Count Your Blessings

My First Real Encounter With Fr. Sam Johnston

Originally posted on 10/12/2009

This is an early account of my coming to know Father Sam Johnston, who passed away this morning at 94 years of age. Father Sam was very much of a Father to me from this first real encounter with him on October 12, 2009.

Though I and many others will miss him greatly, we will all be grateful for having had him in our lives, and for knowing that we have a personal prayer warrior in heaven.

I first met Fr. Sam over 15 years ago, when friends of mine, Barb and Wayne Zimmer lived in his Parish of St. Michael's in Ridgetown, Ontario. Though I was impressed with how much he was loved within the parish, I did not do more than meet him at that time. Recently, I met him again when I accompanied Wayne and Barb, who returned to London many years ago, as they led a Life in the Spirit Seminar at that same Parish of St. Michael's.

Because there was something he wanted to do on the Internet, or at least that was the hook, Fr. Sam invited me to come to his house in Ridgetown and share some time with him, ostensibly to discuss a possible blog. Well, if you are reading this you are probably reading it on the BLOG, so you know that we did discuss blogging.

But, yesterday I did not just meet Fr. Sam, I encountered Fr. Sam, and I am grateful for the opportunity and eager for more. The night before, I had a call from Father Sam, asking me to come earlier than planned and to bring my appetite. On various occasions in my life, I have had the pleasure of dining with a priest, either pastor or friend, but this was different. This was more than that.

On entering his home, some things immediately come to mind. Father's love for those he has met over the years, particularly Jesus, is evidenced by little pictures pushed into door frames, and icons and religious items spread throughout the kitchen area. His home is holy ground, particularly the kitchen, where we spent out time together. It seemed appropriate to me that we spent our time there, as the kitchen is the heart of the home, and no less so in the home of this man of God.

Father Sam shared many stories with me, most of which are lost for now, leaving mainly delightful impressions of a life well lived in faith and holiness. He also asked about my life and listened attentively, well . . . like a Father. He shared with me about how during his priesthood he had the experience of feeling that the term "Father" had come to have deep meaning to him as he had grown into being a spiritual father to those he shared life with. I felt that to be true as I encountered "Father" Sam.

I had my first turkey dinner of the season with Fr. Sam, as he had decided that he wanted to cook up a turkey that had been in his freezer for a time, and looked up on the Internet how to do it. Father Sam also likes to bake, so we had cake for dessert, and apple cider to drink that had come from the family farm of a now deceased priest colleague of his, who I had known as well.

The hook was sinking in. I could feel it.

We discussed using the Internet to share a large number of prophecies that had come his way during the last 35 years or more, and I have that file sitting beside me at my desk as I write this, and posted the first one last evening here. I hope to do justice to posting them all in the fullness of time though I have some other thoughts I discussed with Fr. Sam for the blog I was having in mind for him.

The hook was set.

Father Sam moved in for the kill, as in killing me with kindness and love. I knew before I went to visit him that I hoped to have the opportunity to have him hear my confession. I love the Sacrament of Reconciliation, and the grace that flows from it. Father Sam told me about places that he had heard confessions, coffee shops, retail stores, street corners, and so on. He thought he was reeling me in. I was already in the boat.

I knew that he loved hearing confessions and dispensing the graces of that beautiful sacrament, and he had said on another occasion that there was nothing new that he had not already heard and that he could not be surprised by the sins people confessed and how blessed and humbled he felt to be able to participate in this sacramental experience with those who came to him.

Since I was in the boat already, I asked him if he heard confessions at his kitchen table, knowing the answer. The dance was fun, but I was eager for the grace. He, of course prepared himself to hear my confession. To my surprise, even though he had foretold it, he was not surprised at my sinfulness. He didn't order me out of his house. Instead, he enveloped me in grace as I opened up about areas of my life that have been secret, even from me, at some level.

For my penance, I was to Count My Blessings on the way home, including looking in the bathroom mirror and counting that person in the mirror as a blessing. Father Sam also gave me a particular task of reconciliation to do that I will be doing as soon as possible. One particular blessing that I awoke to, was the blessing of having encountered Father Sam yesterday, and of getting to know him a bit, with the opportunity to have an earthly Father again, since my Dad has been gone for over 25 years now.

Before I left father invited me to pray the Liturgy of the Hours with him, the evening prayers. What a joy to be invited to share in that experience with him, and to be blessed by him at the conclusion.

After that we talked about something very dear to Father's heart, his time with Jesus daily. He told me how he gets up well before the crack of dawn every morning and comes to his kitchen and has coffee with Jesus, as he experiences his relationship with our Saviour. There are times, too many it would seem, that my mouth gets moving before my brain engages, and I asked him how Jesus took his coffee. He looked at me with a Father's look, and said: "Jesus doesn't drink coffee," like I should have known that. Sort of as in doesn't everybody who has a personal relationship with Jesus know that he doesn't drink coffee? Not a put down, just a statement of fact.

