Hawaii's Visit from Vassula Ryden: February 16, 2012

On Thursday evening, 2/16, I attended a talk given by the alleged mystic, Vassula Ryden, at a Waikiki hotel. I have to admit that I was a bit apprehensive about attending the presentation due to the fact that I received an email from a concerned friend warning me not to attend and citing Vassula’s purported negative status in the Greek Orthodox Church. I’m sure the email was sent to me with the best intentions in mind, but the fact is… if you research Vassula on the web, you’ll find dozens of articles arguing against her and just about the same number of articles defending her; it’s hard to discern the truth. So I decided to go to the presentation, anyway, because I wanted to hear the message myself - from Vassula’s own mouth - and not from people who may not even have met her personally. What follows below is my personal experience of what transpired at the event…

Vassula Ryden sharing

her personal testimony

at the Waikiki Beach

Marriott Hotel

The presentation was scheduled to start at 7:00pm but Vassula actually began her talk at around 7:15pm, after a brief introductory DVD was played for the audience. Her demeanor was candid but not arrogant, and her manner of speaking was simple and often tinged with humor. When she spoke about her interaction with Jesus and our Heavenly Father, there was a tone in her voice that gave you a sense of the tenderness and love she experienced during their mystical communications… and at times when she spoke of the “Apostasy” and the “Chastisements” coming upon the world, Vassula’s tone changed to one of seriousness and urgency… and even a little hint of frustration; all the while, Vassula displayed sincere passion when speaking, which to me, indicated that she really believes in the experiences she claims are happening to her; not for one moment did I sense that she was trying to deceive the audience in any way.

As far as the message goes, what Vassula relayed to us was not much different from what I’ve been reading about in the past 25 years from Catholic mystics (e.g. Bl. Anna Maria Taigi, Bl. Elena Aiello, Gabrielle Bossis, etc.) and in messages from several approved and unapproved Marian apparitions (e.g. Akita, Garabandal, Kibeho, and Medjugorje). In fact, I found the concepts in Vassula’s messages strikingly similar, just spoken about in different terms. Below are the main points of what she discussed:

+ Jesus loves us immeasurably and desires to have with each of us a personal relationship.  Furthermore, Vassula urged us to go about our every day lives in a state of profound union with Christ so that every action completed is a "We" or "Us" with him.

+ Christians have become “lethargic” (sluggish) in the practice of the Faith, causing society as a whole to become “fastidious” (difficult to please) and rebellious towards God. Thus, we are in urgent need of Repentance, Conversion, Prayer, and Reparation.

+ Mankind is living in a limited time-period of God’s Grace and Mercy, which in due time will end and be followed by God’s judgment and a chastisement of fire (again, similar to the messages received from various Marian apparitions around the world).

+ Mankind will soon be “tested” through a significant event by which God will allow each of us to see ourselves through His eyes (similar to the “Warning” prophesied in Garabandal and Medjugorje, and by many Catholic mystics). It will be a terrible experience of self-realization for many people when they see their souls stained by the dirtiness of sin.

A statue of Our Lady
of Fatima that was present
in the ballroom

One other major theme - and arguably the most controversial, which has resulted in many of the criticisms and objections towards Vassula - are her messages calling for “unity” among the Christian churches: the Orthodox, the Roman Catholic, and even the Protestant churches. Vassula - who professes the Greek Orthodox faith - claims that Jesus wants us all to be “one flock” united under the Pope. For many people from these various Christian denominations this is a hard pill to swallow, but personally, I think it’s something that's quite do-able... and allow me to explain why I believe it so.

I have a dear friend and co-worker named, Marsha, who I’ve known for about 13 years now. Marsha is a Fundamentalist Christian who is sincerely faithful and active with her church in Windward Oahu. In the years that I’ve known her, we’ve had many in-depth sharing about our faith-experiences, and although we don’t completely agree on certain doctrinal matters such as the Eucharist and the Blessed Virgin, the filial love and friendship we share has allowed us to respect each other’s religious beliefs without any judgment… and to also recognize the action of the Holy Spirit in our lives through the ministries we are involved in within our respective churches; to put it all simply, denominational barriers have ceased to exist between us and we recognize Jesus working in each other; we're two people from differing Christian backgrounds but united by our common desire to love and serve God in the manner He called us to do so. So with that being said, I really don’t think Vassula’s call for Christian Unity is farfetched at all, but rather, I tend to agree that it’s a concept Jesus would want all Christians to practice: UNCONDITIONAL LOVE.

Vassula signing a
print of a painting that
a friend purchased for
me at the event

One last detail that I noted from Vassula’s presentation… before and after her talk, she didn’t conduct herself with any fanfare, whatsoever – she quietly walked into the ballroom at around 7:10pm, waited until she was introduced, then went up to the podium to immediately begin her talk. When she was done speaking, she patiently met with people who wanted her to sign their books/pictures and prayed with those who were hoping for some sort of healing. After all was said and done, Vassula walked out of the ballroom as quietly as she walked in and headed to the hotel elevators with just the lady who introduced her; no big entourage followed her. There was nothing in her appearance, or her actions, that indicated a person who wanted to be the center of attention. If I wasn’t paying such close attention to her, I think I would have missed her exit.  It was all so humble and discreet.

Finally, without in anyway trying to sway anyone’s personal opinion about Vassula, I can honestly say that I left her presentation with a deeper appreciation for my Catholic-Christian Faith… the fact that Vassula - a non-Catholic - expressed a profound respect for the Papacy affirmed my loyalty to the Pope… and her emphasis of the Eucharist and Our Lady as key factors in the True Life in God messages has made me more committed to frequently attending Holy Mass and to continue spreading devotion to our Blessed Mother through this ministry. I have a renewed, heartfelt desire to reach out in love to all people in this world, especially to those who haven’t yet found God... and although it's been a couple of days since the presentation, I still feel that conviction burning in my heart. Two Catholic friends of mine who attended the presentation with me shared the exact same sentiments.

… and remember my non-Catholic/Christian friend, Marsha? Well, she also came along with me to the presentation and was deeply touched by what she heard from Vassula. In her own words, Marsha said that the message “... confirms what I read about in the Word of God”. So if the devil is behind Vassula’s work and messages, as some people claim, then I have to say that his methods that evening somehow backfired - rather than gaining people to evil's cause, at the very least, he made four life-long enemies in me and my three friends... and for that we give thanks and praises to our Heavenly Father.