Vassula in USA
Vassula visits the USA again promoting her new book, “Heaven is Real, but so is Hell” in March and April 2013
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“Heaven is Real, But so is Hell” – with this striking title, Vassula’s new remarkable book was published earlier this year, on March 16. It a wondrous journey through her life and speaks about the unique charism God has granted her to communicate with the supernatural world. |
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Heaven is Real But so is Hell is a tour of the earliest days of her life and experiences of her childhood, the first unexpected contact with her guardian angel, and her impressive encounter with God the Father. It speaks about the life-giving and life-saving teachings of Jesus Christ, the eternal guidance of the Holy Spirit, the maternal advices of the Blessed Virgin Mary, but also the hateful attacks against Vassula from the world of darkness. In a unique way, Vassula recounts the visions during her “filled with awe” visit in Heaven, the grief and agony of the souls in Hades, but also the real existence of Hell and its tortures.
The book contains excerpts from the Messages Vassula has been receiving since 1985 titled, “True Life in God” that not only provide answers to key questions about this life and the next, but also reveal prophecies that have already taken place over the last 15 years. The True Life in God Messages additionally tell us about other prophesies to be carried out in accordance with the Divine plan of salvation for mankind.
The readers of True Life in God around the world waited anxiously for the release of this book. The writing of it was an achievement, as Vassula has had numerous spiritual experiences, and had to record only some, while others she had to leave off. It took a five long years and many sacrifices to complete the book and to give it in for printing right before Christmas 2012. Meanwhile, in the midst of writing the book, her mission, to witness about Jesus Christ and His Messages which she receives never stopped. She continued to witness to the faithful in countries that invited her to come.
From the publishing house that took over the publication and distribution of the Heaven book, up to the agencies that would manage the promotion led by Paul Lauer*, all supporters worked intensively for the immediate advertising and marketing of it in the best way.
* Founder and CEO of Motive Entertainment, designed and executed the record-breaking grassroots marketing campaigns for The Passion of the Christ, The Chronicles of Narnia, Polar Express, and Rocky Balboa. One of the most innovative marketing and development executives in Hollywood, frequently tapped to reach and mobilize huge audiences; Paul has been honored as one of Ad Age’s Top 50 Marketers of the Year. Paul also founded the successful YOU! Magazine for teens, and has worked with numerous celebrities and sports stars, hosted radio and TV shows, produced the World Youth Day Music Festival for over 100,000 young people (Denver, 1993), produced documentary television, co-authored four books, and has appeared on CNN, Fox, and TBN, and in over 50 newspapers and magazines, including the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, and the Wall Street Journal.
Starting with the creation of a webpage on Facebook named “Jesus Ιs Returning”, the projection of a promotional snapshot on one of the screens in New York’s Times Square, on December 25th, Christmas Day of 2012, and the circulation of printed promotional material, the time had come for Vassula to go to the USA. The whole process of promoting the book required her personal presence – of the author and prophet.
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SZT9fg-05aw
With the arrival of Vassula in the U.S., major events worldwide began to happen. The announcement of the unexpected resignation of Pope Benedict 16XVI shocked everyone. The 85-year-old Benedict’s reasoning was simple: he considers himself too worn down to fill the role. It had been a very lengthy 600 years since there had been a pope who resigned. The previous Pope who had resigned was in the year 1415. . A month after Pope Benedict’s resignation, the papal conclave elected a new pope, Jorge Mario Bergoglio. The name he chose – Francis – was in honor of St. Francis of Assisi. He is the first pope from Latin America, but also from America in general. Before his election as Pope, he served as a Roman Catholic cardinal of Argentina. Vassula had previously met him on a visit to Buenos Aires and they had talked together about the unity of the Church.
Two days after the pope’s resignation, a meteorite streaked across the sky and exploded over central Russia, raining fireballs over a vast area and causing a shock wave that smashed windows, damaged buildings and injured 1,200 people. It measured around 55 feet and weighed around 10,000 tons.
Two days later, on February 15, a small asteroid was passing very close to Earth, so close that it passed inside the ring of geosynchronous weather and communications satellites. According to NASA scientists, the trajectory of the Russia meteor was significantly different than the trajectory of the asteroid 2012 DA14, making it a completely unrelated object. In videos of the meteor, it is seen to pass from left to right in front of the rising sun, which means it was traveling from north to south. Asteroid DA14’s trajectory is in the opposite direction, from south to north. Τhe distance that separated them was 500,000 km of space and 12 hours of time.
These are the Signs of the Times. It is no coincidence that in those five days before these incidents, the Lord called Vassula to remind all of us of the prayer He had given her in November 28, 2009, telling us to start praying it again every day and for the rest of the year:
“Tender Father, lash not Your wrath on this generation,
lest they perish altogether;
Lash not on Your flock distress and anguish,
for the waters will run dry and nature will wither;
all will succumb at Your wrath leaving no trace behind them;
The heat of Your Breath will put aflame the earth turning it into a waste!
From the horizon a star will be seen;
The night will be ravaged and ashes will fall as snow in winter,
covering Your people like ghosts;
Take Mercy on us, God, and do not assess us harshly;
Remember the hearts that rejoice in You and You in them!
Remember Your faithful and let not Your Hand fall on us with force,
But, rather in Your Mercy lift us and place Your precepts in every heart. Amen”
This was all the more a reason to promote the new book to reach as many souls as possible. Thus prepared for this long-term stay and mission in USA, Vassula was ready in Los Angeles for the first task in promoting the new book: the development of a short film, a documentary about her life, the charism of communicating with God and all that God has allowed her to see, to hear and feel in the spiritual world.
“Oh daughter, tell them, tell them that My Heart is an abyss of Love and Mercy; the Spirit whom I am sending you will remind you of the Truth and that I Am;” – the words of Jesus echoing from an earlier extensive journey of Vassula in the U.S. and Canada on 10 June 1994.
