Witnessing (2)
22 June 2001 12:48
This is part 2 of Vassula’s responses to the audio tapes sent to her by the selected volunteer witnesses (part 1 was sent on June 14).
[For those waiting for the message given to Vassula by the Lord which speaks of the witnesses and the organizers, and the pilgirmage and all the tests etc., – Vassula was not able to send the message for mailing prior to her setting out on her journey to New York. The message will be mailed as soon as it becomes available.]
Of the responses to the witnesses, Vassula said:
I would like that everyone reads the other ones comments I’ve put. This will give them a full opportunity for instructions, instructions that I might have forgotten or not quite emphasized when I put my comments for them. So this is very important that all the people read the others as well. It is also a good lesson for future wintesses.
Excellent! Very natural and relaxed and very convincing and interesting to listen. I like your spontaneous examples with the hair-dresser and the other ones as well. The only thing I would not like you to say is when you talk about the Apostasy. You should not say: “the apostasy is in the Church and stop there, without explaining the term “church”. The clergy who do not know, might take this as a direct attack and descrimination on the Holy Church. Partly it is true but needs clarification. We have to be careful how we place those words. You can say: Apostasy is everywhere, it is generalized, (which means in other words that we can even find it in the Church, which means some of the clergy). For we all know that there are clergy who have lost their faith and deviated from the divine truth. We know that there is a rebellion. You can say, adding to this the words of Jesus indicating to us that it has been predicted even by saint Paul etc. The other thing is at one stage when you talk about the messages, say that God gives
these messages to revive the Church. They are for the benefit of the
Church. You can say “anayenissi” “iné yia tin anayenissi tis ecclisias.
O Kyrios theli na anayenissi oli tin thimyuryia tou.” What happened in
the second part of the tape? Was there a defect? When you say about
“Avvas” (Abba), you can say “Babbas” in Greek. Also it will be good to
quote the wonderful words of Christ on the Father: “My Father is King, yet so motherly, He is Judge, yet so tender and loving, He is the Alpha and the Omega, yet so meek.”
Your tape was OK, but needs some improvements. I hope you don’t mind me commenting. I find that the parts you read are too long. Quotations too are too lengthy. Try and read less and try to speak from your heart to reach the people. If you take a lengthy passage to quote, stop after 3 lines and put some sort of explanation of yours in there or if you had
any experience of yourself to share, or of how you felt these words, then
continue and so on. Reading becomes monotoneous. Some corrections:
When you say, “her angel got serious”, perhaps it is better to use the
word “grave” her angel was very grave”. The other thing is: my
purification which you were describing was given to me before the Father approached me to ask me to pray to Him the Our Father, and not after. Also, be careful how you place your words; e.g. do not say: “apathy in the Church”, because listeners might misunderstand, who do not know TLIG and especially clergy, that you are attacking the Holy Church and might think that only the clergy have this apathy. We know what you mean because we read all the messages which clarifies it. But people who do not know and hear this, they might misunderstand it. So, better say, ” apathy on this generation”, which includes of course the clergy as well. This is all.
Good for the people you say you will be facing, (unlearned). Here are some comments, hope you don’t mind: your introduction of me is far too long and too detailed. It is better to “get rid of it” and talk about it in the very beginning so that you give space later on and focus only on the messages. It should be brief but not too brief either that they do not know about how God can deal and instruct someone. Perhaps for the audience you will have, it is better to give them as well, to make them feel reassured, an explanation of how this prophetic charism is common for the Church. That God gives such a charism of prophecy to share and transmit to others. That it is given for the benefit of the Church when God finds it is needed. That this message had been studied thoroughly by renown theologians of the Catholic Church and even made theological books out of it. Also, that when God speaks, it is because He is warning us. It is a warning and a call for changing our hearts. Corrections: I was not an emigrant in Egypt, but for many generations we lived there. Therefore, what they will here from you, the witness, are words given for all of us by our Lord, who according to His description of Vassula, she is nothing in particular, in fact quite wretched. Speak slower and do not hurry, (no train to catch…)
On the whole it is very good, but the first part of the tape is very relaxed, perhaps too relaxed. People could have time in between your themes to have a Greek coffee and still come back in time! I honestly find it too slow. The second part of the tape is much better. So, if you speak in the same speed as the second part, your witnessing is very good. What you say is touching and very natural and that is what touches the people. They identify themselves through you. So it’s just to put in 5th gear on.
