True Life in God Newsletter
September 23, 2004

Vassula in New York City: A Meeting Report – Part 1

Who is Good Enough to Love and Serve the Lord?

Witnessing Around Japan with Brother Otfried

Volunteer Help Needed… Join the “Battle of Your Times”

You’re Invited to the New York Day of Prayer




Vassula in New York City: Part 1
May 25-30, 2004

May 25, Tuesday Arrival in New York City

We were met at JFK International Airport in New York City by the dynamic TLIG core group of Roman Catholics, Greek and Russian Orthodox. Vassula had visited New York just last year, and had spoken in Newark, NJ. This time,the group decided to set up Vassula’s NY Meeting in the Armenian Orthodox Church Hall.

May 26, Wednesday Breakfast with the Russian Orthodox Priests

? Father Stavros with Vassula in St Sergius Chapel

We were driven through the early morning NY traffic to Long Island, to the Archdiocese of The Orthodox Church of America which is the seat of the Russian Orthodox Church in the U.S., located in Syosset, NY. There are 600 Russian Orthodox parishes in the U.S., several monasteries and 3 Romanian monasteries. Vassula was enthusiastically welcomed by Fr. Stavros Strikis, a priest who had been reading the Messages of True Life in God and who was eagerly anticipating the opportunity to meet Vassula in person. Fr. Stavros was joined by Fr. David, the assistant to the Metropolitan; they both very kindly showed us around their office, their Archives and their Chapel dedicated to St. Sergius. We were introduced to icons of different Russian Orthodox saints of America namely St. Alexis Toth and St. Tikhon, Patriarch of Moscow and Russia, the Enlightener of North America, who died in 1925.

Over breakfast, Vassula witnessed about her experience and her mission. She spoke of the openness of the Armenian Orthodox clergy to her and to the Messages and how she was warmly welcomed recently by the Armenian Archbishop in L.A. They talked about the tendency in the Church “to back off” from Prophecy. Many people seem to think that God has already spoken in Scriptures and find it hard to believe that He speaks in our day. Vassula explained that thinking and believing that God has stopped speaking to His people contradicts what St. Paul says in Scriptures, as well as St. John in Jn 16:12-13 where Jesus says “I still have many things to say to you but they would be too much for you now; but when the Spirit of Truth comes He will lead you to the complete Truth …” Unfortunately, judgments are made by different priests without their having even studied the writings. She finds that the Orthodox priests outside of Greece are generally more receptive and open.

Fr. Stavros took the opportunity to bring up some questions he had regarding the Messages. He wondered why Jesus comes to us in True Life in God as the Sacred Heart and she answered that first of all, the Sacred Heart’s language is loving, tender and intimate, and His children need to know Him and become intimate with Him. Secondly, the Orthodox do not have the devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, Our Lord would like us not to differentiate between Orthodox and Catholic devotions.

Another interesting question was the matter of being “slain in the Spirit” to which Vassula answered: “this is what happens when one is in direct contact with the Holy Spirit.” She recalled Jn 18:6, the scene in Gethsemane when Jesus answered: “I Am he” and the soldier fell instantly, “slain in the Spirit”. Fr. Stavros was intrigued to hear of the phenomenon which she said started in the Charismatic Movement and spread in the Catholic Church. Her first experience observing the Holy Spirit in action in this special way was in Canada years ago, with Henri Lemay, the Canadian charismatic leader. She was amazed to see people falling off their chairs “slain”! The very first time she prayed over people and saw them “slain” was at a conference in Pittsburgh, using the crucifix containing a relic of the True Cross, which had just been given to her. She prayed over a little sick boy in his mother’s arms, traced crosses on his forehead, palms and soles of his feet and he was healed.

