Vassula’s Twelfth Visit to the Philippines
February 24-28 and March 22-26, 2017
Prior to the 2017 Asian Mission, Vassula had visited the Philippines eleven times. She went as far north as Tuao, Cagayan Valley, and as far south as Davao, in Mindanao. This year, when the archbishop of Cagayan de Oro (another city in Mindanao), His Excellency Most Rev. Antonio J. Ledesma, SJ, DD, learned that Vassula would be in Asia, he invited her to share the messages of True Life in God with the people of Mindanao.
Vassula’s twelfth visit to the Philippines meant that she would enter the country twice, due to her travel itinerary. During her first entry into the country, she had ample time to physically adjust to the Asian standard time zone. She and her companion, Rev. Fr. Joseph Iannuzzi, STL, arrived at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport on Friday, February 24, 2017. They were welcomed by members of the True Life in God Philippines Association.
February 26, 2017 (Sunday): After resting and recovering from jetlag for a day and a half, Vassula’s first activity in the country was a welcome lunch meeting with members from the Center for Peace Asia and the True Life in God Philippines Association, graciously hosted by the family of Mr. and Mrs. Salvador De Leon. The Center for Peace Asia, together with Ms. June Keithley Castro (a friend of Vassula’s, now deceased), first invited Vassula to the Philippines in 1991, when there was still no True Life in God Philippines Association. This group has helped promote Vassula’s TLIG missions.
The first event of the day was a Holy Mass celebrated by Fr. Joseph Iannuzzi, con-celebrated by Fr. Richie Santos, SDB and Fr. Delio Ruiz, SCJ. The very relaxed atmosphere was highlighted by Vassula’s stories about her recent mission to Syria and Lebanon, and an explanation of how important the mission of TLIG is for our time. Due to its importance, most of Vassula’s friends acknowledged their enthusiasm towards providing assistance for the TLIG missions.
February 27, 2017 (Monday): Even though Vassula’s lay-over in Manila was supposed to have no major activity, J. C. Gotinga of CNN-Philippines contacted the TLIG Philippines Association, asking if it would be alright to interview Vassula. Upon hearing this, Vassula agreed to do the interview at around 2:00 p.m. J. C. knew a little about the messages and Vassula, because he became acquainted with True Life in God when he was still in school, more than 15 years ago. He said it took him some time to receive his boss’s approval to do the interview, thus the late notice. The interview lasted almost an hour. The important parts of the interview were aired on Ash Wednesday, March 1, 2017, during the CNN-Philippines Evening News.
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The news segment presented a brief background on Vassula and the True Life in God messages with videos on how the messages are received through locutions, along with photos of TLIG Ecumenical Pilgrimages and Vassula’s recent visit to war-torn Syria, showing Muslims receiving the messages with open hearts. Vassula said, “Jesus says in the messages that all calamities, sorrows, natural disasters, wars, and all that is not good does not come from Him. But we, through our apostasy, are self-destroying ourselves.” (cf. TLIG Messages, September 11, 1991) When asked about the moral climate in the Philippines, especially with regard to the growing number of killings, Vassula said, “God is Love. God is Mercy. Did He stone that adulterous woman to death? She should have been killed according to her sins. Yet Jesus spared her.” (The Jerusalem Bible, John 8:1-11) Then J. C. said, “Rydén has compiled these messages in a book called True Life in God. It bears the Catholic ‘Imprimatur’, a guarantee that the work is free of doctrinal errors.”
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Towards the end of the segment, J. C. said, “…in the midst of the world’s troubles, Rydén says there is hope.” Vassula said, “… in the end, Jesus will triumph and we know it. But He wants to hear [touching her ear] … a cry of repentance.” Then J. C. concluded, “Repentance or a change of heart … that can change the world.”
February 28, 2017 (Tuesday): A bit past 3:00 a.m. the following day, Vassula and Fr. Joseph checked-in at the airport for their flight to Beijing, the first leg of their Asian Mission, which would also take them to Vietnam, Sydney and then back to the Philippines.
TLIG Mission in Cagayan de Oro (PHILIPPINES)
March 22, 2017 (Wednesday): Vassula and Fr. Joseph arrived in Manila and checked into their hotel, located near the terminal, had a quick dinner, and rested from their eight-hour flight from Sydney.
March 23, 2017 (Thursday): The following day we were on-board our 2:20 p.m. flight headed for Cagayan de Oro (CDO). We were welcomed at the Laguindingan Airport by the True Life in God–CDO prayer group led by a married couple, Cecille and Anthony Somido. Fr. Julio Gaddi Jr., the spiritual adviser of the Philippines Association, was also there, together with TLIG-Cebu prayer group members who came to help sell TLIG books at the public meeting the following day.
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On our way to the hotel, while still caught in the city’s rush hour traffic, we were informed that those who would be interviewing Vassula ‘live’ over three local radio stations, including the radio station of the Archdiocese of Cagayan de Oro, were already waiting at the hotel. After checking-in, Vassula did not keep the reporters waiting. She immediately proceeded to the conference room where the interview was to take place.
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In the interview, Vassula said that she has been receiving these messages since 1985, and that the basic message of True Life in God is Unity of the Church in diversity. She explained that the Lord is asking us to unite the dates of Easter because Easter between the Orthodox and the Catholic Church usually falls on different dates. They are based on different calendars. She said that this year, by coincidence, the dates are the same. She said, “If we unite the dates of Easter, and He (Jesus) asks us to do this because it is feasible, then the Church will receive more of the Holy Spirit’s Light inside to know how to unite in diversity.” (cf. TLIG Messages, October 25, 1991 and October 24, 1994)
When asked how she receives the messages, she replied that she receives them in two ways. The first is through ‘locution’ wherein she hears an interior voice, speaking word after word, even unfamiliar English words; words whose meaning she has to reference from a dictionary. Then at other times, it’s a light on her intellect. God gives her the meaning of what He wants to convey. She writes it down; moreover, her handwriting changes. She said, “It is called ‘hieratic writing’ meaning ‘sacred writing’, which has been examined by graphologists and exorcists as well.”