On the morning of Monday, February 25th, the house of Dr. Anthony and Claire Mansour, where Vassula was staying, was filled with the filming crew responsible for the shooting. Sound engineer, cameramen, people in charge of the lighting, those responsible for the script, all cooperated with Vassula to record as faithfully as possible the particular life of the one with the unique charisma of conversing with the Creator of all. The filming lasted until late afternoon, with everyone from the filming crew thrilled for the opportunity given to them to meet up close and hear from Vassula herself what God is saying to the world today.
In the meantime, friends and readers of True Life in God in the U.S.A had already been working hard to promote the new book as volunteers. In direct collaboration with Paul Lauer and his PR team, they undertook the task to inform everyone who had any contact with the Messages about this new book. So that same evening, 90 people were on a conference call via phone and internet – organized down to the last detail by Jonathan Kosoy – for a word of encouragement from Vassula who spoke to them for 10 minutes.
Calling them ‘collaborators of God’, Vassula told them that they are participating in the Salvific plan of God … that the work actually only now begins … we must ‘keep our sleeves rolled up’. She continued by saying that “God has chosen the right time to bring this book out now. It’s not by accident, no, it is the timing of God for the United States. Look around you; just listen to the news – God is passing now among you. This book will bring millions of lost souls back to Him to discover the love of God …”
God is speaking. Are we listening?
Thus began Vassula’s two-month-plus mission in the USA. Requests for interviews from various radio stations with local and national coverage from all the States started coming incessantly. The radio interviews exceeded 50 in total, their duration ranging from 10 minutes to half an hour; some were live on air and others recorded.
Due to the time difference from coast to coast, some requests for a live interview were for 4am, 5am, 5.30am and 6 o’clock in the morning, so that Vassula’s interview would be heard during prime-time. Thereby, when in New York it was 7am, in Los Angeles where Vassula was staying it was 4 in the morning … In New York, it was the time people were driving to work, while listening on the radio to the news of the day… And what kind of news these interviews of Vassula brought!
Some stations asked Vassula for a second interview. The subjects of the interviews varied: some were about her new book, about her mystical abilities, the exorcisms, the election of the new Pope Francis, about Lent. Even the hosts themselves were impressed by her personality and the story of her life and experiences. Some even wrote:
“Vassula Ryden’s reputation preceded her and she lived up to it as an enlightening and engaging guest whose messages reaffirmed my own faith, she is always welcome as a guest on my radio show.” – Rhett Palmer, Radio Host, WAXE
“Vassula is one of the great guests I have had on the radio program in the last 6 months and we have had a lot of them. Vassula is very articulate and comes across as a warm and engaging guest. The listener comes away with a sense of knowing they have the facts and are entertained at the same time. “
– James Lowe, Host, Syndicated Jiggy Jaguar Radio Show
“A curious accounting of a woman’s experience with the supernatural.”
– Judlyne Lilly, WNEW-FM
“She (Vassula) was a huge hit today. My phone lines were lighting up and after everyone wanted to know who she was. I was just blown away at my audience’s reaction to Vassula on the Health Show at 12:30 today. She was so engaging and we did a few book giveaways. After I moved on we got at least 10 more calls wanting to know how they can find out more about her, how did she spell her name, would she be back on again.”
– Ms. Frankie Boyer, WROL-AM 950
On March 11 Vassula was interviewed for a web TV channel, for the first time via Skype. MalcolmOutLoadTV-1 hosted Vassula for 20 minutes. Malcolm, from Malcolm Out Loud is a commentator of national news and politics. He is a published author and speaker. After the interview with Vassula he said:
“We have lost the everyday conversation about God and Vassula is helping remind us of the importance and goodness of open discussion about belief and faith. I implore you to take a look at the messages that Vassula delivers in her book.”
– Malcolm Out Loud
Being touched and enthused by her experiences, Malcolm Out Loud invited Vassula to visit his studio in Tampa, Florida, whenever her schedule would allow it, for a live web TV program.
Meanwhile, the book was already in the internet bookstores: Barnes & Noble (B&N), Books-a-Million and Amazon. The amount of books sold in pre-sales were increasing day by day and to the surprise of all the book reached number 1 on the lists of B&N in just a few days. The date in which the book would be available to the public was fixed for March 16. Volunteers of TLIG and those responsible for the Public Relations and the promotional campaign worked endlessly. Vassula’s meetings with Paul Lauer were continuous.
The Armenian TV channel AMGA was the first to open its doors to Vassula. With TV host Malvina Mkhchian, a friend of Claire Mansour and the messages of True Life in God, Vassula had a live half-hour show that touched not only Christian viewers, but viewers of other religions as well. The countless phone calls Malvina received after this first broadcast and the full of enthusiastic comments left no room for inaction. It was agreed that the program should be continued as soon as Vassula’s tour schedule would allow; consequently, it was able to begin in a few days. The popularity of Vassula’s interviews promised to be sustained, as there were already 3 shows on this channel with high ratings.
The Persian TV channel HIGH VISION was the second that hosted Vassula for another 3 hourly programs. The owner of the channel dealt personally with these interviews and received Vassula with joy. So did his brother. Malvina was the host of this program as well, as she is well known to television viewers of both channels, and knows Vassula and the messages.