I left shortly after that to make my short trek home to London, and Father, well Father Sam was off to help hear confessions in Thamesville, about 20 miles up the road. While I had been with him he had taken two calls from brother priests to confirm that he would be coming to hear confessions over the next several days.

The kingdom of heaven is at hand. For some of us like Father Sam, it is really close at hand.

Prophecy to Father Sam Nov 8 1999 - Wyoming Ontario

This Prophecy was Personal for Father Sam, but Applies to us All

God is very patient with us, as this prophecy for Father Sam indicates, in that it is now over 10 years old.  But, with the eyes of faith we can see that it has been coming true all of this time, and continues.

God is raising up leaders in the Church for these times, like our Beloved Pontiff.  As it was the time of Pope John Paul II when this prophecy was given, it is now the papal reign of Pope Benedict XVI, the man God has chosen to be our earthly father.

And in the midst of all this, Father Sam continues to bring the Good News with enthusiasm to all those he encounters.  Though he has been retired for several years now, he is still a ball of fire.

He goes wherever the Lord leads him, and with no direct parish responsibilities, he is more free to move about.  This past week, he was in Ottawa for the March for Life, and in Dearborn Michigan for a charismatic conference.  After that, he managed to be in Ridgetown for the prayer meeting last Monday.

FEEL MY SPIRIT RESTING UPON YOU.

YOU ARE ENTERING THE MOST DIFFICULT BUT EXCITING DAYS.

SLOWLY I WILL BREAK AWAY YOUR BARRIERS,

AND GREAT CHANGES WILL BE TAKING PLACE.

BY MY GRACE YOU ARE CALLED AND CHOSEN

TO LEAD MY LOST SHEEP BACK TO ME.

THERE IS A NEW RADIANCE BEFORE YOU ARISING:

PREPARE, GET READY FOR THE GREAT JUBILEE.

MY CHOSEN ONE, SHEPHERD YOUR FLOCK;

PEACE AND JUSTICE IS TO BE RESTORED.

THE WORLD WILL SOON SEE A STRONG AWAKENING

AND MANY WILL RETURN TO ME, THEIR LORD.

YOU WILL GROW IN WISDOM, KNOWLEDGE AND DISCERNMENT.

MY CHILD, YOU HAVE SO MUCH TO GIVE.

I WILL STRIP YOU COMPLETELY FROM SELF

THAT OTHERS MAY FIND LIFE AND LIVE.

MY SPIRIT WILL OVERFLOW FROM YOU

IN WAYS IMPOSSIBLE TO EXPRESS.

YOUR LOVE AND COMPASSION HAS CHANGED THE LIVES OF MANY

AND YOU. MY CHILD, I WILL TRULY BLESS.

I WILL RAISE UP LEADERS AND MAKE OPPORTUNITIES.

I WILL PROCLAIM MY WORD AND TRUTH.

BELIEVE, HAVE FAITH, AND REST IN ME.

BY SO MANY I AM STILL NOT UNDERSTOOD.

I WILL CONTINUE TO LEAD AND GUARD YOU

AS I HAVE DONE IN YEARS BEFORE.

YOUR SHEEP ARE LOST, YOUR LAMBS ARE CONFUSED.

THEY NEED YOUR GUIDANCE MORE AND MORE.

I KNOW THAT YOU ARE OVERBURDENED.

SLOW DOWN, AND DO NOT GIVE UP.

MY HOLT SPIRIT WILL SUSTAIN YOU:

IT IS NOT YOUR TIME FOR YOU TO STOP.

I HAVE GIVEN SIGNS AND WARNINGS,

BUT SO MANY ARE CAUSING ME DELAY.

ALLOW MY SPIRIT TO FLOW FREELY,

AND I WILL MOVE IN A MORE DYNAMIC WAY.

NOTHING MUST INTERRUPT THE FLOW OF MY BLESSINGS

WHICH I AM ABOUT TO BESTOW UPON MY CHURCH.

MAKE USE OD THE GIFTS THAT I HAVE GIVEN YOU

AND PAY CLOSE ATTENTION TO THESE WORDS.

Meeting For Prayer at St. Michael's Ridgetown

Not Your Usual Prayer Meeting

Monday night was prayer meeting night at St. Michael's Parish in Ridgetown. To call it a prayer meeting might conjure up the usual gathering of charismatics, but would yield the wrong image.

It was more of a gathering for prayer.  Wayne Zimmer and I drove down from London for it, and arrived shortly after 7 pm. It was planned to have the prayer meeting happen after a period of Adoration, with the Blessed Sacrament remaining exposed for the duration.

But, two things happened that changed what was in the plan to what occurred. First, Father Sam did not arrive until near the end, and having Jesus physically present changed the perspective.