Each one of us was given a beautiful Russian icon of St. Herman of Alaska and All America, the first to bring Orthodoxy to the continent, the first Russian Orthodox American saint. Vassula in turn, gave them a compilation of the True Life in God prophecies for Russia, the Odes of the Holy Trinity and Vol. 12 with the CDF Questions and her answers. They showed us such hospitality; Fr. Stavros was so delighted with the visit that he didn’t want to see us go.

Vassula Meets the Dean of the Greek Orthodox Cathedral of N/Y …to be continued next issue !

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Who is Good Enough to Love and Serve the Lord?

The next time you feel like God cannot use you to spread the messages as an organiser of TLIG witnessing meetings or leader of a TLIG prayer group, to help others grow spiritually and to work for Jesus Christ, just remember:

NOAH was a drunk…
ABRAHAM was too old…
ISAAC was a daydreamer…
JACOB was a liar…
JOSEPH was arrogant….
MOSES couldn’t talk….
GIDEON was afraid…
SAMSON had long hair, and had a weakness for Delilah!
RAHAB was a prostitute..!
JEREMIAH and TIMOTHY were too young…
DAVID murdered his lover’s husband…
ELIJAH was suicidal…
ISAIAH preached naked…
JONAH ran from God…
NAOMI was a widow…
JOB went bankrupt…
JOHN the Baptist ate bugs…
PETER denied Christ…
The Disciples fell asleep while praying…
MARTHA worried about eveything…
MARY MAGDALENA was demon possessed…
The SAMARITAN WOMAN was divorced…more than once!
ZACCHEUS was too small…
PAUL was a persecutor of Christians…
TIMOTHY had an ulcer…AND
LAZARUS WAS DEAD!!!!

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Witnessing Around Japan with Brother Otfried
Prepared by Sugawara Satoru
Aug 4th – 10th, 2004

This was the 5th time for Bro. Otfried to visit Japan. I’d like to report about the 5 TLIG meetings, on five consecutive days, which took place respectively in five different cities in Japan.

August 4th. Bro. Otfried flew to Fukuoka from Taipei in the morning. A few TLIG helpers picked him up at the Fukuoka Airport. In the afternoon, they flew from Fukuoka to Kagoshima. It was the first time for TLIG Japan to organize a witnessing meeting in Mizobe-cho, in the Kagoshima Prefecture. Though August was the peak of summer in Japan, the place was comfortable because the venue Maria-Sansou is located on a scenic highland. Despite his long journey and his fatigue, after supper Bro. Otfried kindly accepted to give a presentation of one hour and a half on the TLIG messages to the 13 sisters belonging to a contemplative order there.


Kagoshima, 5th August

?

5th August. Next day, over 70 people came to the retreat house of Maria-Sansou (Mizobe Church) where the one-day TLIG meeting took place. All of them are new TLIG readers. The organizer of that one-day meeting was Mrs. Sakota, a lady who had attended a TLIG retreat last June. At the end of that retreat, Mrs. Sakota said that she felt called to do something for TLIG. Two months later, her call was confirmed. But the Lord did not only call her, He also called her brother. It is her brother, Mr. Susumu Suga, who did the translation for Bro. Otfried on that day. Mr. Suga is a retired school principal from Miyazaki, a Protestant layman who had been to a seminary. He came to know TLIG only through his initiative to help out at this meeting by doing the Japanese translation. Everyone was impressed by his spiritual freshness, his humorous way of talking but with piousness and in interaction with Bro. Otfried. He listened carefully to the messages of Our Blessed Mother and prayed ever so willingly the Rosary with us. At the end of the one-day meeting we sang Protestant songs for praise and worship to show our adoration and gratefulness to God.


Group Picture in Kitakyushu, 6th August

?

6th August. We traveled northwards to Kurosaki, Kitakyushu. This meeting was held in the main chapel of Wakamatsu Church, and because it was a Friday and the prayer meeting started in the afternoon, understandably, only some 50 people attended. The Japanese parish priest, Fr. Uno and Fr. Gabriel, a French Passionist priest from Fukuoka, joined us and they both heard the confession. We saw a powerful conversion here: a lady, who hadn’t been to church for about 20 years, felt a spiritual renewal in this meeting that she attended by chance. After the meeting, she witnessed that she felt touched by God’s presence in this meeting and she shed tears of repentance and thankfulness, and she was given a sudden gift of conversion.


