True Life in God e-Newsletter
April 16, 2004
A Letter From Vassula to Friends and Volunteers of TLIG
Fr. Abberton on St. Paul and Spiritual Gifts
Angel Picture Number One
A Letter From Vassula: April 14, 2004
TERMINOLOGY
Dear Friends of TLIG,
Even today I had people thinking they should contact Ewa Allan to send them some English books. To start with, Ewa was not the distributor for books.Today it is Mary Harrison who has taken up this task for English books. We also had to stop Ewa’s English Magazine, “True Life in God,” for problematic reasons it caused us. If God wills we might have another journal in the future.
The other thing I would like to concentrate on and announce to everyone is that we have to be extremely cautious when we write an introduction about me or others or TLIG, or print a pamphlet, or an email, or anything to do in print matter, to finally learn the proper language. Terminology is very important and after all these years of work in TLIG we should have learnt to use the correct terminology in announcement. Unfortunately to this day, we have people repetitively doing the same mistakes that produce wild attacks and misunderstanding by those who are negative towards the messages and the apostolic work one is doing. For your information, we have now a standard pamphlet, poster and introduction. Just ask Tom Austin for all this material.
For example, calling me, prophet, seer, visionary, mystic, messenger of God, are words that hit badly on skeptics or even clergy who have no idea about TLIG. I have been trying ages back to alter these adjectives for other words of description but that do not deny my mission and was unable to do so. I propose we use a milder terminology to calm certain spirits down that light up with words as such. I propose we use for me when in brochures of announcements or reports in emails, or introductions or posters or whatever in print the word: “instrument of God.” Or, “a charism given to Vassula for the benefit of the Church”. Or “a witness”. Our words should be sound and moderate, nothing that will sound exalted so as to think we want to draw the attention of people.
Then for the people of TLIG, to use the word for themselves as “member,”(which I found myself using as well) is wrong, because it also appears as though we are an exclusive club of some sort or worse, a Sect. We could use the word, “readers” instead. If we use the word, “followers”, this too can be misinterpreted, and compared to the word, “adept” in its worse sense.
APOSTOLIC WORK
While I’m writing another thought came to my mind. I would prefer (and I believe this is also what Christ would like us to do) because if you read carefully the messages you will see that Christ is saying it; that people concentrate more now on the evangelizing bit than in the Retreats. We have had many Retreats up to now and they are good, and I don’t deny that. But each thing has its time. To organize a Retreat it requires effort and time and money. I would rather see you put all your energy now in the apostolic work instead, to spread in a bigger scale the messages that are an urgent call to conversion. So let your mind be focused on the word “conversion”. People who are out there and haven’t the slightest clue of God, of how to pray, of how to resist evil, and of what the Church is offering us: the Sacraments. This is our mission. The mission of drawing people to get to know God and change their lives. The only way is to evangelize and make meetings every month in your countries by bringing forth a witness who knows the messages. Beatrice has been sending you information and asking you information. Most of you responded. Some did not. I had asked her to show you how to start; by creating a Fund which will be provided by all the existing prayer groups of your country. From there you will finance the witness. Then you make a collection during her or his meeting so as to cover the expenses but also have for the next month. If this has not been started, how about starting it now. You know why? Because the coordinators on evangelizing and the promotion team will ask a report from you at the end of each month, regarding the witnessing from now on. This has been asked of you already in the beginning of March.
It has been now over 5 years that I have been asking organizers of meetings to focus on this. It seemed that we had a lot of rust crust around our wheels and nothing moved then. This time, after so long, we have people finally moving, scraping off the rust and oiling the wheels. Still there are those who keep telling me that what I’m asking is out of this world and that it will never work. What encouraging words I sometimes hear!! Imagine if I had such a negative spirit from the start, not trusting in our Lord’s work, not having any hope, but sitting there in my little corner, lamenting of the heavy Cross Christ has put on me. You only have to do the first step, you only have to say yes, and you only have to will and God will take care of the rest. But I have some who keep fretting for nothing before they even gave it a try.
This is all for now. For forty days after the Resurrection, we, the Greek Orthodox, say CHRISTOS ANESTI. You respond by saying: ALITHOS ANESTI. This is our greeting and we stop saying, hello, or good morning or good afternoon etc. CHRIST IS RISEN. Response. HE TRULY ROSE.
In Christ,
Vassula
St. Paul and Spiritual Gifts
Thinking and praying about spiritual gifts, and a certain person who has raised questions by his behaviour, I thought of St. Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians. I couldn’t get a clear picture of the text I wanted, but I knew it had something to do with discipline and/or good order in the Church. I eventually found this text:
“Indeed, the spirits of prophecy are under the prophets’ control, since he (God) is not a God of disorder but of peace” (14:32)
and the text:
“…do not forbid speaking in tongues, but everything must be done properly and in order” (14:40)
Those who know this First Letter to the Corinthians will know that Paul draws a distinction between the charisms and holiness. Having charisms does not mean that we are mature Christians. The greatest gift of all is Charity, and Paul also reminds us that the time will come when all that remains is love.