One of the slams against the Charismatic Renewal in the Church has been about its seeming exclusivity.  There was a prophecy about 20 years ago at a conference of Charismatics in Toronto that said that the renewal had to die back into the Church.  It did not say that we were to ignore the Holy Spirit, but were to be like yeast added to the dough, allowing the bread to rise.

So, for about 45 minutes we sat in quiet Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament.  About 18 of the faithful sat quietly in awe and reverence of He who died to save us, and was resurrected so we could see that He had won the victory over sin and death.

Then, Wayne got up and spoke for several minutes about the reading of the Gospel from the Feast of the Ascension.  What he spoke was strange to our ears, and to his.  He told us that Jesus has ascended, and we must let go of Him, not hang on to Jesus here on the earth.  He reminded us that Jesus sent us the Holy Spirit to take His place among us, every moment of every day.  We have the sacraments that He instituted, particularly the Eucharist, and we need them in our lives.  But, though we must keep Him close in our heart, we must let go of Him in the flesh.

There was some sharing of what the Lord has been doing in people's lives lately, and one woman shared a vision she saw unfolding of Jesus weaving a tapestry with many colored threads of different lengths, with gold woven through them.  In the vision she saw Jesus weaving the tapestry with the cross as the needle for each thread to be woven in.  It's a pretty cool image, I think and appropriate for the Body of Christ.

After some time of musical Praise and Worship, Father Sam arrived and spoke for a bit, then went up to the altar, and bringing the monstrance with the Blessed Sacrament down from the altar approached each of us so we could gaze on Christ in the Eucharist closely.

The meeting quietly came to an end.

It was not like prayer meetings I have attended elsewhere, yet it was delightful in its simplicity and beauty.  I'm certainly going back.

Something is Afoot

A First Prayer Meeting

The other evening, Thursday April 29, 2010 to be exact, I accompanied my friend Wayne Zimmer to St. Michael's Parish in Ridgetown Ontario, for the first of what is hoped will be many prayer meetings at the Parish.  In a vibrant parish like St. Michael's there is much going on and so the prayer meeting conflicted with the Parish Council meeting.  Consequently some who would have attended were otherwise engaged.

The next meeting with be Monday May 17, 2010 for any who are interested.

Those who were there gathered to praise and worship Our Saviour.  There was a prophecy read and one given through Wayne as well.  Father Sam Johnston, of course, was present.

He told us that, although he has been diagnosed with colon cancer, he is not the least bit concerned, as he has been the beneficiary of prayers from many places in the world, and plans to ask for another colonoscopy before he lets anyone cut into him.  That's Father Sam, for you.

There is a move of God's Holy Spirit present in the parish, and it will be interesting to see it develop further.

Pray for Father Sam

Penance from Confession

This morning after attending daily Mass, I went to Confession.  Our pastor here at St. George in London, Father John Pert has just returned from vacation in Europe, and I was able to go to him.

As I mentioned to him that Father Sam was diagnosed with cancer, and like all priests of our diocese, he knows him and his spirit, he gave me as penance to offer prayer for Father Sam.

In saying my penance, I realised that my prayer intentions for Father Sam had been for physical healing, and that there was a feeling of desperation in my prayers previously, and not so much trust.  I have been expecting that I will see him next week at the prayer meeting at St. Michael's Ridgetown that I plan to attend with my friends the Zimmers, and hoped that we would pray with him for his healing.

But, Father John changed my perspective, and opened my eyes to what I had failed to see.  He said that Father Sam will be trusting God for whatever is in His divine will.  So, by implication, I in my prayer for Father Sam need to do the same thing.  It is not that I do not still desire for Father Sam to be healed, but I prayed that God's will be done for Father Sam, that God be glorified.

Now, I am pretty sure that my prayers (and I am sure the prayers of many others for him as well) will be in line with Father Sam's own, and that now two or more are gathered in His Name, the Name above all names, there He will be in our midst, and all will be well.

Continue to pray for Father Sam.

Father Sam Johnston Needs Your Prayers

Cancer Diagnosis

At morning prayer this morning, Wayne Zimmer told us that Father Sam Johnston has been diagnosed with colon cancer.  That is all we know at this moment, but it is sufficient for us to go to prayer about.

As I receive more details I will relay them.

There will be the first gathering of a prayer group at St. Michael's in Ridgetown at 7 pm on April 29, and I hope that we will have the opportunity to pray with him directly at that time.

Please intercede for this holy priest and man of God in your daily prayers.

A Prophecy for Father Sam February 21, 2005

Personal Yes, But For Us All as Well

Father Sam received this prophecy as he contemplated Retirement.  Retirement for Father Sam, was not about stopping work.  It was merely a redirection, with better hours and more flexibility.  Oh, and a pay cut.

