousically while trying not to stare at his eyes that looked like giant marbles.
He explained that he was a mix of Irish and other cultures & said he lived in Ireland once in a place called ‘Spanish Place ‘!
Eureka, that’s in county Clare where I grew up so then we had a great old conversation about Ireland & Clare, the towns & music!
Eventually, the topic of religion came up & let’s just say, it was quite obvious that he hadn’t just come from Church!
‘I have no time for religion, I’m gay you see’ & he very quickly changed the subject.
Inside, I felt Jesus say to me ‘leave it there” and we parted ways shortly afterwards with a warm handshake. As I left I was prompted to pray for him, knowing that Jesus was thirsting for his soul too!
Sometimes, evangelisation isn’t so glorious and there are no spectacular fruits but what God puts on my heart is that when these people die & Satan comes running shouting ‘he’s mine’, Jesus will arrive & say ‘not so fast there, it’s true he didn’t pray much but graces were put aside for his soul too when a mass was offered for him & prayers said on that day in Soho or whenever….’
It’s important to remember that while we are in time, God is out of time & the workings of the spiritual realm are very different to that of the physical realm.
If we keep this attitude in mind, it takes a lot of the pressure off us when we meet people to ‘save them’ & we can just be normal & relaxed with people & simply see what happens!
Jesus, we trust in you! Help us evangelise with fun & joy!!
The Word of God is ALIVE
A few weeks ago, I noticed a young Asian man reading what looked like a bible at the coffee shop!
Intrigued, I approached him some days ago to say hello & yes, he was reading the bible.
‘It feeds my heart’ he said. ‘I feel empty & then I read the psalms & prophets Jeremiah & Isiaih & I feel their intimacy with God. It fills my heart & gives me strength for the day.’
How amazing I thought and how honest, heartfelt & genuine! He went on to tell me that he finds life in London very stressful and worldly & without the bible, he would lose his way.
How beautiful that there are so many different ways of praying, so many ways God feeds us and how beautiful to see someone reading the bible in public in this way!
Thank you Jesus for the gift of your word & all that has been handed down to us down through the generations, bless this young man to know, love & serve you more & grant him the peace in his heart that he craves!
And for anyone who has never read the bible or perhaps it has been a while, why not get a copy & read a little every day (as recommended by Our Lady of Medjugorje!!)
Brothers; One Gay, One Priest
Sunday was Easter Sunday in the Orthodox Church & just as I sat to have my coffee, a very big strong bald man of about 65 sat near me.
He was certainly not the type of man you’d want to get into a fight with and so when he looked at me and said “they are all f’cking stupid’ I just smiled as he went on a rant about smartphones making young people stupid!
However, he calmed down and began asking me what part of Ireland I’m from & what I do in London.
“Telling this fella about LGBT & that I’m one of them might not go down too well” I thought but hey, I’ll never know unless I do it!
The conversation took an amazing twist! He told me about his gay uncle who is now dying of cancer and how he came out only when his parents died.
He went onto say that his other uncle (brother of the gay one) was an Orthodox priest & when he found out about his gay brother, he refused to ever speak to him again.
“When a priest does that to you, your own brother, it’s got to have effects, I’m convinced that’s why he is sick “
He then went onto telling me how he accepted his gay uncle, gave him a massive hug when he came out & was on his way to visit him this week.
Such stories are heartbreaking & we can’t help but think of the story of the good samaritan. The priest passed by, the levite passed by but the samaritan stopped.
What a difference it would have made to this man & indeed to so many others to hear from a priest, representing God that ‘YOU ARE LOVED’, especially after waiting maybe 50 years to open up about that heavy secret that he was carrying.
Lord, help us to be a good samaritan today to someone who we meet & again, help the LGBT community in all the different churches to find & experience God’s love for them & open the hearts of all priests to love them and understand their struggle & pain.
WELCOME BACK
An inspiring story to share from yesterday’s feast of the Divine Mercy!!
The Holy Spirit prompted me to go to a gay Karaoke bar despite feeling a little tired & not really in the mood!
Off I went when after about 30 minutes, an old gentleman who I just know by name approached me & said “I need you in my life, you have to bring me back to Jesus & Mary”.
I was blown away as he had never shown much interest in my ministry up to now but as he spoke, he explained that he was an evangelist for many years, spoke at conferences all over, was heavily involved in youth ministry but left it all at 47 because of being gay.
But life without Jesus hasn’t been all glamorous now he’s desperate to come back to Jesus and be accepted as a gay man.
