USA98 report, 2nd leg — part 2
15 February 1999 10:14
This is the concluding part of the report of the second leg of Vassula’s 1998 US tour
St. Louis, Missouri — November 18th and 19th, 1998
>From the Sacred Heart of Jesus to the Heart of America
God’s small flower carrying His message of Peace and Love entered the USA through the city of Brotherly Love, Philadelphia Pennsylvania. After a two hour lay-over, we connected with a flight for St. Louis which was delayed an extra hour because someone threw a plastic cup down the toilet of the aircraft.
We finally arrived at the Home of Brian Selsor close to 11pm very tired. Tuesday the 17th I had the day free after spending the night in a local supposedly haunted guesthouse, near Brian Selsors.
Vassula spent the day with her son, who is a college student. This allowed me a little extra time to see the Mississippi and the town of Kimmswick where Brian is Mayor. Even though I lived in the USA for 35years and traveled coast to coast several times I never saw the Mississippi. A perfect autumn day in the Heartland of America. Very different from the Middle East! The Mississippi had small waves and a strong wind was blowing across it. The water was very turbid, brown in color. A solitary riverboat made it’s way slowly up stream. In the town of Kimmswick the old time craft shops had their Christmas goods for sale. I noticed after several hours of browsing I could not find an adult image of Jesus nor anything with a crucifix. There were a few nativity sets made in China but the rest of the goods seemed to be non-religious items evoking sentimentality rather than devotion.
Sentimentality rather than devotion — I only perceived this after I asked Jesus to inspire me to buy Vassula a small gift. I said to Him; «Jesus you are not here walking around with money in your pocket, I am, please lead me to buy Vassula something you would want her to have.» It was only then that I began to notice what I just mentioned.
The American tour seemed different in character from Canada. America seems more sleepy. The organizers and local prayer groups are in a position similar to the one Vassula was in when the messages first began to be spread about. Like the murky Mississippi had America traded cultivating inner beauty, the inner life of goodness, prayer and worship of God for an outer life of comfort, ease and leisure? Had they traded the «True Life in God» for a worthless imitation — the so called «good Life»?
Why are there not millions and millions of copies of The True Life in God Messages in the hands of the American People? Why in this empire of wealth and media and communications are the meetings only having 300-400 people? While up in the Canadian small town, no one ever heard of, there are a 1000 people? The local organizers worked real hard to make the meetings and their effort and desire to please God is certainly beyond any reproach, and their effort is much greater than mine. But why has the message not spread further in my native country? These are the thoughts that preoccupied me on my free day.
Thursday, Nov 19th 1998
Vassula’s talk that evening. was at the Viking Hotel. Patti Potoglou of the Vineyard prayer group bulletin also now joined our travels with her great enthusiasm to serve the Lord and his message. Trinitas brought down the books of the Messages to sell. Vassula mentioned to me that if she accepted even the profits from one country on the books she could already be a millionaire. That they are in 37 languages — means very wealthy. But as everyone who knows her can attest, she accepts no money for the books nor for speaking, only travel expenses for her labor of love in obedience to God.
Even though the room could hold 450 people, about 300 people came to the meeting. This might have been due to freezing rain. Since the group was so small Vassula prayed over each person with a relic of the true cross held in a crucifix. More than half of the people rested in the spirit. Afterwards we heard several complete sets of the messages were sold together, indicating new people were at the talk. A good portion of the message was on The Holy Mother, Mary. Vassula commented to me later, she felt there were a lot of Protestants in the audience who needed to hear about her and all the abundant intercession she unceasingly provides. After the talk we escaped away from the crowds to get something to eat. We found a private room for Vassula off the main hotel restaurant. Soon enough people found us! One person had been obsessed with seeing the number 1111 everywhere he looked for years and years and he was intent on asking Vassula if she thought » God is trying to tell me something». Vassula said to him; «when God Talks he talks clearly , God is a God of Clarity». Her answer was full of compassion for this person who had been intrigued by these experiences for so long.