My dearest child, I will show you My Love.
I desire to draw you closer to Me.
Know that you are richly blessed;
Soon you will be completely free.

My healing power is resting upon you;
A new fire is burning everywhere.
You may not understand My ways,
But turn to worship and prayer.

You've only seen a glimpse of My Glory.
I am doing something new
I am waiting for your total surrender
So that I can fill that emptiness in you.

This generation is to outgrow its sinfulness.
You are the beginning
Of a new heaven
And a new earth.

I will unite My people throughout the world
And demonstrate My Mighty Power.
Jesus is calling you to evangelize My people.
Listen to Him at this very hour.

Renounce, My children, the power of darkness,
And go forth built upon the word of God.
My Holy Spirit will lift up his chosen one
Trust Me and He will fail you not.

So many times your path seemed blindness,
But there is no need to be afraid.
Build up My Church; trust Me;
I am never late.

The ground you are walking is blessed and holy.
Bind together; work as whole.
Time is quickly running out.
Go and save your brother's soul.

My Spirit will move upon your church.
I will bring new fire upon the earth.
The is the time, the end of an age,
And I will bring My people to a new birth.

Fast and Pray, Make sacrifices.
Show me more stability.
Indeed, I have begun to show my first signs.
And birth pains become more severe, intense very rapidly.

I will take your heart of stone,
And give you a heart of flesh instead.
Behold I will make a new heaven and a new earth.
A time of great Glory lies ahead.

Here is What Easter Is About

A Phone Call From Father Sam

A few minutes ago, I spoke with Father Sam.  He called "out of the blue".  But, it was not out of the blue.  My Dear Wife, Christina, had just been praying about something particular, and there was some strange activity involved in response to her prayers.

At the moment I was about to pray with her, that exact moment, the phone rang and it was Father Sam.  We caught up for a moment or two, but the most important thing he said was that he was going to Chatham to say mass just now, and would pray for us at his mass.  He also asked us to pray for him, and I in turn ask any readers of this piece to pray for him, and to pray for us as well.

As he concluded the call, so I say to you: "Have a Blessed Easter."

God Loves the Poor; He is With the Poor

An Article By Fr. Sam on March 11, 1998 in the Ridgetown Independent News

 While at St. Michael's Parish in Ridgetown, Ontario, Father Sam wrote from time to time an article for the local newspaper.  In this one, he shares about his trips to Columbia, and being with the poor.  Unfortunately, I was unable to reproduce the pictures that form part of the article, as what I have is a photocopy.  Father Sam describes them somewhat in what follows, and they are graphic images of poverty.

In 1972 Don and Bonnie Stucklees, missionaries in Columbia SA., although I had never met them before, invited me to visit with them in Bogota.  Reluctantly, I accepted.  Bonnie's mother and three others made that first pilgrimage to the poor, an experience I shall never forget.  It has led to other visits for myself and about 200 others.  On March 16th, two others and myself will leave for my 19th journey south.  Through the Stucklees family I met Padre Fernando Umana, a friend of Don and Bonnie.  Fernando has established a retreat centre outside Zipaquira, 8,500 feet above sea level on the plateau of the mountain.  To describe Fernando and the work of God through him would require pages that are not possible within this column of the Independent News.  I am thankful, for these weekly articles from the Ridgetown and District Ministerial Association.

Someone once asked me it I would like to travel to the Holy Land.  My reply was, "Not really.  I would rather go to where Jesus is rather than where He once was."  GOD IS WITH THE POOR in a very special way, and He wants us to be with them as well.   The accompanying pictures are tow of my favourite snaps from former visits to Columbia.  Notice that the little girl's shoes are too small.  The child in the box is resting in the median of a four-lane highway in Bogota.  At the retreat centre Fernando is housing 26 orphan girls.  They live in the school, which he wants to use for education.  Group homes for them were started, but no work has been doen to finish them for lack of funds.  Hopefully, many from St. Michael's will respond to my urgent requests for help.  We won't refuse help from anyone.  Our God loves the poor, and he loves us too.  He has special blessings for those who minister to them.  It should be no wonder then that we find so much fulfillment and joy because of our journey south.

In Matthew's gospel, chapter 25, Jesus said, "Whatever you do to the least of my brethren you to unto me."  May God be with us as we heed these words and take care of everyone at our home here on Planet Earth.

Father Sam is on his way there again shortly, not for the 19th time, but for about the 38th, I believe.  God Bless You, Father Sam.

Fr. Sam on Hugging

Healing

When speaking with Father Sam recently, he told My Dear Wife and me about something from his childhood, the profoundness and lesson of which has taken me some time to absorb.

When he was a young baby, he was a good boy.  He was so good and so quiet as a baby that his mother focused her attention on the other children, who were more demanding, and she did not pick him up and cuddle him.  He, of course did not know that until many years later, after ordination, when something else happened.