Each time she was aired, Vassula analyzed a different topic from the book; nonetheless, focus in all the shows was to tell the audience about the need to know how much God loves us all as a loving Father and to be aware of His calling to return to Him – ‘I am your Father and you descend from Me … you come from Me … you belong to Me … you are Mine … You are My seed …’ (p.31, Heaven is Real But so is Hell) – without forgetting the warnings and visions from God – «Alas for those who centered their lives on material things, when My Day comes; My appearance will be Fire. Already My Footsteps are heard and My Footprints seen by many; when I reveal Myself to those who did not acknowledge Me, when in these times of grace I presented Myself as Mercy and as a Lamp, I will reveal Myself then as a consuming Fire. Why, did anyone believe I would pass by unnoticed? And do you still believe that the Master will pass you by without any retribution? It is, therefore, good to repent daily.» (June 1, 2002 – page 149 in the new book)
The 6 programs in total on which Vassula was aired on these 2 channels were one of the main ways Armenian and other nationality readers of the messages who live in the Los Angeles area were informed and shortly after would fill the B&N bookstore in Studio City, where Vassula would present and sign her new book.
The promotion of the book through the media was continuing. Rudy Chavarria Jr from College Web Media.com set a 20 minute interview with Vassula for college radio and general outreach for college students. Their goal is to educate and give college students hope and direction in their lives. After the interview he said: «The interview was brilliant! … We will be sending this out to our college contacts as well as our social media sites. »
https://soundcloud.com/cwmfest/vassula-ryden-interview
With the title: ‘This Mystic Claims She’s Seen Heaven and Hell and She Describes Both to The Blaze’, Billy Hallowell, Faith Editor at TheBlaze, published the half-hour interview he had with Vassula. TheBlaze is a news, information and opinion site of writers, journalists & video producers with high ratings. http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2013/03/20/this-mystic-claims-shes-seen-heaven-and-hell-and-she-describes-both-to-theblaze-hint-satan-throws-lava/
The international news editor, Jorge Daniel Camarena, at El Economista, a daily newspaper in Mexico, also wanted to talk to Vassula. The editor was delighted. The topic of the interview was: “Why the next Pope matters for everyone”, a hot topic of the day, as the election of the new Pope was expected.
Brad Butler of UniGlobal Media Group did an excellent job; he sent one of the most revealing interviews of Vassula to James Lowe, a staff member from a Kansas based radio, syndicated throughout Midwest. He divided the interview by subject, made short videos and uploaded them on YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qXML8DmfVV4&list=UUKhVzGm6aKn57VV3XTmXa1A&index=1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xrKcpwe_ZCg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7yDrtFyqthg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xt2JNoqgOYU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uI6wqIHRc84
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uI6wqIHRc84
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZjT3dxI9Jkw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f8uGlUt74Gs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jQpQgrvIGps
Οne surprise came from the Greek area of the U.S.: from Astoria, New York. The Hellenic Public Radio COSMOS FM invited Vassula along with three other clerics for a 45-minute live radio interview on the show: Matters of Conscience. It is a live call-in show in Greek and English devoted to issues of individual and collective ethics and morals facing the people and the nation. The producer and host is the Very Rev. Eugene Pappas.
Early in the morning of March 17, the book had reached the 24th position on AMAZON and continued to maintain 1st place in B & N. This is a triumph for a new author who does not belong to any of the circuits of the industry of publishing and promoting printed material! The book was now in the hands of countless buyers and volunteers of TLIG, who wanting to immediately learn the personal experiences of the person that God is speaking to today, ordered it before it was even released.
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With the book now available in bookstores across the country, the time had come for Vassula’s first tour in New York, Denver, St Louis and Chicago. The tour would last for nine days, but the overloaded schedule of the tour made it seem like a whole month. |
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The primary purpose for this tour was for Vassula to visit the Barnes & Noble bookstores in those cities where she would present the new book, answer any questions from the attendees, and at the end of her presentation, and sign their books. Paul Lauer would be joining this tour, making sure everything was executed in the best possible way.
After a five-hour flight from warm Los Angeles, Vassula arrives in icy New York where two good friends of hers, Georgia Klamson and Janna Drekovic receive her.
Two presentations of the book in New Jersey had been arranged. The first was at the B & N bookstore in Springfield Township, which was attended by about 120 people, mostly by people who knew nothing about the messages of True Life in God and Vassula. They came because of their pure interest in the subject of the book -“an eyewitness of Heaven and Hell will speak about her experiences.” Vassula gave a brief introduction about her communication with God and the messages she receives, and then continued with a summary on the themes of book.
The success of the presentation and the arrival of so many people did not leave the store manager indifferent. As the store manager later stated, “it was the first time that a presentation of a book, in the presence of the author, attracted so many people. Usually, she said, there are not more than 30.”
Vassula’s second stop on her national tour was at the Fatima House of Dr. Rosalie Turton, founder of the 101 Foundation, in Washington, NJ. As it is a privately combined place of residence and administration for the Foundation, Father John Corbett celebrated Mass in its large meeting room before Vassula’s presentation. Surprisingly, yet as was seen at Vassula’s previous presentation, the majority of attendees again were not even aware of the messages of True Life in God. After Vassula’s brief introduction about her life and the presentation itself, they bought books – 2-3 each, for relatives and friends – and asked her to sign them.
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The radio interviews, moreover, continued. There were 13 in total on her 2-day stay in New York, which did not leave any opportunity for Vassula to have any free time. Even in the car driving to Fatima House, Vassula had a half-hour interview for a station in Florida over a mobile phone. And the following day, just before leaving for the airport, another half-hour interview for a station in Sacramento, reduced her time to a minimum.
The next stop was snowy Denver where Marius Paul Ghincea with his wife Tunde and their son waited to receive Vassula along with Paul Lauer.
Parenthetically, the Hudson Book Sellers bookshops, located in the airports already had the new book. So before leaving the airport, Marius took Vassula to see the books on display at the entrance of the bookstore.
At the hotel, Father Ioan Bogdan from Romanian Orthodox Church in the USA was waiting to meet Vassula. Marius and Tunde had arranged for Vassula to speak to his congregation on Sunday, so he wanted to get to meet her before that Sunday’s talk. The meeting did not last long, as Vassula was pretty tired from the trip.
