April 1st -7th 2016
And the testimonies of those touched…..
“Resound My voice to the ends of this earth; let everyone hear and learn that I am a God of tenderness and mercy”. (June 5, 1997)
Vassula in Cape Town, April 5, 2016
Announcing the mission visit to South Africa 2016
Only weeks after the initiation of the announced jubilee of Mercy on December 8th (in the Catholic Church), Vassula was invited to South Africa. Her mission date was set for the first week in April 2016, during which the feast of Divine Mercy would fall. Being very much aware that Vassula had already taken 7 mission trips to South Africa, and I have been fortunate enough to have accompanied Vassula to South Africa once before, I was filled with anticipation as to what this mission trip may have in store, given that during this jubilee of Mercy, Misericordiae Vultus, we are invited to contemplate the mercy of God. With this mercy revealed to us in the face of Jesus His Son, we surely have expectations of God’s Mercy in abundance.
By now, many of us know what Vassula speaks about when she goes to the nations around the globe. The messages of True life in God are now 30 years old and Vassula has been travelling around the globe as God’s echo for many years.
As the person accompanying Vassula on this mission, I wished to focus on what I perceived and witnessed to be the impact of Vassula’s mission visit on ordinary people, those who came into contact with her over the days that were to ensue. I wanted to be able to report back on this. It is of great interest and use to be able to record thedifference, or the impact made when hearing Vassula speak about God through the charism she has been given. The impact makes, in other words, the so what factor.
The journey begins
On the afternoon of March 31, Vassula arrived in Athens on a flight from Rhodes where she lives, looking fresh and prepared to embark on the mission. It is evident for any eye to see with what seriousness she takes the task entrusted to her by God. She had only just returned from a three week mission to South East Asia, visiting the countries of: Japan, Philippines, Singapore and Indonesia and had literally just enough time to repack and prepare for this next mission, turn around and fly back up to Athens to embark on this next mission trip. I for one took note of how focused she was and remains throughout any mission trip; this one was no exception. Her dedication and attentiveness reminds me of Paul in Acts 20-24…”but I do not count my life of any value to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the good news of God’s grace”.
Whenever I have been with or in the presence of Vassula while she is on a mission trip and/or retreat/ pilgrimage, I notice that she never stalls or procrastinates. I always notice the strong attention that she gives, adhering to time and schedule and does not falter from this.
After leaving Athens late afternoon on that same day with a 5 hour flight to Dubai and then catching a connecting 8 hour flight to Johannesburg from Dubai, we arrived in South Africa early at 5:30 in the morning. We were greeted at OR Tambo airport by stalwarts Gracinda and Winnie from TLIG-South Africa. We could feel the heat already building up, albeit in the mid-Autumn early morning; it felt more like a summer heat. South Africa experienced a lengthy drought during the summer that had just past. As we moved out of the airport and onto the street, being driven to St Andrew’s hotel in Bedford View, it was evident that we were in Africa. I could see from Vassula’s face that there was a connection for her to be back in the continent of her birth.
During these long flights, when there is a time to think, one cannot help but be filled with a sense of wonder about what is happening and what we are all invited to be part of. As the person accompanying Vassula on this particular mission, on this journey to South Africa, I became aware of the immensity of this charism and mission that Vassula has been given. Questions going through my head were, “What will take place this week that follows?…Who will come to listen? Will there be a change in people’s lives, and will everything go smoothly?”
And yet, from the messages of True life in God, it is written,
“Proclaim all my wonders to every nation; innocence and integrity will receive me with open arms and will profit from My wonders; I need to re-educate people to pay homage to the Father, to Me and to The Holy Spirit; to pay tribute to Our Glory and Power, tribute to Our Mercy and Goodness, tribute to Our miracles and Our signs; this is why I have to re-educate them to learn how to seek My Holy Face and recognize it when your foundation fall to ruin, am I not to intervene? have you not read that I never ceased to work?…” February 3rd 2003
Day 1, April 1st 2016: Interviews and radio show
Johannesburg is the business centre of South Africa and is a huge conurbation of interconnected communities and districts that have formed the huge metropolis. Travelling from one part of the city to another can take quite some time, as it is spread out and so vast. We were happy to arrive at the quiet and well situated hotel that was experiencing the end of its seasonal visitors, and we were able to rest for a couple of hours before Winnie and Gracinda came to collect us at 11o’clock. Vassula was scheduled to meet with a journalist from the diocesan newspaper that goes out to the whole of Johannesburg, and following that she was scheduled to be interviewed for a radio station.
As we were waiting for Winnie and Gracinda to come to the hotel, the lady at the reception desk asked me if we were on holiday. I told her the reason for us being here was that my friend was giving a conference. I was being careful with how and what I said, not really wanting to say anything that may come across as alarming in any way, and at the same time, not wishing to hide the truth. Whist I was preparing to structure the next sentence in my head before saying it, the lady took my breath away by replying in such a pragmatic way, “Oh, your friend has the gift of prophecy, how wonderful”, and she said this while she was puffing up a cushion on the chair at the reception area, as if it were a normal occurrence to her. I chuckled inside and marveled at the advantage of the simplicity of people and their willingness to believe in God’s Goodness and Gifts as easy as this woman had done. For a brief moment I thought about the impossibility almost of that happening on European turf, especially in Western Europe!
Vassula then came out to the reception area and we were transported by Gracinda and Winnie to the parish where a good and loyal friend of TLIG, Fr Shaun von Lillienfeld, is now based. His parish is St. Martin de Porres, a Catholic church situated in the Craighall park area of the city. It took almost an hour to arrive there, given the explained vastness of Johannesburg and the traffic encountered.