As a middle aged priest, Father Sam was 38 when he was ordained, he spoke about the difficulties that he had getting things going for the youth of parishes that he was in.  He told of starting a youth choir with 19 eager kids the first day.  That declined such that 2 weeks later, he had just 2 children show up for practice.  He said that that was the way things went for him, and it was discouraging.

But, there seems to have been an underlying symptom.  Father Sam could not hug people.  That symptom now seems to have been one of the indicators of a loss of affection from his childhood and therefor the ability to reach out with affection and love to others.

But, Father Sam encountered Jesus and the Holy Spirit at age 42, when he went on a retreat for priests, and was baptized in the Holy Spirit.  He tells of his drive back to southern Ontario from the retreat in Toronto with Father Charlie Campbell, another priest of the diocese at the time, and telling him that he felt different, and could not explain it.

Father Sam had caught the Love Bug.  He became a hugger, but more than that he became a great lover of his fellow man, the others on the journey.  Suddenly, he was able to relate to the youth in ways he never could before.  Also, he looked for ways to introduce them to Jesus and to the Holy Spirit, with much positive effect.

Unbeknownst to Father Sam at the time, he was healed of a great pain in his heart, of the loneliness from his childhood, that one could not fathom in a family of several children.  He received a healing of the memories that were getting in the way of effective ministry.

Here is the lesson in this.  We are all bound to some extent or other in the memories of our lives.  Those memories of joy and love form us, but so too do the memories of hurt and trauma.  The memories from our childhood, when our mental capacities were not matured are the most damaging.  They form our responses to situations, that are in some way similar to the particular traumatic event that occurred, and over time a hard shell develops and we form patterns of behaviour that become hard to break.

Father Sam could not form the kind and gentle loving attachments to the youth of his parishes in the early days, because he had been formed by trauma to respond in certain ways, staying aloof and apart.  Consequently, the youth could not respond to him either, as they sought a Father in him.

But, God reached into his heart, and took away all the pain, in a miraculous way.  Suddenly, the past was gone and Father Sam could love, as His Saviour loved him, and the rest of his ministry years are a story of love and kindness, and of a big and gentle bear of a man.  When you have been hugged by Father Sam, you have been hugged, my friends.

He understands deep in his heart, why he is FATHER Sam.

If you can search into your own heart with curiosity, not judgment, and find ways of behaving that seem odd to you, or which impair your effectiveness in your life, try first to search your mind in prayer for the root traumatic event that set you on the path to your current actions.  Then, give it, whether or not you can uncover it, and all of its effect to Our Loving God.  Make it a gift to Him.  He wants ALL of you, not just what you think is good.  He wants it ALL.  Let Him take it, heal it and give you back the Truth.  Do this in the Name of Jesus, the Name above all names, and watch how the Lord heals you.

PTLA

Praise The Lord Anyway

When we visited with Father Sam a while ago, before leaving for the American Southwest, we talked about many things.  One of them is a personal philosophy of Father Sam's that is really scripturally based, and sound doctrine.

Somewhere in his journey of faith, Father Sam learned about praising God in all situations.  You know, sometimes it is easy, and sometimes it is not.  It fits in with the words of James 1:2  "Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds".  I can tell you that for many years I struggled with that, particularly as my behind got hotter when God was busy getting my attention.

Father Sam was in a car crash in the later 90's, that as you can see from the picture below was pretty serious.  He did two things that day.  First, he refused to receive any injuries from that accident, and he walked away pain free.  Second, and most importantly, he Praised The Lord Anyway for the circumstance.

That's kind of how he lives his faith.  His car was hit so hard that his drivers seat was broken, and the back of the seat fell backwards into the back area of the car.  He got the car off to the side of the road, and was invited by a passing motorist to sit in his vehicle until help arrived.

As they were sitting, a truck passed by and something metal came flying over the roof of the car he was in.  They got out to check and it was Father Sam's licence plate.  As you can see above there is no plate on the back of his mangled car.  Since that was all he needed from the car in order to get a new one, once again Father Sam said Praise The Lord Anyway.

Rather than a traumatic experience that changed his life forever, the crash became an anecdote in a faith filled life.

A Thought from our Visit With Father Sam

Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament

My Dear Wife and I have arrived in Tucson for some of the winter.  At Our Lady of Fatima Parish nearby, they have Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament each first Monday of the month.  St. Padre Pio was a devotee of Adoration, and it is said that when he said mass it was like a missionary journey, and a most mystical experience.

When we saw Father Sam a while ago, he showed us his prayer room, a converted sun porch, complete with a tabernacle holding the Blessed Sacrament.  He had previously told me about having coffee with Jesus every morning.  Not being the brightest bulb in the pack, it has taken me a while to take it all in.

