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Vassula Rydén

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Vassula Ryden
File:Vassula.jpg
BornVassiliki Claudia Pendakis
(1942-01-18) January 18, 1942 (age 82)
Cairo, Egypt
OccupationAuthor
Children2

Vassula Rydén was born in Egypt on January 18, 1942 into a Greek Orthodox family. She has composed the messages she claims to have received 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. She receives no personal royalties, fees or benefit for her efforts.

Biography

Vassula Ryden, 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 Ryden, 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. Vassula has two adult sons.

For 30 years, from 1955 to 1985, Vassula was not a church-goer; for social reasons, she appeared occasionally at marriages and funerals. She had not lost her faith in God; she just felt no inclination towards any observance. Before the turning point in her career, she led the life of the typical expatriate in Africa and Asia: the social round, amusement, cocktail parties for her husband’s business friends, such games as the climate permitted. Her choice was tennis, in which she became quite proficient; she was champion of Bangladesh. The word at the time was, “If you want Vassula, go to the tennis court.” She also modeled clothes, as a hobby to while away the time. She took up painting seriously and with considerable success.

Genesis of the "True Life in God" messages

Towards the end of November in 1985, while living in Bangladesh, Vassula claims that an invisible being, who identified itself as her “guardian angel Daniel”, contacted her. The entity manifested itself by moving Vassula’s hand without her being able to control it, forming words and drawings. By these means, Vassula started to receive "messages" in English, usually about 4 to 6 hours of guided "dictation" per day.

Three months later, she experienced the brief intervention of another being, who identified himself as “God the Father”. The “guardian angel Daniel” then submitted her to a purification week, which was followed by the substitution of the “guardian angel Daniel” by an entity who identified itself as Jesus. This entity also uses the guided dictation of the messages to communicate, calling the messages the “True Life in God”. Other personalities also sporadically intervene: the Virgin Mary, Michael the Archangel, St Padre Pio, the Devil, etc.

The content of the messages are religious, a revival of biblical texts and teachings of the Catholic and Orthodox Churches. The main themes are Christian unity, adherence to the Pope, the closeness of a time of “purification” and the importance of making the messages known in order to end of the division among Christians and to a certain extent unite the Church.

To this day, the writings (several thousands of pages) have been translated and published into over 40 languages. Vassula Ryden maintains that it is not a channeling / spiritism phenomena such as automatic writing, and that the author of the messages is really Jesus Christ. Exorcist Father Christian Curty OFM, Marseille, describes Vassula's reception as "hieratic" (e.g. sacred) writings . Other investigations of Vassula's works include that of world renowned Mariologist Theologian Father Rene Laurentin, who has since written two books on Vassula and her works.

Prophecies of Vassula Ryden

In the message of September 11, 1991 (10 years to the day before the '9/11' events in New York of September 11, 2001) was written: "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! "

In the message of 10. January 1990 was written, that the Unity of Christians will come over night soon: "and Unity shall come upon you like Dawn and as sudden as the fall of communism; it shall come from God and your nations shall name it: the Great Miracle, the Blessed Day in your history"

Churches' stance on Vassula Ryden

In 1995, the Roman Catholic Church gave a negative opinion on the writings through the publication of a notification by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, in which "several negative elements and errors are pointed out". It concludes by requesting the faithful "not to regard Mrs. Ryden's writings and speeches of divine or supernatural origin, but rather as the result of her private meditations".

After a request was made by Vassula in 2000 to the aforementioned congregation (the CDF), the then Cardinal Ratzinger invited Vassula, in 2002, to answer five questions about her messages and its relation to the Holy Bible and Sacred Tradition. Vassula sent her replies to the Congregation later that same year. At the ending of this dialogue, the former president of the CDF, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger - Now Pope Benedict XVI asked Vassula to publish the full correspondence between herself and the CDF in the published TLIG books. Later still, the Cardinal wrote a letter, dated 10 July 2004, to five episcopal conferences who had been negative about Vassula and her writings indicating that she had given "useful clarifications regarding her marital situation, as well as some difficulties which in the aforesaid Notification were suggested towards her writings and her participation in the sacraments" . In 2005, the True Life in God writings were granted a Nihil obstat by Bishop Felix Toppo S.J. (India) and Imprimatur by Archbishop Ramon C. Arguelles (Philippines).

In 2007, the new Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, William Cardinal Levada, following continued requests for clarifications on the writings and activities of Vassula, sent a letter to the Catholic hierarchy around the world confirming that the Notification of 1995 remained valid. The letter, dated 25 January 2007, requires -- regarding the reading of the writings -- "a case by case prudential judgement". The Congregation cautions bluntly but gently against participation of the faithful in True Life in God prayer groups: "Finally, it remains inappropriate for Catholics to take part in prayer groups established by Mrs Ryden."

However, to date there continues to be confusion and apparent conflict with previous statements from the CDF. Many Catholic Clergy, including Bishops and Cardinals, have chosen to continue their support for Vassula Ryden and even promote TLIG. Cardinal Wilfrid Napier, in a statement he made to his Archdiocese dated June 2009, said regarding Vassula that:

Another matter of interest is her relationship with the Holy See. She enjoys cordial relations with many of the top officials at the Vatican who are anything but negative towards her. It is therefore reasonable to state categorically that as far as the Church is concerned Vassula poses no threat to the Catholic Faith whatsoever. Indeed the messages which are communicated through her are consistent with the Church's own call to repentance and a return to the basics of the faith - in particular the basic prayers such as the Rosary and other devotions once so common in Catholic family and parish spiritual life.

Sources

This article relies excessively on references to primary sources. Please improve this article by adding secondary or tertiary sources.
Find sources: "Vassula Rydén" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (January 2007) (Learn how and when to remove this message)
  • « Le Phénomène Vassula – Etude critique », Marie-France James, Nouvelles Editions Latines, Paris, 1992.
  • « Mon Ange Daniel – Les débuts de La Vraie Vie en Dieu » , Vassula Ryden, Editions du Parvis, Hauteville (Suisse), 2001.
  • « Quand Dieu Fait Signe » , René Laurentin, F.X. de Guibert, Paris, 1993

www.tlig.org

  1. ^ The Vassula Enigma, 2003, pages 5,33,6,13,34,35,122,123 by Jacques Neirynck, ISBN 1-883225-30-2
  2. Phoenix New Times News, www.phoenixnewtimes.com, When God Talks Vassula Listens, December 5, 1996
  3. http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G1-191120914.html]
  4. http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-190354804.html
  5. When God Gives a Sign, 1993, pages 33-34 by , ISBN 1-883225-14-0
  6. In True Life in God, Volume 1, Original Handwriting Edition (Notebooks 1-16), Second Edition 2004-2005, page V, ISBN 0-9631193-3-8
  7. Vassula of the Sacred Heart’s Passion, 1993, pages 1-2,119-133 by Fr. Michael O’Carroll CSSp, ISBN 0-9519973-3-5
  8. tlig.org: " (...) 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! (...) "
  9. tlig.org: "(...) and Unity shall come upon you like Dawn and as sudden as the fall of communism; it shall come from God and your nations shall name it: the Great Miracle, the Blessed Day in your history (...)"

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