Vassula Ryden

Vassula Rydén was born in Egypt on January 18, 1942 into a Greek Orthodox family. She claims to have had two prophecy dreams in her childhood and visions of Jesus ever since 1985. She has composed the messages she claims to have received in a book 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 1989 Vassula has spoken more than 800 times in over 63 countries and more than 90 times in the United States. She receives no royalties, commissions or remuneration of any kind for her travels or for these publications. Fact|date=January 2007

Biography

Vassula Ryden, the daughter of Greek parents established in Germany, 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.

Starting at a very young age, she experienced terrifying nightmares, which she attributed to Satan. At the age of 10-12, she had mystic experiences, including a spiritual marriage with Jesus. During her teenage years, she says to have seen, on several occasions, the souls of dead people surrounding her. Afterwards, she became indifferent to religious matters.

In November of 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 of 1980. In June of 1981, she married her current husband, Per Ryden, a Swedish Lutheran, at the registry office. In 1990, she regularized her union in the Greek Orthodox Church and celebrated her religious marriage in Lausanne, on October 31, 1991. She has two sons, born in 1970 and 1976.

She declares herself Greek Orthodox. A polyglot, her everyday language is English.

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 [http://www.tlig.org/curty2.html] . 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.

In 1995, the Roman Catholic Church gave a negative opinion on the writings through the publication of a notification [http://www.davidtlig.org.uk/notification.html] 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 [see http://www.tlig.org/cdf.html] 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" [http://www.tlig.org/cdfratztran.html] . 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 head of the CDF, Cardinal William Levada, following continued requests for clarifications on the writings and activities of Vassula, sent a letter [see http://www.infovassula.ch/levada.jpg] to the Catholic hierarchy around the world confirming that the Notification of 1995 remained valid. The letter, dated 25 January 2007, also "advises against the participation of the faithful in the True Life in God prayer groups". Regarding the reading of the writings, the letter insists on "prudential judgement" to be used.

Prophecies

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! " [ [http://www.tlig.org/en/messages/654/ tlig.org:] " (...) the earth will shiver and shake - and every evil built into Towers 2 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" [ [http://www.tlig.org/en/messages/498/ 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 (...)"]

ources

* « 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, 1993www.tlig.org

External links

Supportive Views

* Official website of the True Life in God association : http://www.tlig.org
* Vassula & the Notification : http://www.davidtlig.org.uk/notification.html
* Review of TLIG and Vassula - True or False?: http://truelifeingodreview.com
* Discussion list on Vassula and True Life in God: http://www.tlig.net/newphpBB2/index.php
* Video material of Vassula's witnessing: http://www.davidtlig.org.uk/videoplaygoogle.html
* Web Log Notification : http://vassula-notification.blogspot.com/

Critical Views

* A critical website on Vassula Rydén from an ex-follower : http://www.infovassula.ch
* Is it Catholic? : http://www.catholicdoors.com/isit/isit07.htm
* Claims of Private Revelation: true or false? : http://www.catholicplanet.com/apparitions/false13.htm