Father Sam has a small monstrance in his kitchen, and he takes the Blessed Sacament out of the tabernacle he has each morning, and puts it in the monstrance in his kitchen, so that he does in fact, in the Catholic tradition, have coffee with Jesus every morning, in the form of bread, but in every sense present in the Eucharist.

The enormity of Father Sam's faith in the teachings of the Church, and the truth of the presence of Christ in the Eucharist is manifest to me in this story and in seeing this glimpse of Father's prayer life.

All I can say is WOW, and I can hardly wait for the first Friday of February to go and pay a visit to my Saviour during the Adoration at Our Lady of Fatima.

Father Sam 25 Years

News Clipping from Ridgetown Paper on the Occasion

This was in Father Sam's personal files.  He has now been to Columbia 39 times, and is heading there in February again.  At the time of this article he had not been to Medjugorge.  He has visited there 4 times as well.

98 SAM

A Prophetic License Plate

Father Sam got a license plate for his car that read "98 SAM" a number of years ago, because that was the year he planned on retiring.  Through a number of circumstances, mainly obedience to God, he ended up staying on in St. Michael's Parish Ridgetown until 2005, which would make 98 SAM erroneous, or so I thought.

Each year, Father Sam would put his retirement to prayer, and each year between 1998 and 2004, he carried on.  It was not just a coin flip that caused him to stay on.  He did work at the discernment process.

As his actual and final retirement was coming up, he was concerned about where he would live.  He described for me and My Dear Wife his available options at the time, and his desire to not have to do THAT.  But, God had other plans for him.

A woman who he ministered to in his parish, passed away, and he had the opportunity to give her the Sacrament of the Sick before she died, and conducted her funeral.  He asked her son if, by any chance, her house was available for him to purchase.  He was thinking that it might be able to be had for about $115,000 and that possibly God had that house in store for him.

A few days later the son called to tell him that he had determined its worth as $103,000 and asked Father if he would be prepared to pay $98,000 for it.  I do not know if Father Sam literally leapt for joy, but he was quite pleased about it.  The son then invited him over to the house, and made an additional proposition to him.  He offered him the contents of the house, and the two garages for an additional $1,500.  As you can well imagine, priests don't typically accumulate the assets required to have their own home, since they are moved about with a suitcase and a couple of cardboard boxes every few years during their parish ministry days.  This came as a blessing as well to Father, and he loves his new home.

The address "98" Victoria Street.  Coincidence.  I think not.

I Know My Sheep

And my Sheep Know Me - My Goats too

Here is a picture of Father Sam from a few years ago, when he was in Columbia.  It does not really need an explanation now, does it?

Father Sam's First Parish as Pastor

St. Philips in Petrolia et al

On April 5, 1972 the Ridgetown Independent News published this article on a favourite son.  Note the tone of the article as well as its content.  I cannot imagine that our enlightened and politically correct newspaper folks would write with this kind of style today, and they sure would not use this content in a secular newspaper.  But, it is a pretty good measure of the man, circa 1972, and he's pretty much just an older version of that same man, 38 years later.

On January 1, 1972 Rev. Martin C. Johnston became pastor of St. Philip's in Petrolia and the missions of St. Anne's in Oil Springs and Holy Rosary in Wyoming. It was the first time Father Johnston had been assigned a pastorate.

Rev. Fr. Martin Johnston is the son of Mrs. F. R. Johnston of 16 Hazel Street South, Ridgetown.

An article on Father Johnston recently appeared in the Petrolia Advertiser - Topic which is of interest to many in Ridgetown who are closely following the young priest's career.

Since the first of this year the Roman Catholic community in and around Petrolia has had a new pastor.

Taking over from Father Wm. Farrell at St. Philip's and at the missions of St. Anne's in Oil Springs and Holy Rosary in Wyoming, is Father Martin C. Johnston, a former elementary school teacher, who became a priest ten years ago.

Father Johnston is originally from Ridgetown where he received his elementary school education.  He attended high school in Kitchener and Toronto and took his grade 13 at the Junior Seminary in St.Mary's.

He graduated from London Teacher's College in 1951 and following that he taught for four years in one-room country schools in Amherstburg and Harrow - - a teaching stint which Father Johnston says he thoroughly enjoyed.

He then entered St. Peter's Seminary in London, graduating in 1962.  In the past decade he has served at St. Gabriel's and St. Theresa's in Windsor and St. Martin's in London.

He became pastor for the first time in Petrolia on Jan. 1.

Father Johnston is very much into the new Catholic Pentecostal movement which took root at Duquesne University of the Holy Spirit in Pennsylvania about five years ago, and has since spread rapidly throughout the United States and Canada, with the sanction of the Church hierarchy.

Father Johnston hopes to expose his parishioners to the "charismatic renewal" which one morning two years ago brought him "excitement, peace and joy," to an extent he has never known before and which has never left him.