For the next day, Tom Newman, an old friend and a strong supporter of the messages, had arranged for an in-depth interview for Vassula with Edith Figueroa from the local Hispanic Charismatic Community. This hourly interview would be shown on CTVA, a catholic over-the-air TV channel, where Edith has the Rise to the Summit Catholic TV Show.
The interview was videotaped. During a break Vassula gave another half-hour interview for KCSU, the radio station of the University of Colorado. Darin Hinman, news director of the station later said: «The interview went great and we got a lot of positive feedback from our listeners. We will re-air the interview again on Sunday. Thank you again for setting that up for us it was wonderful to speak with Vassula. »
At 1pm, Vassula presented the book at B & N in Glendale. People were already there, despite the non-stop snowing. It is typical of many B & N bookstores that their clients have access to a Starbucks coffee shop that is either part of the bookstore or that the two stores connect through an open entrance. In this one, the adjacent cafeteria customers were getting their coffee, sitting in B & N and had fully focused their attention to Vassula’s presentation. Edith had brought her filming crew and taped the event.
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In fact, as Vassula spoke, one of the customers was so touched that he bought the book. After reading the first ten pages, he waited for Vassula to finish her presentation so he could talk to her and have her sign the book.
The heavy snowfall and the strong winds unfortunately forced the store manager to close earlier than normal. A lot of people that were still driving so as to come to the bookstore had to turn back. Their friends, however, made sure to buy books for those who couldn’t come and have Vassula sign them.
The following day was Palm Sunday for the Roman Catholics. As Paul belongs to the Catholic Church and was not sure if he could receive Holy Communion in the Romanian Orthodox church where Vassula was invited to speak, it was necessary to celebrate in the Catholic Church. We all together visited the Cathedral where the entrance of Jesus into Jerusalem before His Passion was celebrated with great solemnity.
Immediately after that, Vassula went to the Romanian Orthodox church where Fr Ioan Bogdan presided. Archbishop Nathaniel of the Romanian Orthodox Church of Canada and the U.S. had given his blessing to Fr Ioan to host Vassula that Sunday at the Church of St. Demetrius the New. Vassula would speak to the congregation right after the Orthodox liturgy.
The church was temporarily housed in a large hall, as a new one was due to be built soon. About 25 people made up the congregation. The priest, especially strict in the matter of Holy Communion, even asked Vassula if she was prepared. (…) Later, Tunde said that although she had spoken twice to the congregation about Vassula’s visit and initially all were excited, they read the controversy about Vassula on the internet. Fr Ioan had told the Archbishop that there was some controversy, but he additionally told him that he was not concerned about it. He was pleased to hear that Vassula is Orthodox.
After Mass, Fr Ioan presented Vassula and requested her to talk about her new book. The atmosphere was slightly tense since there were people in the congregation who had a negative attitude towards Vassula because of the controversies written about her on the internet. This did not stop Vassula. As a torrent the words came straight from her heart. She spoke about her life, her first contact with the angel Daniel, her communication with God the Father, with Jesus, and with the Virgin Mary. She spoke about the visions she received at a very young age, the attacks she encountered from the evil one, and the messages of love and mercy that she has been receiving for the past 27 years. She moreover spoke about God’s prophecies and warnings for the future of humanity, but also about God’s humor and the many incidents that show how close to us God is in our daily life. She left the congregation speechless. Finally, when she mentioned the conversion of those who read the messages and the work done at the Beth Myriams around the world, everyone, even those who initially were indifferent, changed their attitude! There are no words to describe the excitement and joy on their faces! So much joy was seen that even when the time came for Vassula to leave and catch her flight, while standing at the door, they continued to ask questions, to learn more from the person who has dedicated her life to speak to the world about God’s love and His mercy.
Our next stop was St. Louis. At the airport, Yuri Susovica received Vassula and Paul with a mini-van that had an advertisement of the book stuck on its rear window. He was driving around with it for days, across the city and the surroundings. A mobile advertising!
The next day, after Vassula met with some of the volunteers of TLIG for a light lunch, she had a 15 minute live studio interview for station KTRS-AM. Both of the two hosts were amazed with her story.
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Later in the day, she prepared for another presentation of the book. While driving through the snowy roads, it was as if the bad weather followed Vassula tag along. The B & N bookstore where she was scheduled to present her book was located in a large shopping mall. People had come earlier than the specified time, showing their impatience to hear Vassula. The overwhelmed store manager himself introduced Vassula. Even though a regular presentation typically lasts for 10 minutes, Vassula’s presentations were never less than half an hour. And in this very short time; what could she say of a life full of experiences with God? Yet, full of sensitivity and patience, but also with humor, she let her memories unfold one to one. The switching of the subjects in her presentation was heard as if turning the pages of a book, as if passing from chapter to chapter, with full consistency. After all, she was there at the occurrences this book unfolds; -it is the book of her life.
We then went onwards to Chicago. The mission began in Chicago immediately after Vassula and Paul’s arrival. Chuck Morton and Lisa (Elisabeth) Arman, how have offered years of friendship to the messages and with volunteers to promote this new book, drove Vassula and Paul to the hotel where Vassula would meet father Maginot, a legal canon law expert, who took part in the True Life In God pilgrimage to Rome in 2011. Ellen Koskinas with her daughter, Leslie Huzyk and Joan Horvath were there as well along with those who would join them for a light dinner where Vassula would meet father Maginot.
Later on that day, Vassula had to visit the Comcast Skokie Studio for her appearance in the TV program Voices in the Wilderness. This program is a television ministry in the form of interviews of people who have been transformed by their faith and who want to share their story, their message and vision, so that others can be encouraged, enlightened and inspired to make a positive impact in their families, in their communities, in their country and in the world. Vassula’s interview lasted for 2 whole hours. The topic was: Millions believe she talks to God – Meet international prophet Vassula Ryden. Maria Goldstein, founder and producer of the program, interviewed Vassula. She and those responsible for the shooting were very happy to get acquainted with Vassula and to hear about her life.
