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| Vassula Rydén | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | Vassiliki Claudia Pendakis (1942-01-18) January 18, 1942 (age 82) Cairo, Egypt |
| Occupation | Author |
| Children | 2 |
Vassula Rydén was born in Egypt on January 18, 1942 into a Greek Orthodox family. She has composed messages she claims to have received from the Christian God in a series of books called True Life In God. There are currently over 107 Notebooks compiled in 12 Volumes of the True Life in God series, which have been translated by volunteers into over 40 different languages. Since 1988, Vassula has been invited to speak in more than 70 countries and has given over 900 presentations.
Biography
Rydén, the daughter of Greek parents established in Egypt, was born on January 18, 1942, in Heliopolis on the outskirts of Cairo. She started school in Egypt, and then at the age of 15, she emigrated to Europe.
In November 1966, she married a Lutheran man in the city of Lausanne, Switzerland, at a Greek Orthodox Church. She later got divorced in Sweden in November 1980. In June 1981, she married her current husband, Per Rydén, a Swedish Lutheran, at the registry office. On October 31, 1990, she regularized her union in the Greek Orthodox Church and celebrated her religious marriage in Lausanne. Rydén has two adult sons.
Supernatural phenomena
Rydén is best known for her writings entitled "True Life in God", which is a compilation of nearly 2000 messages she claims to have received from God since the year 1985 when she was living in Bangladesh. While she was writing a grocery list, she reports to have suddenly experienced a light electrical feeling in her right hand and, at the same time, an invisible presence. She says she felt led by this presence and, permitting her hand to be guided, she wrote a line in a very different style from her own with the words: "I am your guardian Angel and my name is Daniel."
She adheres to the idea that she has been called to transmit to the world the messages she receives. People who have studied her case believe that God through her message seeks to consolidate his church, especially by bringing it into unity, which is the main theme of her books. The True Life in God messages have been translated by volunteers into more than 40 languages and have widespread distribution and readership.
Earlier supernatural phenomena
In the introduction to the French edition of her book "My Angel Daniel", she tells how Satan had persecuted her since the age of six with terrifying nightmares. At the age of 10–12, she had dreams in which she saw Jesus and the Virgin Mary, including what she refers to as her "spiritual marriage with Jesus". Later, during her teenage years, she says to have seen, on several occasions, the souls of dead people surrounding her. But none of these experiences led her to a spiritual transformation since she went on with her life, indifferent to religious matters until 1985.
Her mission
Rydén has been invited to several countries to give her "testimony" and to pass on the message she has received. According to the official True Life in God website, she has been invited to more than 900 meetings in 75 countries.
In 1998 and 2001, the United Nations in New York (a section based on Peace in the World working specifically between Jews and Palestinians) invited Rydén to address them and transmit the messages she receives regarding how to obtain peace in the world.
Christian unity
One of the strongest elements in these messages is the gravity of the division between churches and the urgency of the work for unity of the Church and the importance of the ecumenical movement.
Therefore, in addition to delivering the message, she also believes she has been called by God to promote Christian Unity. She and many volunteers organize ecumenical pilgrimages every two years where Cardinals, Archbishops, Bishops, clergy and lay people of all faiths gather and "practice unity" without making distinctions among each other. In 2001, she was invited, along with other speakers, to an official symposium on ecumenism by the International Bridgettine Centre of Farfa to speak on Ecumenism and Spirituality. Her presentation was entitled: God's Calling to His People.
The ecumenical aspect of Rydén's mission attracts interest and attention. She has been invited to speak and to share the True Life in God message by all Christian denominations – Orthodox, Catholic, and Protestants alike. There are many references to the Pope in the messages she records where he is often referred to as Peter. In his book, John Paul II – A Dictionary of His Life and Teachings, Fr. Michael O'Carroll, in the section on Rydén notes: "This is the first time in nine hundred and forty years that an Orthodox writer has publicly championed the cause of the Roman Pontiff and his universal primacy."
She was invited by Fr. Ion Bria, of the Romanian Orthodox Church working for the Ecumenical Council of Churches in Geneva, and by Metropolitan Daniel of Moldavia and Bukovina, to assist at the Congress organized by the World Council of Churches on Christian Spirituality, held in Iasi; her proposal for discussion of the unification of the dates of Easter was accepted by the closing general assembly.