"Charisms," Father Johnston explains, "are love gifts from the Holy Spirit which manifest to people that God is a very intimate part of their lives."

Charisms were given for the first time to the Apostles on the feast of Pentecost, as is related in Paul's first letter to the Corinthians.

These gifts include speaking with wisdom, and knowledge, miracles, healings, prophecy, discernment of spirits, praying in tongues, and the interpretation of tongues.

All are not given the same gifts," Father Johnston notes. "Different gifts are for different services."

However, Father Johnston has encountered some individuals who have double gifts, such as the gift of "speaking in tongues" (praising God in a foreign language unknown to the speaker, or in a flow of indiscernible syllables) and the gift of prophecy.

"These gifts come suddenly," he says.  "They present themselves through community prayer."

Father Johnston believes that through charismatic renewal the "loving kind of community that was obvious in the early church" can be realized today.  "But this kind of community has to build slowly."

While this renewal is meant for everyone, Father Johnston believes in starting with the young people of his church, whom he found to be particularly receptive to this movement which offers them the opportunity to "get high on Christ."

With time, Father Johnston hopes to see the movement catch on with all generations and all denominations.

"Charismatic renewal is one of the ways God is touching us today.  "It is not a passing fad," he says.  "It will stay with people.  They are participating in it and it is or everybody, no matter what religion, age or past.  It will be a great source of unity."

A Younger Father Sam

It Takes Time to Get to 82

When my dear wife and I met with Father Sam the other day, among the things we left with were some pictures from his files of various times in his life.  I have scanned them into my computer, and will be rolling them out from time to time, so that you can see the man himself or things that mattered to him.

In this gray scan of a photocopy of a picture from about 70 years ago is the spark of the vocation that Father Sam eventually lived out fully.  The tall lad in the back row with their parish priest is Father Sam.  The Church in the background is St. Michael's Parish Ridgetown, the parish from which Father Sam retired a few years back, and where he makes his home . . . when he is not jetting off to Columbia or Medjugorge.

Father Sam Flies to the Dominican Republic

A Cute Story of Faith Tested

Father Sam took a trip to the Dominican Republic a number of years ago, with a couple of other priests.   He indicated to his co-travelers that he wanted to meet people, and so sat in a section of three seats by hmself. He was joined by a young woman and an older woman, who were not together.

As he engaged the women in conversation, they shared thoughts on a number of things.  Then, Father Sam had an inspiration, maybe.  He had a small bible in his pocket, and this idea in his head.  He asked the young woman to think of a question that she wanted to ask God.  Then, he told her that God would answer that question from the bible.  The plan was that she would open the bible and the first passage that she read would answer her question.

As she started to think about the question, Fr. Sam started to question what he was thinking.  So, when she was ready, he stalled.  He first told her that they had to ask God to forgive their sins, and so they prayed for that.  He was stalling for time, but was also trying to make sure that there were no obstacles in the way, but more like the golfer who looks for the imaginary blades of grass that are not perfectly smooth in his line to the hole, when he is about to make a difficult putt.

Then, he stalled a bit more.  He said to her: "OK. Let's praise God for a few moments to prepare."  So, they praised God together.

Finally, it was the moment of truth, and Father was nervous.  (O ye of little faith - just like the rest of us).  Well, she took the bible, opened it up and read a passage from John's Gospel.   Father nervously asked her if she got the answer to her question.  She replied that she had, and told him about her questioning her faith and showing him the scripture, she showed him how her question was answered.  She also did it again with another question, but would not tell Father Sam the question or the answer.

After the plane landed they went on their separate ways.  It happened that a few days later, Father Sam was at the home of a well to do couple, who had invited him to dinner, and unbeknownst to him had also invited several other friends of theirs, to meet the priest.

Well, after dinner as discussion went on, the woman of the house pulled out her bible and wanted to discuss something with Father.  She opened her bible to the exact passage that the young woman on the plane had opened to previously.

To Father Sam, this was the proof that his silly idea of opening the bible to find the answer to a question at random, was not, in fact, his silly idea, but God's plan.  So, our dear Father Sam Johnston learned a new lesson in trust those days, that the God who has counted every hair on our heads, knows how to share his word with his people.

And a bolder man of faith emerged from that experience.

A Prophecy For Father Sam

Meaningful for All Priests, and All the Faithful

Father Sam was raised in Ridgetown, where he pastored as well for many years, and where he currently resides in his retirement (Hah!!).  From time to time he would go to see Ann Donkers when he was bothered by choices he had to make or was seeking direct guidance from the Lord about his ministry.

My recollection, from my last meeting with him, was that one of the times he went to see Ann was when his mother's house had burned in 1985, and he was unsure of what to do.  As well, he was challenged by the apparent lack of fruit (to him) in his own ministry.

