February 2017
At the end of Vassula’s visit to northern and southern Italy in May of 2016, I was informed of her next mission to China in 2017. Cardinal Prospero Grech had encouragMeeting in Tangshan Cathedraled her to look toward spreading the messages of True Life in God in Asian countries, but she was waiting to receive an invitation to do so. Soon afterwards, however, Vassula had the unbelievable experience of being spotted on the terrace of a restaurant in Rome by a Chinese nun who had been her guide and interpreter in Beijing, China back in 2008! Sr. Mary Jibao was so happy to see Vassula and told her that she must come to China again. The Lord was drawing the plan before our very eyes…
After Sr. Mary returned to Beijing, all of Vassula’s friends who live in that part of the world took part in organizing this long-awaited return to the biggest country in Asia. The TLIG Taiwan Association instantly raised the funds to cover all necessary expenses for flights and accommodations, and more importantly, continued their efforts towards translating and publishing the TLIG messages in Mandarin, the dominant language of China.
In 2008, Vassula brought True Life in God to China, speaking in several churches and at a seminary in Hebei province in northern China. This province is home to one million Catholics. The publishers of the TLIG messages are located in Shijiazhuang, the capital city of Hebei. Thanks to Fr. John Baptist Zhang, the director of Faith Press, along with an ardent TLIG reader, Luke Kn Lam, Vassula’s second visit to China was organized for the cities of Beijing, Tangshan, and Guangzhou.
February 28, BEIJING
Vassula & Fr. Joseph Iannuzzi take a stroll in frosty but sunny Beijing with China with me (Cecilia Lutz) and organizers Luke & Marie.
Arriving at Beijing Airport with her traveling companions, Fr. Joseph Iannuzzi and myself, Vassula was met by Luke Kn Lam who had flown from Guangzhou in southern China. Marie-Madeleine Friberg, my daughter from TLIG Switzerland who had come from Geneva, was also with us. Amidst the wintery cold and frosty winds of Beijing, Vassula began her mission with Fr. Joseph, Luke Kn Lam, and Marie from Beijing West Church.
The Beijing West Church hosted Vassula’s first Public Meeting
Vassula was greeted by Fr. Zhang (left), and Fr. Simon (right)
Vassula was welcomed by the parish priest of Beijing West Church, Fr. Zhang, together with many priests of the diocese, including Fr. Simon, parish priest of Beijing’s South Cathedral. Luke then started his heavy role as interpreter, since in many Asian countries especially China, English is not spoken.
March 1, West Church Public Meeting
The West church of Beijing is dedicated to Our Lady of Mount Carmel and is located in the western part of the capital of China. It was built in 1723, by an Italian priest and was destroyed three times by earthquakes. It is a beautiful church, well-preserved, and is a peaceful haven for its parishioners in this bustling city.
Just before the 6:30 p.m. public meeting, Vassula and the organizers were surprised to hear that the church was full! Its 350 seats were fully occupied, with the remaining audience standing. Many were parishioners from the Beijing South Cathedral.
The church was filled with people from different Beijing parishes
People from different Beijing parishes fill the church
The Beijing audience listened intently to Vassula speak
After the meeting, many books were sold and Fr. Zhang, of Faith Press, publishers of the True Life in God books since 2008, shared a delicious dinner with us. He arranged for Vassula and Fr. Joseph to meet the bishop of Haimen in Beijing the following day.
March 2, Vassula meets Bishop Joseph Bin Shen
The Bishop of Haimen, His Excellency Joseph Bin Shen was happy to meet Vassula
Accompanied by Fr. Zhang and Fr. Joseph, Vassula met the bishop of Haimen, His Excellency Joseph Bin Shen, who very warmly welcomed her and was so intrigued to hear of the many conversions that the Messages bring. Vassula told him about Padre Milheiro of TLIG Portugal who had translated and published the books in Portuguese many years ago. In his prison apostolate, he introduced and gave True Life in God books to the prisoners. Reading the Messages changed their lives and transformed their prisons into monasteries, as the inmates took down the earthly posters from their walls and replaced them with heavenly ones. They read, prayed, and were filled with hope for their lives and for their families while undergoing repentance and purification, and by returning to the Church and the Sacraments. Several books with these prisoners’ testimonies have been printed, showing how the Messages brought them back to God.
Bishop Joseph was very impressed with Vassula’s mission and extended his assistance towards furthering translations, along with the publication of the TLIG One Book in Chinese.
March 2: Meeting at the National Seminary of the Catholic Church, Beijing
China’s Catholic Church announced the opening of the country’s largest seminary in Beijing on September 28, 2006. This seminary is the heart of the Chinese Catholic Church.
Vassula is welcomed to the National Seminary of Beijing.
Fr. Joseph introduces Vassula and the Messages at the hall of the National Seminary
At the start of the meeting, Fr. Joseph spoke to the audience, which was comprised of seminarians and some laypeople. As an exorcist, having obtained his doctorate in Dogmatic and Mystical Theology in Rome, he introduced the True Life in God messages of Our Lord Jesus Christ given to the mystic, Vassula Rydén. “A mystic is someone through whom God speaks,” Father Joseph explained.