In 2009, she was invited to speak, along with three other speakers, at the Christian Unity conference "United in Christ" at Namur, Belgium. The conference took place in the Namur diocese of Bishop Andre-Mutien Leonard, who attended the conference and led the celebration of the concluding Eucharistic Liturgy. Reporting later on the gathering on December 6, 2009, he stated: "And from Vassula Rydén's message, I acquired the conviction that in order to reconcile the Christian East and West, it is crucial to decide upon a common date for Easter."
Prophecies of Rydén
Rydén has recorded many prophetic messages, some already believed by her followers to have been fulfilled and others yet to unfold "Scriptures are being fulfilled; I am giving you the Signs of the End of Times." Rydén states: "The True Life in God messages are not prophecies of doom and gloom. God gives them to us in these times of mercy to shape us up; they are a call out of the sublime Love of God. God will not allow us forever to offend His Holy Name and live godless. This is the reason why He comes, in His mercy, to give us many warnings." The prophetic warnings recorded by Vassula in the Messages of True Life in God are accompanied by explanatory messages and positive, encouraging, consoling teaching, revealing hope for a world in crisis while reminding us that Jesus' severity is as great as His Mercy. There are over 20 prophecies regarding Russia in Russia and Romania.
TLIG September 11 Attacks Prophecy (September 11, 2001)
On September 11, 1991 (10 years to the day before the '9/11' events in New York of September 11, 2001), Rydén recorded the following message: "The earth will shiver and shake – and every evil built into Towers will collapse into a heap of rubble and be buried in the dust of sin! Above, the Heavens will shake and the foundations of the earth will rock!" The message was published in 1991.
Commentary on the Prophetic Nature of the True Life in God messages from theologians and writers
Fr. René Laurentin stated in his book that: "The messages that Vassula conveys are prophetic messages." Theologian Dr. Niels Christian Hvidt commented: "Few other contemporary mystics exhibit the prophetic charism as does Mrs. Rydén, and she is certainly one of the most debated modern mystics. This does not necessarily mean that she is not authentic; rather ... it is one of the traits of prophecy: The prophets are never popular." In an article written about Vassula titled "Fascinated by mysterious Jesus blogs", the Norwegian news network "På Høyden" mentioned that: "This female mystic is different from many other "modern prophets" in that she is orthodox and that many of her revelations concern Jesus, and not the Virgin Mary."
Writer Jacques Neirynck wrote in "The Vassula Enigma" that:
The least we can say about Vassula is that she fulfils the paradoxical conditions specific to prophets: a life of prayer, giving priority to one's duty over contemplation, absence of ostentation, lack of previous theological or simply religious formation, disinterestedness, the feeling of having to communicate a message and of being a simple instrument, soundness of answers to classical pitfalls, refusal to enter into controversy in the face of attacks, vigorous calls for the unity of the churches, unshakable fidelity to the pope. And then what is difficult to express in words: approachability, kindness, serenity, the kind of regal calm of a woman certain of the love of God which nothing can take from her.
Howard Dee, former Philippine Ambassador to the Vatican in 1986–1990 stated that: "A strong correlation is to be found between the messages of Fatima and Akita and those given to Vassula."
Beth Myriam
Inspired by a claimed vision of Mary (mother of Jesus), Ryden initiated the Beth Myriam (Mary's House) project to feed the poor in 1998. Volunteers from local True Life In God Prayer Groups run the Beth Myriam charity houses which provide free meals to those in need in the local community. On March 27, 2002, Rydén recorded a specific message regarding the continued establishment of the Beth Myriams. There are currently 23 Beth Myriams worldwide.
This work began in the Holy Land and over time other Beth Myriams were established in other parts of the world. Some Beth Myriams have evolved to also provide clothing and basic education for the poor.
Inter-Religious
Vassula’s speeches on peace, reconciliation and unity started to be known and appreciated among non-Christians. On August 4, 1999, she was asked to speak in a Buddhist Temple in Hiroshima, Japan. And, in April 2000, she was invited to speak in Benin, Africa where many Christians, Muslims (including an Imam) and several Voodoo chiefs were also present.
Invitations for Vassula to speak in inter-religious meetings increased. In 2002, Vassula was invited to an inter-religious meeting in Dhaka, Bangladesh where the host was a Muslim Imam. Later that same year, she was asked by the Archbishop of Taipei Joseph Ti-Kan to give a speech to non-Christians.
