Brother John Paul Mary C.S.J
(Paddy Kelly)
Biography
Before entering the Community of Saint John to consecrate himself entirely to God in the year 2004, brother John Paul Mary was a leading figure in the famous singing Kelly Family who sold 15 million records, filled football stadiums at their concerts, lived in a castle, had a yearly turn over of up to 50-60 million euros and he knew all the glory of the life of a "rock star".
Like so many christians today, Br. John Paul Mary was baptised and raised catholic, but had not yet encountered Jesus personally, and didn't have a living relationship with Him.
Towards the end of the 90's, a personal crisis, a sort of depression, brought about a deep search for the truth, for nothing he had and no one he knew could fill the great »emptiness« he felt inside him. For the first time, he asked himself questions like: Why do I exist? What's the sense of life? Who am I? Where do I come from? Where am I going? Who is God?
God responded to his thirst for truth and answered his cry for unconditional love by revealing Himself to him in a progressive way. And so after a few years of discerning back and forth, touched by the love of God, he chose to leave his partner, his family, a promising solo carreer and everyone and everything which was his life until then, in order to respond to what he says is "a call" to follow Jesus.
Today, Br. John Paul Mary lives in a monastery with his brothers from the Community of Saint John, and has a life of prayer, he studies philosophy and theology, continues his work with music and also has apostolic activities out in the world, which spring forth from his contemplative life in the monastery.
He says, "It is written in the Bible that God is love, and this love has been written in my own life, in my own heart and not just on paper. I am so in love with Love, with Him who is Love in Person, with Him who loved me first. Jesus is not a legend or some mysterious figure of the past of which nothing is certain. Jesus is real! Jesus is alive! Jesus is God! The Son of God! It was I who wasn't real. It was I who wasn't alive. It was I who was ignorant of His presence and action inside me and inside others. He woke me up from my spiritual coma and today I can say that my happiness is to be near God, and affirm with that nothing can seperate me from Christ."
The finality of the evangelization evenings with Br. John Paul Mary, is to bring Christ to the world, in the spirit of saint John the apostol and beloved disciple especially the youth. The testimony of his true life story has a great impact on both, Christians and non-believers. The music is another strong element which helps to open the hearts and lead them to the presence of the Divine Persons and to the revealed mysteries during these evenings, which take place in large churches. Prayer, the Word of God and the Sacraments are presented and introduced in a new and convincing way.
Everything Br. John Paul Mary – accompanied by another brother of Saint John – says, sings and does, is in view of allowing believers to have a deeper experience of God's love, and non-believers -many of which knew him as Paddy Kelly and who may simply come out of curiosity- to discover Jesus, Mary, the faith, and the Church.
17th April, 2010
The program of the evening
17:00 Opening the church doors
17:30 Words of welcome,
announcements and introduction.
18:00-19:00 Glorious rosary
(The distribution and blessing of the rosaries,
the other saint john brother reads words from gospel
for each mystery, Brother John Paul Mary sings a song
to help contemplate before 10 hail marys.)
19:00-19:30 Testimony part 1
(With songs by Brother John Paul Mary.)
19:30-20:30 Holy Mass, the third Sunday of Easter.
Reading: Acts 5,27-41
Lesson: Revelation 5,11-14
Gospel: John 21,1-19
20:30-21:00 Testimony part 2
21:00-22:00 Adoration
(Processional entrance of the holiest sacrament,
words from the bible,
songs, silence, blessing with the holiest.)
22:00 Words of thank you and final announcements.
During adoration and rosary
people have the possibility
for confession.