“God loves each of us as if there was only one of us.” That was one of the messages given to the thousands flocking to the Graan Novena of Hope this week.

With packed out congregations; musical performances from multi-platinum selling Texan star Kimmie Rhodes and local favourite Nathan Carter; and inspiring and uplifting talks, the week-long Novena is gaining in popularity.

‘Hope and finding the strength to cope in times of trouble’ was the theme of John McAreavey’s talk on Monday night.

Widower of Michaela McAreavey, who was murdered while the newly-married couple were on honeymoon in Mauritius, John began by saying: “Whilst that last three or four years have been challenging and demanding, there has been lots of hope.” Recalling “the endless nights of worry, of fear, of crying, of torment”, following Michaela’s tragic death, John says: “All you see is the darkness. You really don’t see anything else.” He explained that he always hesitates to mention his personal experiences “for fear of conveying the wrong impression” and developing a “poor me complex”.

“I feel somewhat justified in referring to my own person trials in this situation, in giving my own experience and how that shaped my faith and my approach to life.” He continued: “The pain of losing a loved one in such a cruel and tragic way and then the injustice of the aftermath of that time, I really felt that it was too heavy a cross to bear.

“I had wonderful help from family and friends, but the enormity of everything really weighed down on me and I was tempted to believe that there was no hope left – no hope in my own life anyway.” However, the countless number of times when he was tempted to believe that all hope was gone, or to give up and say: “That’s it, at the age of 26 your life is gone,” he believes, “without a shadow of a doubt”, that God was with him to get him through.

“When I look back to that immense pain and suffering and the rawness of the first couple of years – when you were tormented – more than anything, I remember the warmth of God around my shoulders at that time.

“I believe wholeheartedly that the suffering and agonising through which I have passed, drew me closer to God.” As John’s suffering mounted – with the two men accused of killing the 27-year-old teacher being acquitted in Mauritius in July 2012; and a Mauritian newspaper printing crime scene photos of Michaela’s body – he realised: “There were two ways to respond: either react with bitterness, or seek to transform that suffering into a creative force.” He decided to follow the latter course and has put his energies into the Michaela Foundation (which offers young people throughout Ireland programmes tailored to establish a happy,confident, faith filled life.) “I made a decision that something of this nature wasn’t going to define me or my life. God never allowed me to become a bitter person. At that stage, I tried to reclaim my identify by seeing myself as a person full of hope, optimism and positivity – this led me to the work in the Michaela Foundation.” He says he used his personal tragedy “to transform myself”, adding: “I am standing here now and I’m able to smile, talk and laugh – that’s just not where I was two or three years ago. The fact I am able to do this shows that you are not always the person you think you are in that moment. You can look to God and he will help you through.” John revealed that he sees God as his friend, adding: “I bring him to my level because what use is he to me away up there?” Concluding to a standing ovation, he said: “Faith is my life and faith is power. I firmly belief that faith is what I was created for.”