You gave your read-out speech a tremedous speed. It looked like you wanted to hurry for a reason. The words were excellent and very precise,
but they were read and became flat!! You lose the quality of
witnessing, and it becomes a nice speedy speech, without a pause of 3 or
5 seconds between different themes. It was a non-stop lecture. You
lose your natural aspect and that is a pity. I have heard you speak
(without reading), just for some minutes, and you are very good in doing it. I agree that you can give them a perfect lecture in that way of reading out your testimony, but you do not reach the people in the same way, unless you are an excellent reader, taking such pauses and emphasis on what you read, that it becomes as though you are speaking. But not many could do that. It is an art on its own. I could suggest that either you train in this art, or you read a line or two of the paragraph which will indicate to you the theme, then speak it out orally the rest of it. For this you will have to memorize it well. Anyway, read less and speak more, this is my advice to you.
Then, in the beginning you must introduce yourself and speak shortly of your conversion. Because then you will speak of the messages, you must say who has been called to write them down and who this person is. By speaking openly, already you will give yourself a chance to relax. Speak of the vast work of TLIG and why God is calling in our times. That it is
not the first time God gives a charism of prophecy and it is for the
benefit of the Church. Speak more of our Lady. Very little is said.
Speak more of repentance and confession. Our Lady was also without sin.
About the word: Abba, you can say I said Babba and that He took this as a “kozmima”. Always before quoting a message, you must say, “and now I’ll read out to you a message that the Lord gave in 199… to Vassula or to all of us, give a short pause 5 seconds, then read out the message slowly, emphasizing the words. You can also read out in the beginning the Chrysostoms? short but simple words of Christ. To show the simplicity of Christ to the Orthodox, and even make copies to distribute it. Try it that way and it will be excellent.
Quite good on the whole. Very relaxed, clear and natural. But here are some corrections to be done to perfect your witnessing. In the beginning you spoke too much of yourself!! You must not go into detail of your life story. Just what brought you to a full conversion but in two words. Don’t forget that you are witnessing to promote God’s message and to attract the people to read His message! I know from experience that a prolongued self introduction makes people bored. They come to listen to what TLIG is from a witness and that’s what they want to hear. Witnessing is an art (given by God as well). You have to remember that it is very important that the first words you utter are going to be assessed immediately and absorbed fully by the people listening. You must remember that the mind of the person is at its clearest in the first half hour. So if you speak of yourself for half an hour, how do you expect the people to absorb the essential, which is God’s’ messages? You tend also to forget, and it is rather often, that what you are telling them, you have learnt this or that from the messages. Therefore, when you start speaking on a theme that you obviously learned from TLIG messages you must say so. e.g. To be a witness is someone who has heard something or saw something, and you are reporting.
You started speaking of the “end of time” as though it was your own theological discovery, but you never said, “when Jesus in TLIG messages spoke of the end of time, He made us understand that it is not the end of the world. Then, Jesus told us in TLIG that these times were foretold and He asked Vassula to read the passage of 2 Th 2, while Jesus was explaining it to her. Then Jesus said to add Dn 9 etc. etc. never miss to always say Jesus told us or the Lord said in TLIG etc. You are out there witnessing to promote the Good News, to inspire the people to want ot read the messages for these messages are the key to their conversion and redisovering God!! Correction: after 3 years exactly my mission started, not 5. So, this is all. Always remember to refer to the TLIG messages.
Your witnessing is fine. Very good, exept in the very beginning. You sound as though you are nervous because you speak very fast to the point that (since English is not your mother tongue) you make mistakes in English. Even by saying about the old prophets “who lived in cages” instead of “caves”. So, especially in the beginning try and find the right pace. Be “lagom”. What you say, although you have not focused on the 27 questions/answeres, is a good witness. Try to give the message also on the 27 points I had.