In February 2003, she was invited by the Venerable Suddhananda in his monastery in Dhaka to honor her with the “Peace Gold Award” for her efforts in propagating peace in the world. She was nominated for this peace award by the Buddhist monks as a distinguished personality in recognition of her great contribution and her efforts for establishing inter-religious harmony and promoting world peace among all peoples and faiths. The function was inaugurated by Rev. Michael Rozario, Archbishop of the Catholic Church in Dhaka. Among other guests was the Secretary of the Apostolic Nuncio in Dhaka, as well as Muslim Professors from various regions of Bangladesh. Christians, Muslims, Buddhists and Hindus were present.
On the 23 February 2009, in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Vassula was presented with another Gold Medal and Certificate for her efforts of propagating “Inter-faith Harmony and Peaceful Co-existence” by the Buddhist community there.
Orthodox and Catholic response
Rydén's writings have been the object of much questioning and arguing for and against the authenticity of her experience.
In 1995, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF) issued a Notification on the True Life in God writings of Rydén. The Congregation studied the written daily conversations which she said she had with Jesus and, on October 6, 1995, issued a Notification in response to many Catholic bishops and faithful that had written for guidance regarding Rydén's spiritual writings. The Congregation stated that the "attentive examination of the entire question" had brought up "a number of basic elements that must be considered negative in the light of Catholic doctrine" as well as "several doctrinal errors". It also questioned the "suspect nature of the ways in which these alleged revelations have occurred" and considers the fact that "the aforementioned errors no longer appear in Ryden's later writings is a sign that the alleged heavenly messages are merely the result of private meditations". The Notification concludes by requesting "the intervention of the Bishops" to prevent the dissemination of Mrs Ryden's ideas in their dioceses and "invites all the faithful not to regard Mrs Vassula Ryden's writings and speeches as supernatural".
In November 1996, following a series of declarations from Ryden's supporters affirming that the Notification was not a valid document, the Congregation issued a press release, stating that the Notification "retains all its force" and "was approved by the competent authorities and will be published in the Acta Apostolicae Sedis, the official organ of the Holy See".
On March 16, 2011 the Greek Orthodox Church (the synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople) issued a disapproval of her teachings and instructed all Orthodox Christians to not associate with this movement:
"Hence, we call upon the proponents of these unacceptable innovations and the supporters who maintain them, who henceforth are not admitted to ecclesiastical communion, not only to not be involved in the pastoral work of the local Holy Metropolis, but also to not preach their novel teachings, to prevent the appropriate sanctions under the Holy Canons."
Doctrinal errors easily identifiable in Ryden's teachings include basic and fundamental understandings of God-given free-will, which a forced hand would negate, and her heavy emphasis on millenarianism, a concept deemed heretical by the Roman Catholic Church from the earliest times in Christian history.
Interview with Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger
In 1999, Theologian Dr. Niels Christian Hvidt interviewed the then president of the CDF, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger—now Pope Benedict XVI. In his interview Hvidt raised the question as to whether the 1995 Notification on Rydén's writings was a condemnation. Cardinal Ratzinger replied:
You have touched on a very problematical issue. No, the Notification is a warning, not a condemnation. From the strictly procedural point of view, no person may be condemned without a trial and without being given the opportunity to air their views first. What we say is that there are many things which are not clear. There are some debatable apocalyptic elements and ecclesiological aspects which are not clear. Her writings contain many good things but the grain and the chaff are mixed up. That is why we invited Catholic faithful to view it all with a prudent eye and to measure it by the yardstick of the constant faith of the Church.
When asked by Hvidt if the procedure to clarify the question was continuing, Ratzinger answered:
Yes, and during the clarification process the faithful must be prudent, maintaining a discerning attitude. There is no doubt that there is an evolution in the writings which does not yet seem to have concluded. We must remember that being able to set oneself up as the word and image of interior contact with God, even in the case of authentic mysticism, always depends on the possibilities of the human soul and its limitations. Unlimited trust should only be placed in the real Word of the Revelation that we encounter in the faith transmitted by the Church.