So, like a dutiful son, he went to speak to his Father, or at least to hear from Him.  He did not tell Ann Donkers what was on his mind, to ensure that any words of Prophecy that she received were not tainted by his prompting.  As well, she lived about 60 miles away from Ridgetown, and would not have had any particular knowledge about his mother.

In my view the prophecy breaks down into two parts.  Part 1 is about priestly ministry, and is in my opinion true for Father Sam, and for all the priests that I know.

Part 1

My precious, my beloved one,
How deep is my compassion, my love for you;
You have worked and toiled without ceasing
To make your Master's plan come true.

I see the pressure that's upon you,
Your tremendous effort and dedication.
I will give you light and strength in my Holy Spirit;
Finish the plan of my salvation.

You have been through many weary years,
Because so many wouldn't realize
That you want to share Jesus
Who longs to be more intimate in their lives.

But I, your God, will ease your burden
And shed new light on the path before you.
I will make it possible for you to grow even more
Strong and radiant like the morning dew.

You are much needed; I rely on you.
My son, it is impossible to express
The tremendous need in the broken homes;
See how my little one are suffering from stress.

Your church shows signs of growth, new life.
Serve me with heart and mind and soul.
Yes, it is real; it is happening now,
But know that you play an important role.

Look forward and see the radiant beauty
Shining forth upon the nations,
As I set My Glory here upon the earth,
And bring to birth a new creation.

I see your heavy, burdened heart,
The many difficulties that you face.
But I am with you; rest in me.
You will see changes taking place.

Part 2 is specific to Father Sam and his mother and her needs.

I have brought you here today;
You have to fill a tremendous void.
Your mother lost the many treasures,
A home she valued and enjoyed.

I see the pain she is going through,
But I will comfort her motherly heart.
Trust in me, my beloved one,
For I, your God will never part.

All these happenings have a reason;
For you this is a time of light,
For I will provide another home.
Make your decision;  It is time to decide.

Have I not given you a sign?
Open your eyes; please understand.
Look at me, My beloved son;
All this is already planned.

I have foretold you this to-day
To inform you, and I do suggest,
Do not refuse; do not deny it;
I give my own the very best.

Why do you look for confirmation?
Trust in me; I will help you through.
Humbly accept this very word
I spoke in order to be listened to.

At times when I have had a prophecy come through me at a Prayer Meeting or for some other reason, I have never had a clue what was coming, nor remembered it after.  I just know that if I did not speak, I would explode.  It pushed up out of me, and all I knew was that it was coming.  I even tried to hold one back for a bit one time, and it was very, well . . . impossible.

An Old Prophecy for a New Year

Heed These Words

I spoke to Father Sam the other day, while planning our next time together, and he told me something that I found interesting and insightful into the heart of the man, and his love for God.

Father Sam told me that whenever he gets a prophecy from someone, or some source, that he meditates over it, taking notes, making scribbles, underlining, highlighting. Usually he spends a couple of hours on each one.  Here is a Catholic Priest, now 82 years of age, so in love with God that he savours every word, every line and every stanza of communications that come his way from God.  It helped me to understand how important he believes these prophecies to be, and why he wanted them available to others.

This particular prophecy has the tick marks at the end of lines, and lines underlined that let me know that Father Sam prayed over and about this prophecy and absorbed its every word.  Here is the first reproduced prophecy for 2010

Be still and listen closely.
Time is short, and I have so much to share.
I am calling you to be reconciled with one another,
And to return to me in praise and prayer.

I don't call you servants any longer.
You are mine; I call you friends.
The Spirit of fire is here upon you.
I will go with you until the end.

Open your hearts. Make your commitment.
Wake, and do your Father's will.
I will remove the darkness that is still upon you
To make my plan much brighter still.

I will renew and unite my flock, your people.
I will be your God of Peace.
I will lead you through the deepest darkness.
You will see your gifts and power increase.

Dearest children, give me today your heart,
Your love and understanding.
I, Your God will do the work.
My Holy Spirit does the planning.

The world is soon to be reborn.
Pray that your own will come to see.
Go, evangelize, now is the time
To lead My lost Sheep back to Me.

I am calling you to prayer and penance.
A deep humility I desire.
You have passed through many valleys
But I will set the world on fire.

Earthquakes, famine, floods, and war are upon you.
I see darkness, hatred, and pain.
But all of this will come to pass
When My People turn to Me once again.

Now that I know how Father Sam reads a prophecy these have more meaning for me.  I have underlined the words and lines he underlined and bolded the word Fire as he had done on the copy I received from him.  On almost all other lines of the prophecy, there is a check mark at the end noting that Father Sam had absorbed that line, and concurred with its content.

As any casual student of the bible knows, prophecy is timeless, particularly when it describes the desires that God has for us, and from us.  So, this particular prophecy is as meaningful on January 2, 2010, as it was the day it was delivered.

Let it speak to you.