This program with Vassula is scheduled to be on air throughout the entire month of May in the Chicagoland areas. The program is found at: http://www.voicesinthewildernesstv.com/tv/tvschedule.htm
During the book tour in Chicago, Vassula was interviewed on the Fox News Chat Room Show, at the local affiliate station. Invited to the morning show Good Day Chicago, Vassula arrived in the studio with Paul Lauer, Lisa and later came Cindy Kurman, President of Kurman Communications – the Publicist that handled all promotion in Chicago. Anna, the host of the show with two other commentators, listened with undivided attention to Vassula’s story about communicating with God.
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The Fox news review after Vassula’s interview stated:
“International prophet, author and controversial Christian mystic Vassula Ryden joined the Chat Room Wednesday, to explain how God uses her as a vessel to spread His word to the faithful. With 200,000 Twitter followers and speaking engagements in over 80 countries, it’s certainly working.”
To watch the interview visit:
Immediately after her Fox news interview, Vassula was invited to the CHICAGO PHILIPPINE REPORTS TV (CPRTV) for another televised interview with Ms. Venus Veronica Bacatan Leighton (Publisher/Editor). -Veronica Leighton in short, had asked to interview Vassula. This broadcast station is the only ethnic print/broadcast combo media founded and managed by a woman in North America. The CPRTV television broadcasts throughout the city of Chicago and neighboring suburbs. There are claims a viewership of about 500,000 and serves the Filipino / Asian / Hispanic communities in the Chicago area. Veronica Leighton herself interviews personalities and celebrities and for her Vassula is a great personality.
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The half-hour interview with Vassula was focused on special spiritual topics, as Veronica and her husband, Joe Mauricio, are strong followers of Buddhism, topics about the soul, and what is God telling her about the future. Veronica showed particular interest in the interfaith meetings during the pilgrimages organized by Vassula every two years, the invitation to speak in the Buddhist Temple in Hiroshima in Japan, her nomination for the Peace Gold Award received from the Buddhist Monastery in Bangladesh, her populous speeches to 400 and 500 thousand people in the Philippines, as well as information about the Beth Myriams and their mission. The program was aired 4 days later.
Another TV interview followed from Chicago3media. Bill Maxwell, director, interviewed Vassula in her hotel lobby. She talked about her angel and his first words to her: “God is near you and loves you”, about God the Father who said: “I am your Father, I am God, belong to me … He comes from Me”. She additionally talked about the teachings received from Jesus and the Father who asked Vassula to transmit them to the whole world and lastly, talked about God’s invitation: “Come to Me as you are. Do not wait to become saints to come. Come and I will make you saints”. She talked about the power of repentance and the great heart of God who forgives immediately. She talked about the visions and experiences of Heaven, the Angels, Hell, Satan, and the warnings and prophecies she has received. “This life is temporary but the next one will be eternal”, Vassula said, leaving the host amazed by the multitude of her experiences.
Bill Maxwell did an amazing feature for Vassula on Chicago3media:
http://www.chicago3media.com/she-says-she-has-been-called-god
The volunteer group of True Life in God had arranged for a meal with Vassula at which young and older friends of Vassula and the messages came.
The day’s activities were not over. In the evening, Vassula was to present the book at the Barnes and Noble (Β&Ν) bookstore in the Oak Brook Mall. The space the store manager had prepared for the presentation was already filled – long before Vassula arrived. 150 people came from Illinois (IL), Wisconsin (WI), and Indiana (IN). More than 100 copies of the book were sold. The one important detail in this distribution was that – 1/3 of the people who bought the book had no clue about the messages! People sat on the floor (as only 80 chairs were set up), some stood in the aisles, and others came from the B&N coffee shop to listen to Vassula’s talk. Bill Maxwell, who interviewed Vassula earlier that day, came to see her again for the book signing and was recording the testimonies from the people present. A freemason in attendance cried when he heard Vassula’s talk and asked her to sign his book.
After this event, Vassula went back to Los Angeles for three days of ‘rest’ and for the celebration of Easter in the Catholic Church. This year it was to be celebrated on March 31 – five weeks difference from the celebration of Easter in the Orthodox Church. It is not in this year neither that the various denominations of the Church of Jesus Christ are able to at least unite the date of Easter, as the Lord is asking. For some, the joyful tidings of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ was approaching and for others the Lenten period had just entered begun … When observing such cases, one better understands the importance of the messages Vassula receives about the Unity of the Church. It is a huge mission, a heavy cross, a difficult road … But even greater is the pain of Jesus Who implores us:
– will I, brother, one more season go through
the pain I have been going through year after year?
or will you give Me rest this time?
am I going to drink one more season
the Cup of your division?
or will you rest My Body
and unify, for My sake,
the Feast of Easter?
On Holy Saturday evening, together with the family of Dr. Anthony and Clair Mansour, Vassula went to church for the celebration of the Resurrection of Jesus and the next day, on Easter Sunday, Vassula showed her skillful cooking ability by preparing a delicious lamb in the oven. Relatives and friends of the Mansour family, invited to celebrate the greatest feast of Christianity together, enjoyed with great pleasure the delicacy made by the hands of Vassula and many more delicacies as well, prepared by Claire and others. A true celebration of joy!
Two days later, Vassula was flying cross-country for her second book tour. Shorter than the first, lasting only 3 days, she would be visiting Tampa, FL and Atlanta. After two early morning radio interviews, Vassula with Paul and Suhair Derby, volunteer of TLIG, drove to the studio of MalcolmOutLoudTV. Malcolm had invited Vassula for a live hour long show with audience. Being familiar with Vassula’s story due to the first interview he had with her via Skype and as he had just finished reading her new book, Malcolm warmly welcomed Vassula to the show. It was the first time he was broadcasting a live show and had chosen Vassula to be his first guest. With special joy he announced it on the air.