References
- ^ The Vassula Enigma, 2003, by Jacques Neirynck, ISBN 1-883225-30-2
- When God Talks Vassula Listens Phoenix New Times, December 5, 1996, by Peter Gilstrap
- ^ True Life in God Program to be Jan. 25, Geneseo Republic, USA, January 16, 2009; Claudia Loucks, Page A9 Cite error: The named reference "GeneseoRepublic" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
- Gold Medal Peace Prize Winner Vassula Ryden Will Visit USA Santa Monica, California http://www.encyclopedia.com/
- http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-190354804.html
- ^ "When God Gives a Sign", René Laurentin, 1993, pp. 33–34, ISBN 1-883225-14-0.
- True Life in God, Volume 1, Original Handwriting Edition (Notebooks 1–16), Second Edition 2004–2005, page V, ISBN 0-9631193-3-8
- ^ Christian Prophecy – the Post Biblical Tradition, 2007, pages 111,112,112,116 by Dr. Niels Christian Hvidt, ISBN 978-0-19-531447-2
- Vassula Ryden, MON ANGE DANIEL, Editions du Parvis, Hauteville (Suisse), 2001, pp. 28–30.
- The Echo, Ireland, September 1, 2005, Page 36
- ^ Galway Advertizer, Ireland, October 10, 1996, Bernadette Fallon, Page 16
- ^ http://thirdworldorphans.org/gpage10.html
- The Voice of Delhi, July 2005, Vol XV No 7, by Bishop Anil Couto, p. 17.
- ^ Vassula Comes to the Monastery, Published 2005, ISBN 0-948108-13-4
- http://www.select-sources.com/VassulaRyden.html
- http://www.farfa.info/library/pdf/program_2001.pdf
- ^ Fascinated by mysterious Jesus blogs På Høyden, Norway, January 5, 2007, By Eli Kristine Korsmo
- Mass for peace and unity held in Palace Inquirer.net, May 13, 2008, by Lira Dalangin-Fernandez
- John Paul II – A Dictionary of His Life and Teachings, 1994, by Fr. Michael O'Carroll CSSp, ISBN 0-9519973-8-6
- Vassula and Rome, Published 1996, ISBN 1-899228-03-9; Author: Michael Dore, page 22
- http://s1.e-monsite.com/2009/06/28/56851043flyer-namur-5-6-dec-en-ver-1-word-2-pdf.pdf
- http://martinmanou.e-monsite.com/rubrique,welcome,86240.html
- L'Appel Du Ciel March 10, 2010, Page 5
- True Life in God Volume 3, Original Handwriting Edition, (Notebooks 29–41), Vol 3, 1991, page 44, by Vassula Rydén, ISBN 0-9631193-5-4
- ^ Bearer of the Light – Vassula ,"Mediatrix of Divided Christians", 1994, Chapter 6, by Michael O'Carroll, CSSp, ISBN 0-9519973-6-X
- True Life in God Volume 4, Original Handwriting Edition, (Notebooks 42–53), 1991, page 191, by Vassula Rydén, ISBN 0-9631193-6-2
- Cattolica Conference, Italy, September 18–21, 1998 (The Gifts of the Holy Spirit at the Threshold of the Second Millenium) Presentation: Prophecy and Revelation, by Dr. Niels Christian Hvidt [sic?]
- Howard Dee, former Philippine Ambassador to the Vatican in 1986–1990, Presentation – True Life in God Volume 6, Original Handwriting Edition (Notebooks 29–41), 1991, page VII, by Vassula Rydén, ISBN 0-9631193-9-7
- ^ Rajdhani Nepali National Daily, 27 June 2010
- Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, NOTIFICATION ON VASSULA RYDEN (6 October 1995), published in Acta Apostolicae Sedis AAS 88 (1996) 956–957; OR 23–24.10.1995; EV 14, 1956–1957; LE 5618.
- http://www.ewtn.com/library/CURIA/CDFRYDN2.HTM
- http://www.johnsanidopoulos.com/2011/03/announcement-on-vassula-ryden-by.html
External links
Supportive views
- Official website of True Life in God : http://www.tlig.org
- True Life in God radio : http://www.tligradio.org
- Videos of Vassula : http://www.tligvideo.org
- More True Life in God resources : http://www.davidtlig.org.uk
- True Life in God discussion list : http://www.tlig.net/newphpBB2/index.php
Critical views
- A critical website on Vassula Ryden's True Life in God messages : http://www.infovassula.ch