Two testimonies from Scotland
13 December 2000 12:48
This mailing consists of two testimonies from a priest and a lay person, both from Glasgow, Scotland, who both, quite separately, came to know about Vassula’s messages at about the same time, at the end of last year.
The first testimony is by Fr MacSeain who was introduced to Vassula’s messages around the time of Fr. “X”‘s visit to Glasgow in January of this year and was able to meet Fr. “X” at that time.
Then follows a testimony from John McInnes who, back in June of this year, was healed of an arthritic problem he had suffered for many years. He sends this testimony now, confirming the apparent permanency of the healing.
First, Fr. MacSeain’s testimony from February 2000:
Scotland has its own Cardinal, its own hierarchy (8 dioceses), its own semi-independent government (the latter only since last year) and about one fifth of the population are at least nominally Catholic. And! To my surprise, it has had two visits from Vassula! I did not even know she existed until six weeks ago!
Twenty five years ago saw a great surge of piety and enthusiasm in our land: it was called, ‘Renewal in the Spirit’, and filled halls for several years up and down the nation. There was great joy and happiness among the participants witnessing to the charisms of The Lord. I was gratified to participate ‘ab initio’ in this great renewal and I still love to share with charismatic renewal people, although many have fallen away because of various reasons: mainly lack of leadership and (I would say) ‘taking the gifts for granted’, a kind of ‘deja vu’ complex. And of course there was antagonism from various sources: the latter discouraged many good people who became apathetic. However even if I tried, I could not abandon the ideas set by The Holy Spirit, by many proofs in those times.
I mention the above because I have discovered, or rather have been led to, the amazing ‘Vassulan revelations’, mystical dialogues and I was simply bowled over. I had to ask the Lord for the special guidance of discernment as to the question of authenticity and veracity .. and I got it! If told you how, it would only feed the ‘moqueurs’ (the French name is more meaningful).
A few weeks only before the millennium, I had the great privilege of being introduced to the mystical Vassulan documents. And what a privilege, what a discovery! I became totally convinced of the extraordinary veracity and integrity of what I call the Vassulan revelations – dictated by Himself: The Lord Jesus Christ … and as a bonus: His blessed Mother, the Theotokos in person!
I embrace these mystical dialogues because it is quite manifest, even to the simplest minds, that the documents are totally in harmony with all the existing truths and pieties of our holy faith truths of the past and truth of the present, ancient revelations and current revelations – ascertained and ratified by being self-evident in their nature.
Just as there were attacks and denigrations in the ‘Renewal in the Spirit’, in like manner it is noted that the Vassula/Jesus dialogues are under aggressive attacks from various sources. In almost precisely the same way that attacks and denigrations were experienced by those who participated in the charismatic renewal, I notice parallel aggression is being directed against these divine dialogues; I also notice that they are from the same kind of agents.
The main attack seems to be centred on rejecting the idea of Divine Espousals. Very strange! Because this mystical phenomenon is well authenticated by Sacred Scriptures. It was a grave error on the part of the maligning antagonists and critics to launch this as their point of attack. It is quite clear that the centrepoint of Jesus’ intentions was to emphasize the espousals and to establish a sublime unity of purity and intimacy with ALL His faithful, in His Mystical Body: A total unity brought about by His Eucharistic intention described at the Last Supper by the words ‘this is the greatest of My desires, to share this Pasch with you’.
The plan of Divine Love is His Supreme charism. It is total. It is Trinitarian; It is typified by Our Lady of The Trinity and Her mystical union as Daughter of The Father, Mother of The Son and Pure Spouse of The Holy Spirit, saturated in the hypostatic union.
It is no surprise that Satan is hyperactive when he know his ‘kingdom’ is
being destroyed. His scriptural titles are many and varied. He regularly
exercises that particular one called ‘the accuser of the brethren’ because
he knows his time is up. The perverse title ‘accuser is’ the opposite of
that assigned to The Holy Spirit, which is The Advocate: ie Our Counsel for The Defence.
The Vassula documents are a resume of all the gospel essentials. On reading them, I was gratified and pleased to note that they contained all the important aspects of The Kerygma and catechesis which I had been endeavouring to follow for 40 years: teaching them and preaching them where I was granted access.