He cited the Catholic catechism: “‘The Christian economy, therefore, since it is the new and definitive Covenant, will never pass away; and no new public revelation is to be expected before the glorious manifestation of our Lord Jesus Christ.’ Yet even if Revelation is already complete, it has not been completely explicit; it remains for Christian faith gradually to grasp its full significance over the course of the centuries.” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 66)
Fr. Joseph explained: “In this article one discovers the progressive disclosure (explication) of public revelation. If, on the one hand, this article relates that Jesus revealed to us everything we need for salvation, no new ‘public’ revelation (the Deposit of Faith) is to be expected; on the other hand, it affirms that not everything in the public revelation of Christ was revealed to us ‘explicitly’! Concerning Jesus’ unexplicated doctrines, I recall Jesus’ words to his disciples before departing from this world: “I still have many things to say to you, but they would be too much for you to bear now. However, when the Spirit of truth comes, he will teach you all the truth since he will not be speaking of his own accord, but will say only what he has been told; and he will reveal to you the things to come.” (John 16:12-13) True Life in God is God’s Work revealed to us in our times through the Holy Spirit.”
Vassula introduced herself as a person coming from the Greek Orthodox Church, but living a life without God. Nonetheless, through her Guardian Angel, God called her in 1985. She had no catechism; all she learned from then on was from Jesus. So we ask, why did God come to her? She didn’t pray nor go to church…why? His answer was: Wretchedness attracts Me. Through your wretchedness I will show My Mercy, through your nothingness I will show My Power and that I Am. (TLIG Messages, March 30, 1987 and October 20, 1994)
Jesus formed her to give His Message to all the world, to an apostatised generation. He said “Go and Christianize a de-christianized society!” (February 2, 1999) He then prepared her and sent her out to eighty-five countries to give His Message of True Life in God.
“I do not come by force upon you with My Holy Spirit to violate your liberty, nor do I come to condemn you; I come to you out of Mercy to give you freely the fullest Knowledge of My Will; through My Perfect Wisdom I come to augment in you the Knowledge I Myself have given you; I do not come to add new things into that which has been given you already, but I come to place My Kingdom in the middle of your hearts;” (TLIG Messages, June 2, 1991.)
Vassula spoke of the Holy Spirit’s role in repentance and in discerning God’s Will for each one of us. In the Messages, one learns what is Repentance – the soul must repudiate its evil thoughts and evil acts as well. If a person is humble, the Holy Spirit will easily find His Way in that person. He will shatter all imperfections so as to prepare him for union with God.
She went on by speaking about the great apostasy in our times, how disappointed God is in our generation. He says, “I look at the earth today and wish I never did …. My Eyes see what I never wanted to see and My Ears hear what I dreaded to ever hear! My Heart as a Father sinks with grief; I fashioned man in the likeness of My Image, yet they have degraded themselves and today, so many of them have taken the likeness of the Beast! their heart is so filled with lust, lawlessness, arrogance and perversion! their mouth is accustomed to cry out high and low abusive words; they swear against all heaven to make war against Me and against My Son …. ah …. they do all that My Heart detests; very often My Hand reaches out to My Cup that brims over with My Justice …” (TLIG Messages, April 15,1996),
What God likes is to hear priests talk about His sweetness, remembering David’s Psalms. He says it is a pity to die without having tasted the sweetness of God. “It is not enough to believe in God; even the demons believe in Him, but they have no love for Him. We should get to know God and understand Him. This is what God wants.” To know God and understand God is one of the richest spiritual gifts one can get. Vassula went on by speaking about True Life in God’s other main themes: Unceasing Prayer, Equality of Love, and Christian Unity. The seminarians and laypeople were mesmerized by Vassula’s talk, and eager for the follow-up Question & Answer session:
Question and Answer Session
1. Q: Is the second Pentecost based on the Bible or on your writings?
A: Pope John XXIII was praying to Jesus for the Unity of the Churches and for the second Pentecost. Thirty years ago, laypeople never thought of forming prayer groups and praying. Today, there are many prayer groups: of St. Padre Pio, St. Faustina, etc. Many laypeople are searching for God. Through True Life in God, there are many prayer groups around the world, as there is a thirst for God like never before. Laypeople receive gifts from the Holy Spirit. Why? Because God sees that the world has turned completely evil. We are now living in the End of Times which St. Paul talks about in 2 Thessalonians 2. The two signs indicating that we are at the end of this epoch are the apostasy & the spirit of rebellion.
2. Q: What can we do to prepare for the second Pentecost?
A: Tell the people about the sweetness of God.
3. Q: What does knowing God and understanding God mean?
A: In Jeremiah 9: 22-23, God tells the prophet that He is not impressed with a valiant man for his valor, or a rich man for his riches. What He likes is someone who knows and understands Him; for God this is important. The more we penetrate into God, the more we understand Him.
4. Q: We want to do God’s Will; but within us, do we truly respond to His Will?
A: First of all, repentance is needed. We must give our will to God; abandon ourselves completely; give all your heart. Once He has your heart, He can guide you. The Lord says: “Die to yourself, die to your ego … lower your voice so you can hear My Voice.” (TLIG Messages, June 19, 1995)
5. Q: Can you tell us about the Notification?
A: It was clarified in 2004 by the then Cardinal Ratzinger in the CDF. You can find many articles concerning the notification and the clarification by Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger on the TLIG.org website (click here). That article has the official July 10, 2004 letter and clarification. You can find many articles concerning the notification and the clarification by Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger on the TLIG.org website. Click on the word “Search” in the upper right corner. Then type Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith in the Search box. Many articles on the notification will appear including one under the title of “Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger.” That article has the official July 10, 2004 letter and clarification. The other articles have pertinent material regarding the same subject. In the back of the TLIG One Book, Appendix B contains all of the questions by the CDF along with my answers. It has now been thirty-three years since I was called by God, and since then, there has been manifested much good fruit. We have had thousands of conversions and the converted people all go back t