The secretary of the TLIG Foundation has sent this letter to the worlwide contacts for True Life in God.
Some of you have asked me to share with you Vassula’s last moments before our Lord called her into His arms and received her with the reward a prophet receives when leaving this earth for eternity.
As most of you may know, Vassula lived her last years with her husband Per in Rhodes, Greece. They lived in a beautiful house, beautifully decorated, reflecting their personal taste, but also the memories of their many years abroad as Per worked for underdeveloped countries in exotic places like Africa and Asia. In addition, the house was decorated with beautiful paintings done by Vassula, but also with beautiful icons, religious statues and objects; gifts given to Vassula during her many years of mission. Per fell asleep in the Lord 3 years prior, in July 2021. Vassula had been taking care of the many household duties that Per was doing.
Vassula’s house was a place where she received prophetic messages, a place where many Divine Liturgies were celebrated, a place where retreats were held, but also the house where the Rhodes Group («her group» as she used to call it) had their weekly True Life in God prayer meetings reciting the Rosary.
Before her hospitalization, only a few weeks prior, did Vassula learn about her illness. During the summer she had mentioned many times that she was very tired. This was the only symptom she had before her diagnosis. Despite her fragile health and her many appointments with doctors, two weeks before her hospitalization, she worked diligently with Beatrice to select the items (statues, holy objects and gifts from her mission) that she would like to send to the TLIG Center in Sweden. She also spent hours going through her many photos from her missions and choosing the ones she wanted to send to the Center.
While Vassula was in the hospital and before the major surgery that led to the loss of her life, Vassula was in pain, as they tried to put a stent in her bile ducts, without success. She had to wait patiently to regain her strength before undergoing the Whipple procedure. During this time, she was given antibiotics, and blood. Vassula offered her pain for the conversion of souls and for the unity of the Church. When she regained her strength, before the operation, she was in good spirits and happy to be surrounded by her beloved family and her dear friends from Rhodes and Athens.
She used to pray the rosary with her friends/caregivers, enjoying their company, but also giving them her last instructions and advice. I share with you the passage that Vassula opened from the Holy Bible after the recitation of the Rosary. She read the passage and then told the Rhodians that she would like to share this passage with the True Life in God community.
Here is the Bible verse that Vassula wanted to share with us. It is «St. Paul’s letter to the Philippians 2:1-4».
«2:1 If our life in Christ means anything to you, if love can persuade at all, or the Spirit that we have in common, or any tenderness and sympathy,
2:2 then be united in your convictions and united in your love, with a common purpose and a common mind. That is the one thing which would make me completely happy.
2:3 There must be no competition among you, no conceit; but everybody is to be self-effacing. Always consider the other person to be better than yourself,
2:4 So that nobody thinks of his own interests first but everybody thinks of other people’s interests instead.»
Nothing more can be said because it is so clear what our Lord wants from us and how He wants us to work.
I would also like to share with you one last wish that Vassula shared. She wants all the National Associations to continue to evangelize. She said that there are so many witnesses and some of them she herself appointed. She wants us to continue to evangelize. I urge you to contact Erwin who is our coordinator for evangelization. He will guide you, but also let you know which witnesses are in neighboring countries in case you do not have a witness in your country.
There are also so many other ways to spread the messages, such as inviting people to your home for coffee to share videos of Vassula speaking. Please contact Erwin for more details at: [email protected]
Last but not least, I have been asked to share a beautiful farewell video that Magda Skalova and her team created for Vassula’s farewell. Please share it with your prayer groups and social media if you have not already done so.
Vassula Rydén entered her eternal reward on the 25th of September 2024 at 2:30am. Her funeral took place at the cemetery of Taxiarchis (Saint Michael) on Rhodes island in Greece on Tuesday, the 1st of October, at 11:00 am. It was attended by family, friends and supporters of True Life in God from all over the world, including many clergy from different denominations.
May her memory be forever eternal! She fought the good fight and her race is over. Now she will receive her just reward of eternal rest with all the saints. She will forever be missed, loved, and remembered.