Houston, Texas — Friday November 20th
The «Lily of His Heart» goes deep into the Heart of Texas
The previous day we had visited Vassula’s son in college with Sister Dorothy and Brian and Brian’s mom. Sister Dorothy had terminal cancer and had a complete remission while at Medjugorje. The saintly kindness in sister’s face and voice go beyond words. Her love of Vassula and the True Life in God Message is unbounded. I was beginning to see a pattern. How come all these Saintly nuns and priests are associated with the message? Are all nuns and priests so saintly? I mean really inspiring people who radiate His light? On meeting these people one feels an immediate bond of love and gratitude that such souls even exist, as examples and teachers and Shepherds for all of us.
After breakfast with friends of True Life in God who had driven 10 hours to hear Vassula, we checked out of the hotel to go straight to the airport. We landed in Houston about 3pm and were met at the airport by the local organizers Ruta and Ian Hodgson. We were driven about 40 minutes to the Hotel where we could change and grab an hour rest. At 6 p.m. we went over to the beautiful meeting place which was a Presbyterian Church. After a wonderful musical introduction Vassula gave her presentation followed by a group healing prayer. The «lily of His Heart» is able to impart such inspiring words because of the closeness of the Holy spirit to her and the Holy Spirit is close to her in order that she may impart His Blessedness. About 350 people attended the talk and many of the people were entirely new to the Messages.
Several people in each city had the same questions. Vassula displays great patience in answering even simple questions. I would get weary real fast going over again and again and again the same things but she views this aspect of the mission like being a schoolteacher. Some teachers have to repeat the day’s lesson several times and bring renewed enthusiasm each time. Many want to know about other seers or visionaries and if their messages are true. On some Vassula comments. One in particular she mentioned, there was found word for word a portion from True Life in God. Another she mentioned was advocating people store food and move to a specific locale. Never in the True Life in God message was food storage and physically moving to avoid destruction mentioned. Consistently over the past 13 years the messages have alway advocated intimacy with God the Father and through knowing him we can begin to really love him. Always they stress effacing ourselves so there is less of us and more of Him. Always they stress going deeper in our conversion, deeper in our faith, deeper in our prayer from the heart. Never do they emphasize salvation will come through material means. Always we are directed to devotion to the Holy Trinity and the intercessory prayers of the Holy Mother and Saints. This model of spirituality is consistent with the teachings of the New Testament: «seek ye first the Kingdom of Heaven and all things shall be added unto thee». We heard after the meeting that there were many new people and many young people who afterwards stayed around a long time-they were so inspired by the talk they simply did not want to go home!
Denver, Colorado Nov 21st, 1998
In the Rocky Mountains His Sacred Heart seeks to replace our «Rocky» Hearts
After breakfast at the local organizers we were off for the airport and Denver. Vassula is allergic to «everything»: cats, dogs, dust, and mold, even humidity! ? basically ? this world! Here a little past the halfway point I was concerned that she was alright as she looked really exhausted. Later she confided her stomach was upset as well. Denver airport is the largest in the world; 58 square miles and a subway is taken to get to the luggage carousel. After completing this we got to our hotel and had a couple of hours for a snack and preparation for the meeting at 7pm. Over 400 people were in attendance including Orthodox and Catholic Priests. Our host had arranged music and in his zeal for this talented couple who sang and prayed, we stood for 45 minutes. I couldn’t wait to sit down, I felt like I was dying! — but poor Vassula went straight up on stage and stood for another two hours!
Vassula prayed one decade of the rosary in Aramaic as she had done at the earlier meetings, and spent a little time going over her background for new people. How she started from a complete zero, the early oppositions where she was regarded as «schizophrenic» (this actually made her more determined, in order to prove she wasn’t crazy!) How Fr. «X» thought she was from Satan and how God told Vassula in a solemn, grave and sad voice; «I will bend him». The essence of the message of True Life in God, Vassula told us, was: «Reconciliation and Unity». Unity among family, friends and Churches. Division comes from Satan. Diabilo means to divide. On the contrary Jesus Christ wants to «consolidate my Church». God now pours out his Holy Spirit because we are filled up with dead words. His message is like raindrops in the desert.