Stressing that her experiences did not start recently, but have been in existence since Vassula was six years old, Malcolm gave her the opportunity to narrate the early visions and premonitions she had at such a young age. In a very vivid way Vassula was describing the attacks she had from the evil one, but also describing the protection she had that was provided by God. She talked about the wondrous way in which God appears in her place many times when she’s talking about Him in her homilies. It is as if Jesus completely erases Vassula and the people see a Μale figure with a beard instead.
She talked about the way Jesus was teaching her through the Bible. He would show her combined verses from various chapters and books of the Bible that speak about the issue He wanted to teach her. So, Vassula began to understand and learn that God does not say anything new today. What He says in the messages has been told for thousands of years, but nonetheless, these words are a major necessity for our era, today. For this reason He repeats them for our so troubled times where Apostasy prevails.
Along with other topics she talked about the purification she went through when God allowed her to see the state of her soul the way He sees it and how much she had insulted him while she was away from Him. This is a self-revelation through the Εyes of God. She stressed that no matter how much we do or don’t admit it, we make mistakes and sin; we will never understand how wretched we are unless God gives us the grace to see it.
The End of Τimes was another important topic Malcolm touched on. – We thought the world would end on 12/21/12, but eventually we were given another chance; the world did not end. Quoted in the words of Jesus from the messages, He says: “I am advancing like the clouds above you, yet many of you say you do not see Me, generation. You rove to and fro through the riches of the world, but when it comes to see the spiritual Treasures that can be poured on you to vest you with Myself in majesty, you pay no attention.” (March 2001)
Vassula said that these times had been predicted and St Paul speaks clearly in 2Thes.2 on how to recognize them by two signs: the spirit of rebellion and the rejection of God which is the apostasy, a voluntary rejection of faith. We are provoking the justice of God this way. While He comes with all His love, with all His mercy, we play deaf; -we do not want to hear Him. Yet when problems come and there are tsunamis, earthquakes etc, then we remember God, but only to blame Him. But it is we who attract evil upon us – like wars. God says if we have war in our hearts, it externalizes as a physical war. When we do not want God, we have war within our heart.
At the end of the show, Malcolm mentioned Vassula’s gift of painting and showed the audience 2 of the 8 photographic copies she made: – the Virgin Mary with Jesus and the Ultimate Humility. This is when Vassula said: “In this one Christ is like saying – “What could I have done more that I have not done for you?” ...
To watch the whole program, visit: http://www.malcolmoutloud.tv/show/439/a.php
A reception followed immediately after, organized by Lorraine Sheridan, Executive Producer of MalcolmOutLoudTV, during which Vassula signed the books bought by the attendees. There was also high demand for the copies of the icons. Sara Annunziata, member of TLIG from the New York area, had sent several copies of them to the studio, along with bookmarks that she had made using the images of the icons.
Here are Some of Vassula’s icons.
After the reception with Malcolm, was the presentation and book-signing at another B & N store at North Dale Mabry Highway in Tampa. Here the turnout was limited to 22 people. As Florida is famous for the majority of retired residents, many who wanted to attend had no means to come. Yet, those who came made sure to buy books for those who couldn’t come and have them signed by Vassula.
The next day, Vassula had to be in Atlanta with Paul for the presentation of the book in the bookstore Books a Million. Jim Peters, a volunteer of TLIG and principal coordinator of the promotion of the book on the part of the friends of TLIG in the U.S., had arranged for a meal with all the volunteers in the region before the presentation. The meal took place in the same shopping mall as was the location of the bookstore, so Vassula saw all the advertising activity for the presentation of book beforehand – the large poster on the glass window printed by Jim Peters, a promotional stand and entry table that the bookstore had on display, and many copies of the book.
There was a great turnout of attendance – only 5 people in the audience did not know about Vassula and the True Life in God messages. Jim introduced Vassula, and then she gave a short introduction regarding the messages for the newcomers. Then tirelessly, she began to recount once again the story of her life and her experiences; stories about how far she was from God and His Church, about the locutions she has experienced, and about the teachings of Jesus, as Vassula was previously like a blank board. She previously had no knowledge of spiritual matters. Finally, Vassula touched on the contemplative theology of the messages, as the theologians who studied them named it. She had doubts about the messages in the beginning, when she first began receiving them, and worry about the spreading of the messages due to her incapacity for absorbing them – to which God said: “You do not know that wretchedness attracts Me;”
She talked about Jesus’ teaching on the Holy Spirit: the action of the Holy Spirit and the recognizing of who/what is the Holy Spirit. Moreover, she discussed the concept of unceasing prayer, the intimacy God wants from all of us, the visions and the light of understanding she receives from God to understand, without the words of the intellect, what He wants to tell her. Her mission is for the House of God, His Church; the vision she received of three iron bars that must bend in order to unite, represent the Orthodox, the Catholics and the Protestants.
Vassula talked about the souls that she saw continually, from a very young age and she stressed that these souls are in need of the prayers of the living. But also, she added thoughts about attacks against her from demons since the beginning of her communication with the spiritual world. She explained how Satan is a great psychologist and legalist and when someone gives him a foothold by sinning, he says to God that now he has the right to do his job on this sinful person. As long as we do not give Satan a foothold, he has no right on us. He knows this and he’s not approaching when we are in communion with God and repentant. Vassula continued by talking about the different cases of demonic possession, about what is supernatural, what is preternatural and what are the differences. She talked about the End of Times, the Apostasy and the disastrous abomination of the Church. Consequently, Jesus’ return, the Second Pentecost, has already begun with the resurrection of the spiritually dead by the Holy Spirit Who transforms them into living vessels, praising God and His sweetness – as David in the Bible. During this end of times, Vassula received prophecies of the fall of the Twin Towers 10 years before it happened, and the visions of Heaven, Purgatory and Hell – because Hell exists!