I rejoice to see these very empathetic confirmations of the ‘old devotions’: The Two Hearts devotion, The Totus Tuus, The Rosary, the confirmation of Fatima and Garabandal and The Holy Shroud, The St Michael prayer, the Memorare etc etc but above all, The Eucharist. These documents are a superb and lasting treasure, a compendium and vademecum for all the elect for the latter times. They are divinely simplified yet not simplistic. Divinely simplified… readily discernible by minds, like my own, which could not quite comprehend many esoteric writings containing the same basic principles. The comprehension was lost because they were ‘too profound’ for the small people, yet these small people seem to be the ones which Jesus prefers as His Associates.
And now, following, is John McInnes’ testimony:
In fact, I felt a bit different. Yes, that was the word, Different. Not any better or any worse or brighter or dimmer or anything like that – no, just different. It was a bit like standing at the junction of two roads and looking down one, then you realise that somehow you’ve turned round and you’re looking down the other road. That road isn’t any busier or less busy, any more or less interesting than the first – it’s just different.
I could feel Responses murmuring around me, and heat creeping down my back – and separate, different, heat down front and lower thighs, over the knees and on down, nearly as far as the shins. On impulse, I slipped off the chair onto the floor and stood up again, just to show I could; knelt down again, got up again and audibly muttered, “Father, I’ve been cured…” He nodded to me, made a sign of blessing and carried on conducting the prayers.
To me it was a miracle! To Father, miracles are all in a day’s work….
For years arthritis had been a blight in my life. There was no strength in my back. If I leaned forward across the boot of the car, I couldn’t lift anything heavier than a small can of beans. A loaf was beyond me. In the surgery, the doctor would come out to greet me, turn on her heel and stride back into her office, while I hirpled along trying to catch up with her. Driving was a real problem for a while as I couldn’t look over my right shoulder to see approaching traffic at a junction. If I stood for any time I couldn’t sit down; if I sat for any time I couldn’t stand up. Getting in and out of the car was a painful, slow business. Stations of the Cross dropped right off my menu; I detested just sitting in the seat, looking straight ahead, uncomfortably conscious of everybody else’s bobbing up and down in the cycle of devotion around each Station.
Came the Wednesday morning when my granddaughter, beginning to toddle, held
up her arms as I passed, expecting to get lifted. Hard luck, kid! No way
can Papa get down THAT far, let alone pick up the weight of an infant! I
couldn’t have picked up her rattle from that position.
In the early evening, Father and I had a good laugh at this. I was a new boy to True Life in God at St.Patrick’s, Glasgow and sat with the rest as we waited for Norah to bring in the Blessed Sacrament. Father made a remark along the lines that we should probably be kneeling down while we were waiting and I retorted something to the effect that it was OK for him, but my knees didn’t bend any more, so don’t wait for me!
Father remembered this banter when he came to do the Healing and specifically prayed that John should be enabled to bend and kneel, both to pray and to play on the carpet with his grandchildren. He signed me with the holy oil and traced the Cross on my forehead along with the ‘M’ for Mary over both eyes and down the bridge of the nose, as is his custom. Then he passed on around the room, anointing and praying. It was only when he returned to the front to conduct the prayers of intercession that it occurred to me that I now found myself looking down the other road. Things were not quite the same as they had been. I couldn’t say how, but in fact – well, in fact I felt a bit different….
The quality of my life has been enhanced more than I can say. Big things in life, like playing on the floor with my Kids, being able to take part in active prayers (e.g. The Stations!) and clearing out the gutters, painting the roof, lying under the car – it’s great! I haven’t been able to do these things for years. But also the little things, like dropping the car keys. This used to provoke a stream of profanity as I anticipated the anguish, not patiently borne, in retrieving them.
Now there’s no anguish, no profanity, just pick them up and get on with it. My grateful thanks is due to Jesus for his incredible and unexpected kindness to me, a sinner.
Healing has not been restricted to the physical. The love and the blessings poured out on and by members of the True Life in God family heavily outweigh any physical blessings described above. A year ago I was a negligible trickle. Now I am part of a stream, swelling into a river and that river will soon form a sea. God bless our family, and Vassula who works so tirelessly and has done so much to make Salvation a reality for me, and for the millions like me who are still Outside, still to come Inside.