It just shows thirst out there for God, for authenticity and how God can be at work in people’s hearts when we think that they have no interest whatsoever in either God or our ministries!!
Happy Feast of Divine Mercy!!
THE FATHER’S LOVE
God is amazing!
As I was having my morning coffee, minding my own business, a lady approached me asking me how to use her phone!
I helped her & as she was so friendly, I offered her a miraculous medal (I always carry a few).
Tears welled up as she took it and as I looked in her eyes, I immediately saw great love & pain & that it was linked to her Dad.
‘Has your Dad passed away?’ I asked.
‘Yes, with tears she replied ‘ as I hugged her & began to pray prophetically.
‘May this trip be a trip of love & healing….’ I prayed.
She cried more as she explained that she had just arrived in England on a special trip to retrace her Dad’s origins etc!!
How amazing!!
She’s invited me to the USA to visit her in Washington although I might wait till Trump calms down!
Just remember, whoever you are, God has the same loving fatherly love for you today!
Be attentive to the signs!!
CONFESSION AFTER 40 YEARS
A very encouraging Easter story!
As part of my outreach to the LGBT community, I met a certain man about 5 years ago who was gay, catholic and somewhat estranged from the sacramental life of the Church.
Probing as to why, it turned out he had a terribly traumatic experience with a priest about 40 years ago at confession and he was never back since then.
Over time, I’d encourage him to go, especially to some very kind priests I knew but progress was slow….
So a few weeks ago, I met him and he said something like “your ministry is wonderful….”.
A little annoyed that after almost 5 years of knowing him, he still hadn’t gone to confession, I replied back something like “words are nice but they fall short when they are not backed up with actions…”.
He knew what I meant and I guess, I knew him well enough to say that!!
So, we hadn’t met for a while until yesterday when he invited me for a coffee!
Guess what? He felt so convicted after what I said that last week, after 40 years, he went to confession & it went really well!
More than that, he’s been telling his friends and family & he has received so much positive encouragement! He’s now evangelising more than me!!
“Now that I’ve gone once, I’ve no fear of going again”, he said with a smile.
What a wonderful little pre-Easter testimony! I was so happy!!
God or confession isn’t about shaming us, God is all about love, restoration & transformation!
Happy Easter triduum everyone & let’s pray for those who are afraid of coming back to Church for whatever reason, especially those in the LGBT community who have so often been very wounded.
ZOOM A PRIEST!
Yesterday, I was so blessed!
A franciscan priest who had seen some of my videos etc. got in touch & we decided to arrange a video call!
In the spirit of St. Francis, he was genuinely so interested in our ministry to the marginalised of the LGBT community, in pastoral care for LGBT people in the church & in the various theological issues.
He was humble, open, curious, direct & full of all sorts of honest questions!
As the call ended, I pondered what might the church be like if all priests were like this man and what pastoral care and outreach might exist in the Catholic Church worldwide, if priests & bishops were simply willing to sit down and listen to people like me & others who work with the LGBT community “on the ground” and grounded in today’s reality!
It also made me sad for the very sad abusive situation that we have had to endure in Medjugorje because of a devious priest & a hierarchy that didn’t want to know.
The reality is that LGBT issues & the need for pastoral care will not go away! One can climb the hills in Medjugorje, offer 1000 masses & rosaries, some might even be waiting for the end of the world but this is just avoidance!
Jesus needs good priests to come down from the clouds & to deal pastorally & practically and lovingly with the growing need of pastoral care for LGBT people & their families!
Our Lady of Medjugorje, pray for us, pray for your priests, pray for the LGBT community!
PUMP IT UP!
The other day, I was having my morning coffee when a young french woman sat beside me! As I don’t speak a whole lot of french these days, it was good to chat, I haven’t lost it, it’s still there!!
She was very interesting and was very concerned about true feminine beauty!
‘Look around’ she said as she puffed up her lips pointing at most of the women in the coffee shop!
‘They have all had surgery’ she said and as we are in the Notting Hill area, she was probably right!! There is no shortage of women with the ‘barbie doll’ image with dogs & a credit card!
‘Why?’ She asked. Sad that so many women are having surgery etc. to look and feel good!
She wasn’t really judging them, although perhaps a little, she was more just observing and sharing honestly.
Today, in the Catholic Church, we have the feast of the annunciation, when Our Lady was visited by the angel Gabriel!
Yet, we can be sure that Our Lady never had surgery to feel or look beautiful. Free of sin, she knew who & what she was in God’s eyes.
And it’s not just women, plenty of men are having all sorts of surgeries too! I heard for example that many Brazilian men get a surgerical 6 pack, easier than years of training no doubt!
