November 3-8, 2022

Through the miraculous grace of our Lord, Vassula was asked to once again bring together the friends of True Life in God for a retreat. It was held on the island of Aegina: a one-hour’s ferryboat ride from Piraeus. The island houses 8,000 residents, is 9 kilometers long and was a revolutionary hub in the Greek independence war of 1821. It now embodies 300 churches, both Greek Orthodox and Catholic. Vassula visited the island in preparation for the retreat and received a confirmation: The eyes on a silver icon of St. Nektarios opened when she looked at it. Hence, our TLIG Greece team diligently prepared for the event. It took place at the Hotel Danae from November 3rd to November 8th. One hundred and nine people (pilgrims) attended, from twenty-one countries, including six clergy: three Catholic priests, one Orthodox priest, and two Protestant pastors. The twenty-one countries are as follows:

1) Greece 2) Cyprus 3) England 4) USA  5) Latvia 6) Netherlands 7) Ireland 8) Scotland 9) Kenya 10) Germany 11) Malta
12) Lebanon 13) Italy 14) Czech Republic 15) Israel 16) Switzerland 17) Denmark 18) Canada 19) North Macedonia 20) Dubai
21) Brazil

Aegina

Aegina Landscape

Little do we know how much Christ has His eye on us, knowing what our souls need to live in His Heart. We could only give a sincere, emotional “Thank You” to God for the opportunity to participate in this gathering to worship, pray, and more fully understand what it means to glorify God. We began the weekend activities with a few bus trips. After our first stop at the ancient Temple of Aphaia, we headed to the Agia Marina Beach. On this sunny, warm, refreshing stop, we enjoyed the company and fellowship of our brothers and sisters in Christ. With a fresh-squeezed glass of orange juice or a cup of coffee, we relaxed, chatted with old friends, and met new ones. Jesus had said in a Message, “include Me in your activities, in your discussions and in your thoughts; respect My Presence”, (TLIG Message, October 24, 1988). Unfortunately, some friends had family members who had recently suffered and died. We heard stories about how the Holy Spirit manifested Himself through their thoughts, words, and actions before their passing. After our café gathering, we headed to the Church of “Faneromeni”, our next and final stop on this day. There we heard the story of the miraculous icon of our Panagia in Aegina. The icon, depicting the Virgin Mary in prayer, was found underground and dates back to the 17th century. It is unique in its appearance, as our Holy Mother’s hands are seen in silver and upright, in front of her chest; together, they look like the shape of two doves. It appears as if she is holding the Holy Spirit, represented by the two doves that call one’s attention to the union of the two Hearts of Jesus and of Our Mother Mary.

The True Life in God Retreat Banner with The Virgin Mary Faneromenoi, St. Nektarios, St. Aikaterini and St. Athanasia of Aegina

Back at the Hotel, Vassula welcomed us to the weekend’s theme: “Glorifying God”. She stated: “To glorify Him, God invites everyone to be one with Him. This deified union will allow His Kingdom on earth to be identical to the Kingdom in Heaven. Our thoughts, our speech, the manner we see things and our acts will be divine, and they will be glorifying Him. The key to this glorification of God comes through Love. We are asked to Love. The soul lives in God’s Love, in humility and meekness of the Holy Spirit. The more our Love is ardent for God, the more our prayers are ardent, the more our lives are holy. The more profound our Love is for God, the more profoundly our soul penetrates God; hence, we need to revolve our lives only around God, around Divine Love. This truly glorifies Him.”

Vassula’s Welcome Talk

Father Petr, who spoke after Vassula, explained that God is indeed more human than we are because of the Love and emotional attachment he has for us. When we sin, we don’t obey His laws. We ignore Him. Hence, we forget His fatherhood. His Love, however, saves us from sin’s captivity. He speaks to us in the True Life in God Messages, so by hearing Him, reading the messages, and recognizing Him, we are glorifying Him.

Father V then told us in his talk that glory is the phenomenon God brings to our senses: the awakening of our sensibilities; so, we are ‘touched’ by something we see. Through our senses, by making visible through an event that is otherwise invisible, God manifests His presence. When we see with the eyes of faith or interiorly feel a manifestation of God’s presence, this, in turn, elicits from us, a joyful proclamation in which we acknowledge God as true and worthy of glory. This rendering to God the glory that He deserves obtains for mankind abundant graces and fosters unity among believers. And when believers unite they accomplish the unification of Christian churches.

On November 5th, the next day, Father Tibi spoke about our relationship with God. He stated ten guidelines that will enable us to glorify God: Faith, Love, Humility, Obedience, Total Abandonment, Prayer-Contemplative Adoration, Evangelization, Unity, Honoring our Holy Mother and Patience. With hearts full of compassion, the Holy Spirit may enliven us all.

Our daily schedules included praying the Holy Rosary, celebrating Mass, and Adoration. Along with our sacramental observance, we sang the Our Father in Aramaic and a special Hymn to the Virgin Mary, Αγνη Παρθενε Δεσποινα, with words written by St. Nektarios. Our hearts praised God throughout each day. We learned that after celebrating Mass (the Eucharist) our observance of Christ’s presence must be held sacred through prayerful Adoration.

Each morning, before the start of the day’s events, and during our breaks, we had time to enjoy the beautiful scenery. Aegina is majestically beautiful, surrounded by a clear, calm sea. Simply watching the sunrise and glistening water, the birds flying, smelling the flowers and trees, and admiring the rocky cliffs leading into the clear water inspired us to thank God for his creation. God’s Love exists in all that lives and breathes. We glorify Him by recognizing and thanking Him; in our own way, giving back to Him this Love that He has given to us. Our excursions took us to St. Nektarios’ Monastery, which included a visit to his tomb, his home and church, and then to St. Catherine’s Monastery. St. Nektarios, born Anastasios Cephalas, became a monk at the age of 30. He became a deacon three years later, taking the name Nektarios. Those who knew him claimed that the name Nektarios fit him because every word he spoke was as sweet as nectar. He wrote many books, pamphlets, and Bible commentaries as a student at the University of Athens. He became the Bishop of Pentapolis, then the Bishop of Cairo. He was unjustly removed from this post as a result of vile slander. Hence, his return to Greece, where he obtained a directorship at an ecclesiastical school for priests. During his directorship, he wrote numerous books. His life ended while living in Aegina as a monk, and while helping to construct the monastery in which he and the nuns were housed. St. Nektarios’ intercessions have cured illnesses, and cancer and even healed a paralyzed man who happened to be sharing a hospital room with him before he died. In today’s world, filled with sickness and tragedy, we rely on St. Nektarios’ intercessions.

We ended the day by watching a very powerful, spiritually uplifting movie about St. Nektarios, entitled “Man of God”. Amazingly, the movie vivified the stories we had heard about the saint. His humility shone in the face of those who belittled him, insulted him, and downright expelled him from his episcopal duties within the church. The church establishment shunned him, but his love, humility, and steadfastness enabled him to fulfill his life’s mission. We clearly saw through the representation of this saint what it means to bear insult and persecution. It’s a road of suffering, yet als