Vassula concluded by talking about the compassion and mercy of the Father nowadays and how Jesus describes him: “My Father is a King, yet so motherly, a Judge, yet so tender and loving, the Alpha and the Omega, yet so meek” (August 10, 1994)
Vassula answered questions from the audience and one could easily tell how fascinated they were by Vassula’s short 35 minute speech. Immediately after her presentation she signed their books and it was very interesting to see that all the staff members from the bookstore had brought their own books to be signed.
During her talk, Vassula showed a copy of the Ultimate Humility icon that she has drawn. The people rushed to buy many copies of the icons.
Finally, Vassula went back in Los Angeles for six days. The radio interviews continued nonstop as well as the organizing of the subsequent presentations and book-signings in some cities of California.
The last interview for the print media was a half-hour phone interview with Eloise Marie Valadez, Features Writer for the Northwest Indiana Times newspaper. Eloise had also asked for the book, and was interested to do a feature on the book for one of the upcoming feature focus pages of their newspaper.
With this theatrical façade of the B & N in Studio City, the bookstore in which a theater was formerly located, announced the presentation and book signing of Vassula’s book. Claire Mansour’s son-in-law, Greg, took a picture of it with his mobile phone one evening, while passing from there with Natalie Mansour, his wife, Claire’s daughter.
On Saturday, April 6, 1pm, for this presentation and book-signing Vassula went an hour earlier to B & N to have the opportunity to sign some copies of the book for the bookstore to customers who could not come to her presentation. Much to everyone’s surprise, there were already about 20 people there! And the number was increasing. So the order of the program changed; – Vassula began signing the books for those already present. She would then present the book at 1pm (one o’clock.) The prepared area at the back of the bookstore which was set up for her talk was jammed. The aisles were filled and people kept coming. Up until 2.30pm when Vassula was leaving, people were still coming and Vassula continued to sign books outside the bookstore. Over 200 people came. These were the fruits of the hard work of the local group of True Life in God – led by Tim Maher – and Josephine Shiplacoff, Janet (Tim’s wife), Dr. Antony and Claire Mansour, Barbara Isaksson, Sevan Markarian, Aram, Arpy, Ernesto, (just to name a few) and Malvina Mkhchian with all the promotion she had done a few weeks earlier through the Armenian and Persian TV programs interviewing Vassula.
As a follow-up,Vassula with Malvina aired the last two TV programs, one, a half-hour long and another one hour long, for the Persian TV channel HIGH VISION. Vassula by now was a TV persona and had acquired a unique ease in front of the camera. “Perhaps another kind of mission starts to spread the messages”, Vassula said during a conversation.
More radio interviews were scheduled as well, and a 30minute live interview with MalcolmOutLoud, this time for his radio, was set for the last time.
San Francisco was the next city on the list where Vassula would present and sign the book. Stella and Steve Chan received Vassula and Paul Lauer when they arrived in the morning. Stella and Steve are old friends of the messages, very active in promoting them. From Los Angeles, other friends of the messages turned up for this book-signing. The event at Emeryville was attended by about 150 people. Over 60 people were counted in queue for Vassula’s signature before the talk and again, over 60 people after her talk. What was remarkable about this event was that the crowd had a good mix of people. There were men and women, young adults and teenagers, even a few children. This observation was made by Barbara Isaksson’s husband from the TLIG prayer group in LA. Josephine Shiplacoff, from the same group, later said she saw a young man perusing the book from behind a pillar, while also listening to Vassula. Josephine’s personal friends, who attended for the first time, were so inspired by Vassula’s indefatigability and determination to carry out her mission. A friend said to her, “She was exactly as I had imagined her. What a blessing to hear her in person!” People gave their feedback and these were recorded by Steve Chan.
Immediately after that, Vassula and Paul flew back to Los Angeles late in the night.
A day before Vassula was due to leave from Los Angeles for New York and from there back to Europe, Paul had arranged for the first shooting of a TV show where the host would be Vassula herself. The plan was to accept questions from a live audience in the studio and then by additional people from around the world filmed on camera. That is, the questions will come from the studio and from afar.
For this purpose, the first pilot shoot was filmed in a studio with people of different ages, nationalities, backgrounds and family status that had come to be the audience. It lasted several hours with intense moments, but also with a lot of humor. The shooting will continue when Vassula returns to the U.S. for the second round of her book promotion.
Alongside this endeavor, The El Sambrador Ministries in Los Angeles, a big Latino Catholic TV outfit, had requested an interview of Vassula. As time did not allow for a live program, Vassula with Malvina collaborated with a Spanish-speaking translator and gave the channel a half-hour interview videotaped. Those responsible for the El Sambrador Ministries program requested a live interview the next time Vassula will be in the U.S.
The book signing at B & N in Manhattan Beach was Vassula’s last stop in California. At 12 noon a table had been set up near the entrance of the bookstore so Vassula could sign the books. This store does not have space for events, so Vassula would not present the book. But, as the saying goes, “When there’s a will there’s a way.” The people, who had come for the book, were standing in a row to pass by Vassula’s table for signing. Vassula asked if they wanted to hear a few words about the book and when all excitedly agreed, Vassula spoke for 10-15 minutes. No one was left complaining.
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After a last meal with Dr. Anthony and Claire Mansour, the family of Paul Lauer along with his brother, his own immediate family and Melissa Nespor – Paul’s assistant, Vassula went to the airport for the flight to New York.