So, perhaps a prayer on this feast day is that we will all come to experience God’s love & learn to feel good about ourselves without all these different procedures and embrace true & authentic humanity without the show!
Our Lady, pray for us & have special mercy on those people that feel so incredibly body conscious that they feel compelled to have surgeries. Touch them with your motherly love & acceptance!
GAY & LOVED
Yesterday evening, the Holy Spirit sent me on a bit of adventure. Very directly. He said ‘walk around Soho’ and so I did, unsure where He would send me next.
Then just as I passed ‘The Old Compton”, He said, go in there and so I did.
‘The Old Compton ‘ is one of the most popular bars in the heart of Soho & so I ordered a half pint of Peronni and stood there, inwardly saying ‘Lord, now what ?’
‘Pray 3 Hail Mary’s & trust’ I heard back and so I did!
No sooner had I finished than a group of about 6 men& one trans woman began talking to me & insisted I join them…and so I did!!
They were tremendous fun & were quizzing me about my life etc. So when I began talking about God’s love for LGBT people and His understanding of all the shaming & rejection, they were deeply touched.
I offered them a miraculous medal each & some of them almost started to cry.
One older man with a tear said ‘it’s the first time I’ve heard someone like you from the church say that God loves me.’
It was very moving to hear but also very sad.
The beautiful trans woman told me that she’s catholic & runs her own business! ‘Just because I’m trans, some people think I’m a thicko’ she said with great humour!!
Later an Italian chap began telling me how he believes in God but left the church because when he asked a priest questions about the Trinity, the priest just brushed him off and replied that we ‘had to believe it as it’s a dogma’.
So there I found myself discussing the 3 persons of the Trinity, the Incarnation of Jesus, His 2 natures & minds all in the middle of Soho.
More & more conversations opened up with one Irish guy saying ‘this is my grandmother’s prayers, her anniversary is tomorrow ‘ as he took a miraculous medal!
All in all, a wonderful evening of evangelisation, love, sharing, honesty & prayer.
The Gay community are thirsting for God, each member is special in Jesus’ eyes and Jesus is calling us to love, to listen, to respect & to pray that they may find a place in our church too, a place where they can learn, heal & experience Christian community
COFFEE WITH THE TRINITY
Coffee shop evangelisation is so funny, especially in today’s secular society!
Yesterday, Celina, who has just recently become a catholic was asking me about the prayer meeting the night before.
Conscious that there were people all around me & that the prayer meeting focused a lot on demons & spirits, I said to myself: “this might be fun!”.
So rather than whisper so nobody could hear me, I spoke nice & loudly & clearly, especially around the buzz words of ‘demons”, “exorcism”, ” deliverance” to grab people’s attention before talking about healing, prayer etc.
After all, the other people in coffee shops & trains in London have no problem talking out loud about their relationships, their therapy sessions, their sex lives…I could write a best-seller!!
Our conversation continued as Celina was asking me about how we believe in one God but 3 persons and again, why whisper or be ashamed of talking about the Trinity?!!
Now the story ends there, there was no big encounter or exchange but that said, perhaps those people sitting around me heard more about God & spiritual realities than they have for a long time!!
So let’s not be afraid to push the boundaries, let’s not feel that we must whisper away in the corner if we want to talk about faith or spirituality.
Let our light & faith shine, we just never know who might be listening 🤣🤣
WE MUST NOT JUDGE
Coffee shop evangelisation is so funny, especially in today’s secular society!
Yesterday, Celina, who has just recently become a catholic was asking me about the prayer meeting the night before.
Conscious that there were people all around me & that the prayer meeting focused a lot on demons & spirits, I said to myself: “this might be fun!”.
So rather than whisper so nobody could hear me, I spoke nice & loudly & clearly, especially around the buzz words of ‘demons”, “exorcism”, ” deliverance” to grab people’s attention before talking about healing, prayer etc.
After all, the other people in coffee shops & trains in London have no problem talking out loud about their relationships, their therapy sessions, their sex lives…I could write a best-seller!!
Our conversation continued as Celina was asking me about how we believe in one God but 3 persons and again, why whisper or be ashamed of talking about the Trinity?!!
Now the story ends there, there was no big encounter or exchange but that said, perhaps those people sitting around me heard more about God & spiritual realities than they have for a long time!!
So let’s not be afraid to push the boundaries, let’s not feel that we must whisper away in the corner if we want to talk about faith or spirituality.
Let our light & faith shine, we just never know who might be listening 🤣🤣
Medjugorje LGBT Ministry 