In the beginning when Vassula was put through purification by her angel and she came to see the «real Vassula» she said she felt, «I do not deserve to walk among people I should be cut into small pieces and thrown to the Hyenas». We were instructed to ask God to help us see our sins and if we are reprimanded it is because we deserve it and it is his way to draw us up higher and closer to Him. The classic story Vassula related at several meetings that always brought sighs from the crowd was when God the Father taught Vassula how to feel his presence as if she had known him all of her life. This tender intimacy with the Father made him seem so familiar that she let slip out of her mouth the word «Dad». She recoiled with fear she had been disrespectful, but the Father proceeded to say to her; «Daughter do not fear I have taken this word in my hand like a jewel». After the talk Vassula gave a group healing prayer then proceeded straight to her room. The faithful servant of God needed rest to be ready for the trip to San Francisco the next morning.
San Francisco, Sunday November 22nd
A Circle of Peace and Love is Completed
After a Mass given in Patti Potoglou’s hotel room we had just enough time to get to the airport for the flight to San Francisco. The plane ride was so turbulent that we were joking at least 5-10 people were having conversion experiences in the rear of the cabin! Vassula has a wonderful sense of humor that lifted everybody’s spirits all through the journey.
We arrived in a cloudy, foggy and rainy, San Francisco, at our Hotel around 5pm. This gave us a little over an hour to make preparations for the meeting and to coordinate with the local organizers Steve, Stella and Tom. The Herbst theatre is right across from City Hall and is a historic building. Over the main — inside entry foyer is a giant oil painting depicting the signing of the UN Charter 50 years earlier almost to the day. About 450 people filled up the theatre as beautiful baroque hymns played quietly over the sound system.
As at all the other meetings Bob Carroll introduced Vassula and brought to people’s attention two books by Fr. O’Carroll that reach the conclusion: reading and even promoting the messages is not contrary to the directives from the Vatican. He also, as in every other meeting, mentioned two tapes produced by Henri Lemay in Canada. These Videos are unique teachings by Vassula on the» Ten Commandments» and «New Heaven, New Earth.»
A local priest, Father Tom Burke gave a very humorous introduction to Vassula. He said that in decades of Homilies only one time did someone write him a letter about how moving it had been. That homily, he admitted, had been taken from the True Life in God Messages! God had told Vassula back in Bangladesh he would send his message around the world. Here on this trip alone we had traveled already over 10,000 kilometers.
Vassula gave some strong messages in San Francisco. Many people complain and don’t accept the cross that Jesus gives to them. Rather than complaining our attitude can be, that to share his cross is a favor. He asks us to; «Come and embrace my cross, by embracing my cross you are embracing me». God wants us to be generous and Vassula related a story where her niece asked her for something religious for her new apartment. Vassula said;» sure take anything you want.» As fate would have it, she picked out a statue of an angel given to her by a Lutheran Minister that was particularly precious to her. But she graciously gave it to her niece anyway. Sure enough the next day a friend brought a present to her home ? the same statue only bigger! God wants us to really trust him. One thing he particularly doesn’t like is tepidity. God wants us to enter into our conversion with complete sincerity.
After the talk Vassula prayed individually over each person with the relic of the cross. Many rested in the spirit. Several people were crying. One report came of a person seeing Jesus’s full face instead of Vassula’s and I myself saw clearly Vassula’s face streaming dark almost rust colored blood over more than half of her face. Thus ended these travels with the Lord’s Priest who with her Shepherd’s heart gave her best to bring His Love Hymn to the people of North America. Praised be the Lord! All glory be to God!
Jonathan Nektarios