Nagoya, 7th August

?

7th August. We had a small meeting in a Buddhist temple in Nagoya, at Tokurin-ji. Ms. Takaoka, one of the co-organizers, married to a Buddhist priest, who owns the temple. Ms. Takaoka being an Orthodox, this meeting symbolically expressed “Unity” among Buddhism, Orthodoxy and Catholicism. 30 people attended, almost all for the first time, among them 5 Sisters. Our Lord showed mercy to the Nagoya prayer group for the constant prayers the members had been saying patiantly so far. Fr. Julian, a Dominican priest, who works there as a chaplain for the prisoners, heard confession and celebrated Mass for us. He showed a great interest in TLIG.


Misono, 8th August

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8th August. The meeting on that day was held at Misono Jogakuin, a Catholic school located in Fujisawa-shi, in the Kanagawa Prefecture. 80 people, including school staff, Sisters and graduate students, came. Before holding the prayer meeting at the big school hall, Bro. Otfried had sent a letter to Sr. Goto, the Mother General of the Evangelical Sisters of the Sacred Heart, to explain to her the importance of the messages for Japan. As a result of that, she and her sisters fully backed up this meeting. At the end of meeting, a few people witnessed to have seen red light coming out from the big crucifix in the school hall while Bro. Otfried was explaining how people should prepare themselves interiorly to be blessed by the Holy Spirit.


Kamakura, 10th August

?

9th – 10th August. We had our last TLIG meeting at the Yuki-no-shita Church. It is so far the biggest of all for TLIG Japan. About 150 people (including a few lay people from the Anglican Church) attended, many of them were new readers. The parish priest, Fr. Girard, not only did he allow us to use the main chapel for adoration, but he also allowed us to use the big conference room for our meeting, so that we could promote God’s Messages of Love and Peace to as many people as possible. We seldom came across situations like this in past years, and we realized how much God was blessing us in Japan this time. We thank the lay people who belong to the parish church that worked with us as helpers. During the adoration, Archbishop Pitau, who was formally a counselor of the Jesuit Order and the president of Sophia University in Tokyo and of the University Gregoriana in Rome, came to hear confession. We saw many people queue up before the confessional, waiting patiently.

So far, TLIG Japan has gone through many difficulties; now we feel that it is time to get over those obstacles and we are entering into a new era. Bro. Otfried will not come to Japan for a while. We would like to express our gratitude for his help in Japan, for showing us the spiritual riches of the Messages, with an incredible number of hidden biblical references in them, and above all, how practical and relevant the Messages are in daily life: conversion, unceasing prayer, intimacy with God, total abandonment of will to Him and to evangelize with love for Love. The fact that TLIG Japan is growing so fast within such a short time is already a proof that God is transforming many Japanese people’s hearts through His wonderful Hymn of Love and Peace.

23rd August, 2004
Satoru Sugawara (for TLIG Japan)

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Volunteer Help Needed: Join the Battle of our Times!

There are about 600 million people using the internet. It is a powerful evangelization tool and for well over a year now a new web site has been under construction . Did you know we are in a battle ? The battle of our times.? Did you realize you can make a difference ? and actually there is still time to join in?

Jesus said on June 22nd 1998

I have given you the virtue of fortitude to be the principle of all your other virtues in you; since I was preparing your soul for this battle of your times…

Most of the real spread of the Messages has yet to take place. In other words even though Vassula and other volunteers have worked with fortitude for over a decade…(Vassula almost 2 decades). with many victories and persecutions… the majority of the spread of TLIG, this humble editor believes, is yet to come. Millions and millions have never heard …and the dates of Easter have not ye