Vassula waited briefly in a room attached to Fr Shaun’s residence within the church grounds and was soon introduced to a journalist, Lerato, from the Archdiocesan news who wished to interview Vassula for an article due to go out at the end of April 2016. This publication goes out to every parish in Johannesburg.
Lerato began by asking simply how long Vassula was to be in South Africa and how many talks would she be giving, in other words, asking her about the programme of the next 5 days. Then when she asked what the messages that Vassula would speak about would touch on, Vassula’s, response was, “The Mercy of God, everything comes out of the mercy of God”. My ears pricked up at this, given the explanation I disclosed at the beginning of this report, and I started to get an idea about the answers to some of the questions I had been asking myself. Vassula proceeded to give a resume of the messages, mentioning that TLIG is like a school, teaching us how we should really pray, in unceasing prayer and how to grow in Divine Love: how to properly repent, from our hearts, so that we can obtain the gifts of love and all other virtues and to love God the way that God wants us to love Him. She added that the world, I noted she said the Western world especially, has grown into a great apostasy, explaining that this is a rebellion against God and a sort of self-realization system that has been adopted, that pushes God away from us. Vassula shared that the strongest message is for the church, the call to unity in diversity, and that Jesus is not happy that we are not united, giving the example of the differences in the dates of Easter. I observed Lareto’s face as she digested this, Vassula continuing and completing her sentence with, “So long as this is not done, wars, catastrophes will take place. But, the Holy Spirit will call in such a way that the church will be united and then the Glory of God, the triumph will be seen”. She continued by explaining a bit about the Beth Myriams and the importance of establishing prayer groups: in the continent of Africa, there are 4 Beth Myriams. Vassula added that she believes everyone here, has been called. Upon looking at the journalist, she smiled and said I believe even you have been called here today. Lareto, with eyes as wide as a child’s listening in awe to a teacher, replied quite simply and authentically, “That’s wonderful”. With that, Vassula concluded the interview with a pragmatic, “This is basically the message of True Life in God”.
I could see that this woman had been touched in some way; although this was not verbally articulated, the fact that on the following day she came to hear Vassula speak was, to me a testimony of that.
Journalist Lareto and Vassula after the interview for the diocesan newsletter
This interview was quickly followed by a 30 minute radio interview by Chris Busschau for a program called the Melting Pot, aired on Radio Veritas. Although the interview was conducted on this Friday afternoon, it was to go on air on the Sunday show, which happened to be Divine Mercy Sunday. (This interview is downloadable on www.tligradio.org).
Vassula shared similar information as to what was shared Lareto when interviewed on the radio. She told us that she concluded the interview by saying, “Do not forget that God is Love and Mercy”.
Following these two appointments, on the way back to the hotel, we discussed the day’s activities, True life in God and the people who have by God’s grace been called to this apostolate. Winnie shared a memory she had from a previous pilgrimage to Rome in 2011 in which Vassula’s son Fabian had participated. She was sitting at the breakfast table with Fabian and the Imam Mazarul Rahman from Bangladesh. Winnie shared that at that time, as they were in conversation about TLIG, Fabian said that TLIG people are like a mule, you can hit them from the left, or the right and they just keep walking! We all laughed, thinking nothing more about this, as we prepared to return to the hotel to rest until the following morning.
Day 2, April 2nd: Public Meeting at St Martin de Porres Church, Craighall Johannesburg
Vassula was picked up from St Andrew’s hotel late morning on Saturday, April 2nd, by Winnie and Gracinda. We all drove to the Craighall area of Johannesburg, back to the parish where Fr Shaun von Lillienfeld is the parish priest.
Vassula was due to talk at 1:30 pm. Bishop Peter Halliday had arrived from the Orange free state to come and listen to Vassula and meet with her prior to her talk, in the presbytery. He humbly listened to what Vassula had to share about her mission. When it came time for Vassula to proceed to the church, Bishop Peter blessed her and then specifically made a point of asking to be seated in the church with all the other people and “not in a special seat.”
Bishop Peter Halliday at St Martin de Porres, Craighall
Fr Shaun gave a humble and warm introduction to Vassula, promptly at 1:30 to a packed church. After inviting everyone to sing the Our Father in Aramaic, as the organizers had printed out the words and translation on sheets for everyone, she began, as is familiar to many now, by asking how many people were familiar with the messages of True life in God. She does this to gage the level of content of her speech, so that the attendees are learning; for TLIG is like a school, as she had told the journalist the previous day.
Vassula’s speech emphasis was on the relationship that God wants from us. He does not wish us to have tepidity, but rather He wants our hearts aflame to witness a resurrected Christ; that is why He wants to fill us with His Holy Spirit. She emphasized yet again that in order for this to happen, there needs to be a sincere repentance from all of us so that the Holy Spirit can come and invade us. She emphasized that it is not enough to believe in God; as we know from scripture, even the demons believe in God, but have no love for Him. We are invited to know Him and understand Him through the messages of True Life in God, which adds nothing new to scripture, but acts as a respelling of the Word. In this year of mercy, Vassula emphasized that many people have an image of God only as a severe judge and that He does not care for them. The message that God gave to Vassula one day was thus: “If you want to be My Child, I shall be your Father, if you want to be My bride I shall be your Bridegroom, if you rebel against Me, I shall be your Judge.” In another message we see that God, although a fearful Judge, can be tender. This message was given by Jesus: “My Father is a King, yet so motherly, He is a Judge, yet so tender and loving, He is the Alpha and the Omega, yet so meek.” Vassula explained that we believe He is a severe Judge is because we have intellectualized God. She went on to say that we have made our image of God as some sort of petrified God in a museum or “somewhere up there (pointing to the sky) enjoying His Glory. This, she added, is a result of the apostasy. She therefore shared that the Father had said, “Do not fear Me; fear Me only if you rebel against Me.”Vassula explained that these words were and are for all of us and not jus