She arrived at dawn. The tireless friends of Vassula’s and the True Life in God messages, Georgia Klamson and Janna Drekovic were waiting to receive her at the airport in Newark. With only minimal sleep during the flight, Vassula was full of strength and vigor, as if she had rested for days!
The mission, however, was not over: another presentation in Long Island and a radio interview for John Palmer were scheduled for these last hours of Vassula in the USA. Donna Pennington, from the TLIG prayer group, who knows Sarah Ryan, owner of four Advent Shop bookstores, had asked her a month ago if she could inform her customers to come to Vassula’s book signing in New Jersey (NJ) that took place in March. Then Sarah said, “Let’s just have Vassula come to my shop instead!”
Sarah knew Vassula from a talk she had in 1994 at St. John’s University in New York, which she had attended. She was more than happy to host Vassula in her store! Thus, the book-signing event was arranged by Sara Annunziata from TLIG, to take place in the Advent Shop in Long Island just a few hours before Vassula’s flight.
Before this event, John Palmer from WGBB 1240 radio station, recorded a half-hour interview with Vassula right next to the bookstore – a very convenient location due to lack of time. Mr. Palmer is a friend of Sarah and she thought it would be good to have a radio program account so that more people would get to know about the book and Vassula.
Although the presentation of the book had been shifted to an hour earlier – because of Vassula’s sudden change of flight to Europe, this did not discourage the people who had already come earlier in the bookstore. With Vassula first signing their books and then giving the presentation, very few were those who missed it. As the space of the bookstore was limited, the clever thought of the store’s owner for Vassula to speak in the rear open parking space, solved the problem. There were 30 chairs set up, but many were also those who stood. Under a warm sun, Vassula began to recount her life’s experiences with God once again. Tireless, full of joy and enthusiasm, she wanted everyone to apprehend the love and compassion of God. The atmosphere was a festive one!
Right before Vassula left and wanting to thank her for honoring her by visiting her bookstore, Sarah spoke to the people reminding them that everything they heard from Vassula about God they should practice in their own lives. It is not enough just to come and listen to her talking – God will act powerfully also in their own life if they start living a True Life in God!
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One may think that the path was wide-open for Vassula and this mission. How wrong would such reasoning be! Nothing was given without fatigue and sweat. From the few hours of sleep she had almost every night in order to meet the early morning interviews, the anxiety about the book sales, up to the difficulty to access certain TV channels because of closed roads either due to roadwork or the famous traffic jams in Los Angeles, Vassula used every drop of patience, strength and perseverance God has granted her to carry out this new kind of mission.
Of course, we cannot forget also the negative attitude of the majority of the media that in the U.S., to a large extent, belong to people of the Protestant Church. Their refusal was based on the reference to the Blessed Virgin Mary in the book. Even Paul Lauer, who had designed and executed record-breaking marketing campaigns to promote movies and series, that in general, have a religious theme, was amazed by their indifference and negative attitude. While Paul was in collaboration for the promotion of Vassula’s book with big Communication and News agencies covering the U.S., he saw how difficult, almost impossible, it was to promote such a revealing book with the testimony of the true experiences of a woman who has seen in visions Heaven and the real existence of Hell!
The Denial of our Lady, how sad! The Denial of His Mother about Whom Jesus says in April 3, 1996:
‘It had been said that at the End of Times Our Hearts* would raise Apostles and they would be called Apostles of the End of Times. These would be instructed by the Queen of Heaven and by Myself to go forward in every nation to proclaim without fear the Word of God. Even when they would be drenched with blood by the enemy’s vicious attacks, they shall not be broken. Their tongue will pierce the enemies of My Church, like a double-edged sword, by exposing their heresies. They would never stagger nor would they know fear because I would provide them with a spirit of courage. The destructive whip would not catch them; they would not leave one stone unturned. ‘They would pursue the sinners, the lofty speakers, the great and the proud, the hypocrites, the traitors of My Church; they would pursue them with My Cross in one hand and the Rosary in the other; and we would stand by their side. They would shatter the heresies and build faithfulness and truth in their place. They would be the antidotes of the poison, because they would sprout like buds from the Royal Heart of Mary.’ (April 3 1996)
(page 204 in the new book ‘Heaven is Real But so is Hell” )
* The expression ‘Our Hearts’ represents the Heart of Jesus and that of His Mother.
But, despite the spiritual war that was ongoing, the grace of God was acting in a completely different way. People of other faiths were touched by Vassula’s interviews and had no hesitation to declare it. People, who were customers at the bookstores where Vassula was presenting the book, ignorant of Vassula and the messages, were approaching simply because they heard someone talking in the back of the store. They ended up buying the book, wanting to learn about the messages and asking to participate in a TLIG prayer group. Radio and television hosts asked for a second show with Vassula after they had been thrilled by her first witnessing. People with a heart of an evangelist, as were Clair’s physiotherapist, Teresa, – her grandson Grant’s professional babysitter, and her domestic helper, asked to distribute promotional material of Vassula’s events in remote areas. All was done for the spreading of this exciting book and for the glory of God.
Let’s not forget also the above 1.000.000 (yes, this is one million!) fans of “JesusIsReturning” page of the book on Facebook! One million plus souls touched by God in a special way!
And as for Paul, after several hours of meetings and excellent cooperation with Vassula, he always remained positive and resourceful, despite the enormous obstacles, with his focus always on the final aim.
For anyone who has eyes to see, the blessing of God could be seen clearly on the people He chose. And from one U.S. coast to the other, from television and radio broadcast media, newspapers and the internet, those who were not prejudiced and influenced by the secular mentality and any kind of negativity, proved they had accepted the call of God to be His collaborators in this work.
Vassula’s mission for the book “Heaven is Real But so is Hell” in the U.S. has not finished. Soon, she will return for a series of interviews, presentations and events for its promotion.
The prayers of all of us are with you, Vassula!