When asked how other religions have received her, she said that she is amazed that she has been received well by other religions. Buddhists and Hindus in Bangladesh have thrice awarded her the Golden Medal for propagating harmony, peace and unity. Hence, Buddhists have invited her in Hiroshima to give a talk in their temple. And lately, Muslims have invited her to Syria and Lebanon for an interfaith dialogue with muftis and imams.
When asked if she was given a special message for the Filipino Christian community, she replied by saying that she has been travelling the world, and they (the Filipinos) are number-one in their belief…in their faith. And so, she is in the Philippines to encourage us to continue to pray for Unity. Towards the end of the interview, the reporter asked Vassula what her wish was, not only for the Philippines but for the whole world. Vassula said, “My wish is your wish…to have everybody worshipping God and taste the sweetness of God.”
The live interview lasted for almost an hour. Within it, the public was invited to come to Vassula’s witness meeting, scheduled on March 24, after the 5:30 p.m. Mass at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church in Carmen, Cagayan de Oro City.
March 24, 2017 (Friday): By 10:00 a.m. we were on our way to the office of His Excellency Most Rev. Antonio J. Ledesma, SJ, DD, the Archbishop of Cagayan de Oro, for our 10:45 a.m. courtesy visit. Upon our arrival, the archbishop led us to his receiving hall. He graciously invited everyone to pose for photos before he spoke with Vassula, Fr. Joseph and the rest of the group.
Vassula firstly presented him with the TLIG One Book and Heaven is Real but so is Hell. He asked Vassula about her mission on Unity, and he was pleasantly surprised to learn that even the Muslims, who attended Vassula’s conference in Syria, were interested to know what Jesus is saying to her in the TLIG messages. At the end of this conference, many Muslims were interested to not only have the Heaven is Real but so is Hell book, which is her autobiography, but also to obtain the TLIG One Book. As a confirmation to the authenticity of the messages, Fr. Joseph explained the CDF clarifications in the appendix of the TLIG One Book.
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Vassula told the archbishop about her vision of Our Lady telling her that it is not enough to feed people with spiritual food; they need physical food as well, especially the poor. And so, TLIG prayer groups opened centers to feed the poor and hungry, known as Beth Myriams (House of Mary) around the world. She showed pictures of some of the TLIG Beth Myriams, adding that there are Beth Myriams in the Philippines: in Cagayan Valley, in Manila and in Calbayog.
The conversation then shifted to a discussion about the ecumenical activities of TLIG, which thoroughly interested the archbishop, as he is working very hard for peace and harmony in the Muslim areas of Mindanao. Vassula invited the archbishop to the TLIG Ecumenical Pilgrimage in Moscow in September so as to have a foretaste of the Unity that Jesus is longing for. Fr. Julio Gaddi Jr, who was with us, showed him photographs of previous pilgrimages, which interested him very much.
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When we arrived at Mt. Carmel Parish in Carmen, Cagayan de Oro City for the 5:30 p.m. Mass and Vassula’s talk, members of TLIG prayer groups from Quezon City, Cebu and Davao were already selling TLIG books near the church entrance. A few soldiers with bomb-sniffing canines were on site to ensure public safety.
The Holy Mass was celebrated by Archbishop Antonio Ledesma, SJ, DD, and con-celebrated by Fr. Julio Gaddi Jr., Fr. Bon Genson, SSJV, the assistant parish priest of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Parish, Fr. Indra Pamungkas, SCJ, and Fr. Joseph Iannuzzi.
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The archbishop’s homily focused on “the two greatest commandments.” He then informed the public about the Vatican II Decree on Ecumenism, encouraging Catholics to reach out to people of other beliefs. By uniting and loving one another, we shall be fulfilling these commandments. He then reiterated his invitation for everyone to stay for Vassula’s presentation after the Mass.
Immediately after Mass, the program began with welcome remarks from Archbishop Ledesma. Vassula was then introduced by Fr. Joseph Iannuzzi. Since this was the first time Vassula was invited to speak in Cagayan de Oro, she asked for a raise of hands from those in the audience who were hearing about the True Life in God messages for the first time. The archbishop humbly raised his hand, along with many others in the audience. It is worth mentioning that the audience was not only composed of people from Cagayan de Oro, but also from the nearby islands, cities and towns, like Ilagan City, Davao City and Cebu City. Some even travelled from Manila and Laguna.
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Vassula firstly narrated the beginning of her call. She explained how she receives the messages through interior locutions and at times, through a light in her intellect. She admitted her prior ignorance about spiritual things, and her distance from God at the beginning of her call. At the time, she thought that there was only one Church with different nationalities. Then when God the Father approached her and said, “I am your Father” (cf. TLIG Messages, July 25, 1987), His words affected her in a manner that brought meaning to her heart.
She said that the messages of True Life in God are God’s gift for our times. It is God’s call to repentance, to a life of unceasing prayer, to a life of reconciliation and to Unity in diversity. God comes to us in these messages to not only console us, but also to re-educate us. She said that Jesus is even sending Our Blessed Mother in over 300 apparitions around the world (according to author Msgr. René Laurentin), to bring us all back to Her Son, Jesus. In a vision she experienced when she was around 11 years of age, Vassula saw herself walking near Christ, getting ready to marry Him; then she entered a room where Mama Mary was waiting for her wi