St. Paul does not focus too much on those who are being deceived by false “charisms”. One of Paul’s concerns in 1 Corinthians is to ensure that people are acting in a mature and ordered way. The worship of God is not a “free-for-all” and even where there are genuine charisms these are to be used responsibly.
I remember my days in Charismatic Renewal. Sometimes in a prayer group a person would speak beautiful or challenging words of prophecy, but before we had time to really think about them someone else would pipe up with a different message that threatened to intrude or throw us off the path. Sometimes it was even worse; somebody else would speak as though confirming the second prophecy whilst the first and most important one was in danger of being lost. It became clear very soon in charismatic circles that some order had to be imposed on prayer groups and sometimes it is necessary to ask people; “please be quiet, so we can think about the words the Lord has given us”
In TLIG we are being distracted now by others who are claiming to have impressive or special gifts. In some cases these gifts may well be genuine, but they must be used in an ordered way with a view to the needs of others. Some of these gifts are false and, as we have seen, may actually be generated or encouraged by the Jezebel Spirit and its cohorts. Discernment has always been one of the key gifts for the Church, but it is not just a charismatic gift, it is a discipline and a responsibility. As we know, Vassula has a gift, through the help of the Archangel Michael, of the discernment of spirits. Those of us who do not have such a charism are meant to exercise common sense and to become more like adults in the way we deal with spiritual gifts. I say “adults” not meaning to contradict the Lord’s invitation to “become like little children” but to remind us that we are not to be childish (not always the same as child-like).
Childish people are likely to accept almost anything anyone tells them because they do not act sensibly, (another meaning of childish is silly) whereas truly childlike people will listen and be open to the Lord whilst, at the same time, turning to others (those with discernment) for advice. This is humility. When a normal child encounters something she does not understand she has a choice to either investigate on her own or to ask her father or mother, “what is it?” Children who touch fire learn immediately not to do it again. Some children, because they have good parents approach the unknown with the necessary amount of fear in case there is danger ahead. A careful child is a child who is already growing up. A grown-up who does not reflect, question, ask and pray for guidance is childish.
I am making two points: firstly, where someone has genuine charismatic gifts, that person should act in a sensible and ordered way (as should those drawn to that person). St Paul makes clear in 1 Corinthians 14 that those who consider themselves prophets should listen to his instructions. If they do not he says that they are not to be accepted (even if, it is implied, their gifts are genuine!). Secondly, we must be on our guard against the enemy and his deceptions. We are passing through a difficult period – a purification – and we must, as St. Peter tells us, “be sober” which is the opposite to being drunk and disorderly.
We must certainly beware of being “out of control”: we must not allow our minds and hearts to become disordered. It is true that at the first Christian Pentecost the disciples were accused of being “drunk”, but they were certainly not out of control. The coming of the Holy Spirit may cause us to act “strangely” in the beginning. This is sometimes due to our spiritual immaturity, but it is not the Spirit’s desire to create eccentrics; disorder is not of God and self-centredness and exhibitionism need to be curtailed.
Discipline is essential, and if Vassula sometimes needs to discipline us we must thank God that we are being protected from spiritual danger.
The proper response forfriends, supporters andvolunteers involved inTLIG work is obedient trust. This is not slavish obedience as some may be heard to mutter, but it is sensible because it is firmly based on what we know and believe. Those who cannot accept this must read the messages more closely or seek another spiritual home.
This may seem excessive to some, but we are not playing “spiritual games” rather, we are in a battle. Battles are not for silly people. David was not silly when he went against Goliath, he was full of faith and was confident in the gifts he had. He trusted in God and behaved in a mature way. This was a boy who knew the power of the sling and trusted God to guide his aim. It is also worth noting that he was willing to try the King’s armour on before he went out. He investigated the alternatives; he reflected and then took a leap of faith. Sometimes God asks us to take leaps but never without real faith (as opposed to fantasy) and although He tolerates some silliness (as in Peter for example) He will not build on that: He builds on faith; the kind that comes from God Himself.
True faith is never unreasonable although it is not defined or limited by reason. We are guided by conscience which is formed in personal dialogue with God and enlightened by Scripture and Tradition. Some people think that conscience is the same as honest opinion and others behave as though it is the same as reason guided by experience. Whatever others say, a Christian cannot claim to be obeying the voice of conscience unless he or she is attempting to discern the will of God. For us in the family of True Life in God the key to knowing who we are called to be and what we are called to do is, “we, us!”. Jesus says of Himself, “I am the Way, the Truth and the Life. No one can come to the Father except through Me”
Fr. John Abberton
The First of 8 Pictures Drawn by Vassula’s Guardian Angel, Daniel
There are 8 drawings that Vassula’s Guardian Angel, Daniel, drew as lessons with only one line (never lifting the pencil in between the drawing). These drawings contain teachings regarding God and express the love of the Angel both for God and for His creature. They show how Vassula’s Guardian Angel Daniel is with her and apparently how our guardian angels are with all of us.
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