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| A Lenten MessageWhere Are The Offerings You Owe Me? February 14, 1991peace be with you; flower love Me; sanctity does not come in one day… | |
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abandon yourself entirely to Me, adore Me and love Me and I shall do the rest; do not sleep; soul, your sins are numerous, and so are the wounds you give Me; each time you sin it comes on Me, as a stroke, or a scourge, or a hole in My Body by a nail…why Vassula? why? I, who revealed to you My Holy Face, have I revealed to you My Face to be struck? and have I shown you the Wound of My Heart so you would pierce It more? on earth there is no one to be found more wretched than you are! O what a wretch! do not go now, sit and hear what I have to say 
had it not been for My Infinite Mercy, the Father’s Justice would have struck you and you would have withered instantly; have I taught you to sin? where are the offerings you owe Me? where are the sacrifices you promised Me, soul? why have you been neglecting Me? lent is here; lent will bring My Passion back to you, yet you are neither ready nor prepared; I filled you with Celestial food to grow in My Light and become a vessel of light, I made you Mine, and with everlasting Love I have risen you from the pit to become My bride in My Presence and the presence of My angels for ever, yet your eyelids heavy with sleep took the best out of you O My Vassula! If only you knew how I the Lord love you! I am thirsty for love;
I know dear child that the times you are living in are evil but have I not made you discern good from evil? and now My Territory’s soil is growing coarse again; tell Me, was it by your efforts you saw the Light? No, I toiled in you; to maintain you in My Light I poured on you grace after grace; I treated you not as your sins deserved, I treated you as I never ever treated a soul before; I gave Love for apathy; Tenderness for unholiness; Mercy for wretchedness; yes, I showed My Holy Face to sin; I treated you as I treat the jewels of My Heart; I prayed for you to the Father, Vassula, so that He remembers My Sacrifice and thus spares you (To continue reading this message click here.)
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The New TLIG Website: Understanding Web Page Navigation
How often do you find yourself on a website saying, “where am I and how did I get here?” We click here, then there, then there…and before we know it, we find ourselves lost in the labyrinth of interconnected web pages and pondering what we were looking for in the first place. It can become frustrating to say the least.
In this months Editor’s Corner article, I would like to introduce you to a new feature on the TLIG.org website. The Breadcrumb was designed with the hope of alleviating that potential “feeling lost” frustration while browsing the site.
On EVERY page you visit, you will see in the upper left hand corner of the screen, just below the page banner, the breadcrumb (see figure below inside red circle ). This will tell you exactly where you are in the website. Take the example below. You have just navigated to last year’s Pilgrimage Report. If you look at the breadcrumb, you will notice that it starts from the homepage (“ENGLISH HOME”) then to the Spirituality section, then the Pilgrimages & Retreats subsection, then to the Lebanon Syria and Jordan Pilgrimage pages, then finally to the Official Pilgrimage Report article in which you are reading. Each part of the breadcrumb is also clickable, so you can easy get back to a previous part of the trail from which you came.
May the Lord Bless you and lead you on the One True Trail leading to Him.
In Christ,
Mark
Volunteer on the Web Team
To write the web team, send email to
A Testimony: “Throughout My Whole Cancer Experience, I Always had Faith in Jesus”
On September 5th, 1987 I turned 20 years old. I was starting my 3rd year of university and hoped to apply to medical school after my degree. Less than a month later, I would be led on a very frightening, yet incredible journey that would change my life forever.
In 1987, I entered my 3rd year. I was “geared-up” to work hard and finally get to take more of the courses I liked, rather than the compulsory ones. In October of that year, I noticed that a lump in my neck that I had noticed a few months prior was getting bigger. I got it checked and the doctor told me that it was stage 2 Hodgkin’s Lymphoma (CANCER!). My reaction was pretty strange in retrospect. I told the doctor to do what it takes to get rid of it because I don’t have time for this and need to get on with my life. Later, I came to find out that it wasn’t all that simple. I went through 12 rounds of chemotherapy that lasted 6 months. After that, I underwent 8 weeks of radiation therapy. The doctors were so impressed with how I was responding to treatments that they all but told me that my disease would not recur.
In September of 1988, I wanted a fresh start. I headed to a new university, in another province to continue my studies. But by that October, my cancer had recurred and both the doctors and I were completely shocked. My oncologist told me about this new procedure called an “autologous bone marrow transplant.” Initially, I did not know what it meant, but I knew that it did not sound very pleasant. However, the doctor also told me that my cancer was very aggressive and that this was my only chance. So I agreed to go ahead with it.
I received my transplant in November of 1989. During my two-month convalescence, 2 things happened: First, I spiked a life-threatening fever of 42 degrees Celsius. At one point I lost consciousness… During that scary time, I did not see Jesus, nor did I have any type of vision. However, when I awoke, many things in my life were very clear to me – more so than ever before. To this day, I am unsure of what happened. Having said that, I know that I was not the same man after that. The second thing that happened was much more joyous. I have always believed in Christmas miracles. From the book: “A Christmas Carol” that I read when I was in grade 9, to the miracle of the Virgin birth of our Lord, I have always known in my heart that Christmas miracles were special. That December 22nd, my blood counts were simply not high enough to let me out of isolation. In fact, the “magic number” for me to go home was 1000 and I was only at 400. My family was getting ready to spend Christmas at the hospital. The following morning, December 23rd at 6:00 AM, they drew my blood as usual and at 8:00 AM, I was told that my blood count was 1400. We were simply overwhelmed with joy. I wasn’t able to attend Midnight Mass that year, but at least I was home to celebrate Christmas with my family. Isn’t it ironic that on the occasion of His birth, Jesus had given me this gift? My cancer has recurred 3 times since my transplant: once in August of 1990, once in May 1991 and again in August of 2004. In fact, in 1990, I was given a year to live. As of today however, all tests are clear.
Throughout my whole cancer experience, I always had faith in Jesus. In fact, shortly before my transplant, I spent some time alone praying to God and promising to become His disciple for the rest of my days if He would only get me past this. When people ask me today to what I attribute my recovery, I smile and give thanks to the wonderful doctors and nurses, however, I attribute every bit of my recovery to Jesus Christ. Praise be to Him for giving me life! Praise be to Him for allowing me to live with cancer and learn what I have learned! He certainly did not give me cancer, but He most definitely was at my side the whole time.
From my recurrence in 1991 to my recurrence in 2004, my life took many different turns… Lately I have been experiencing a hunger for Jesus, unlike anything I have ever experienced before. I know that, even today He is still looking after His disciple, as wretched as I am.
This “hunger” that I spoke of stems from a meeting I had with an acquaintance in 1991. I was recovering from my latest recurrence and he asked me if I had ever heard of Vassula Ryden. When I told him that I hadn’t, he told me a little about her and gave me a videotape of a talk she gave in Switzerland. I was a bit skeptical at first, but after watching the video, I knew that her words touched me spiritually. It wasn’t until mid 2004 that I subscribed to the TLIG daily messages. These daily messages have become for me a source of spiritual nourishment. To not read one of the daily messages for me would be like missing breakfast or supper. Since I started reading the TLIG daily messages, my wife and I have been attending church regularly and, speaking for myself, I pray a lot more. Sometimes I find myself praying without realizing it. I truly desire to become holy, as Jesus asks us to do.
When I was a young boy, I asked someone: “If there is only one God, why do we need all of these different churches?” This person tried to answer the best he could, but this experience awoke in me, even at a young age, a strong belief and desire for unity within God’s Church. Now, in my daily prayers, I pray for unity. I also pray that I am able to repent, love and stay humble, in order to serve God. According to the messages, only these things will bring about unity in His Church.
I share my story with you, not to bring attention to myself, but to testify of my experience of God’s great love and mercy. I am so very thankful to Him for everything I have in my life. I know that I have a very long way to go in my spiritual journey, but as He says so many times in His messages, “I, God, love you.” Thanks to TLIG, I am reminded of this every day.
In finishing, I wish to share that never in my life have two very small words meant so very much to me. When I see or hear them, I am filled with great joy and comfort, knowing that they come from Jesus Himself…“We-Us.”
May the peace and love of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.
Deny Dallaire
Moncton, New Brunswick
Canada
