True Life in God Northeast
Regional Retreat in Richmond, Virginia

(October 25-27, 2024)

”love for love, heart for heart”

(TLIG Message – January 18, 2002)

Mere weeks after Vassula’s passing to her eternal reward on September 25, 2024, two dedicated souls to the TLIG mission, Sam LaNeave and his wife Yolla, organized an American retreat in the beautiful and historical city of Richmond, Virginia, U.S.A.

Richmond Hill Retreat Center

The theme of the retreat was:  ”love for love, heart for heart”, from Jesus’ Words in a TLIG message dated January 18, 2002, where Jesus says:

“I have shown you My Omnipotence in many ways; all these years I have not deprived you from My Light nor of My Mercy; all I want from you, My sister, is love; love for love, heart for heart; this is My motto for you;”

On Friday evening, after checking into our rooms, everyone met for a sumptuous dinner and fellowship in the refractory at the Richmond Hill Retreat Center Ecumenical Christian Community. Later that evening we all met in the chapel and prayed the Rosary, with the True Life in God meditations from the “Prayer Meeting Guidelines booklet”. Each decade of the Rosary was prayed in a different language – Ukrainian, Polish, English, French, and Russian – to bring home the international character of TLIG.

After the Rosary, Yolla played a small talk by Vassula about Unity which referenced Jesus’ urgent Words to Vassula in a Message dated May 31, 1994:

“every Easter season I must drink from the cup of your division since this cup is forced on Me; but you too, daughter, will drink from it; you shall share with Me what is bitter – given by human hand; the more time passes for them to unite the dates of Easter, the more severe will be their sentence this generation will receive;”

TLIG Retreat participants listening to talk

Later that same Friday evening, many of us met for an informal chat in the lounge just outside the refractory with our organizer Sam LaNeave, and Reverend Tom Baynham, who is a director of the retreat centre.

Sam, commenting on our continued mission to evangelize for Jesus and His request for Unity, referred to Jesus’  Words in a TLIG Message dated March 3, 1995, which made mention of what we are to do, even in Vassula’s earthly absence (recall too, Jesus’ instructions that we are to always take Vassula’s name out of the Messages and to  replace it with our own name):

“let everyone around you who work too for My Love Hymn behave towards you as if you were not anymore among them; 1 the fruit of your labour should multiply in their hands;2 I, Jesus, am with you;”

On Saturday, we started the day with a 7am morning prayer and service in the chapel led by the retreat director, Rev. Baynham, who led us through the meaningful Canticle of Zechariah.

This was followed by a breakfast and a 9am talk by Father Mark Bayrock.  Father Mark’s talk reviewed certain TLIG Messages; a summary of the spiritual import of detachment as per the insights of a Dr. Gerald May; a brief review of the suffering and courageous fortitude of St. John of the Cross; and an introduction to the Eastern Rite/Orthodox Divine Liturgy.

Father Mark Bayrock with Retreat Director Rev. Tom Baynham

Father Mark referenced in detail the all-important January 18, 2002 TLIG Message on Unity. It is from this Message that the retreat adopted Jesus’ motto of:  ”love for love, heart for heart”. (Recall too that Vassula’s date of birth was on January 18, which also ‘happens’ to be the annual start of the traditional date for the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity).

“– may you continue to make progress in the path of unity and that My kiss to you refreshes you anew; allow Me to remind you to be in My field like a lily, free from any anxieties or worries;”

In another part of Father Mark’s talk, after reviewing the fascinating and persecuted life of St. John of the Cross (who took his name ‘John of the Cross’ on the same day his colleague-in-Christ, St. Theresa of Avila founded her new monastery, on November 28, 1568, over four centuries, to the day, before  the anniversary date and start of True Life in God on November 28, 1985!),  Father Mark offered some choice advice by St. John of the Cross, quite apropos  for  our TLIG community, where St. John of the Cross advises that:

 “ . . . you should have an equal love for and an equal forgetfulness of all persons, whether relatives or not . . . Regard all as strangers, and you will fulfill your duty toward them better than by giving them the affection you owe God. Do not love one person more than another, the person who loves God more is the one more worthy of love, and you do not know who this is. But forgetting everyone alike, as is necessary for holy recollection, you will free yourself from this error of loving one person more or less than another. Do not think about others, neither good things nor bad.”

(Words of Wisdom for Our World: The Precautions and Counsel of St. John of the Cross – Dr. Susan Muto, 1996, at pg. 12)

After Father Mark’s Saturday morning talk, we had a short break and participated in the Divine Liturgy at 11am. This was followed by lunch, with a 2pm video transmission of Father Joseph Iannuzzi, who beamed in through zoom, and in his inimitable style, spoke of the New Heavens and the New Earth, with a review of various TLIG Messages (including the December 19, 1990 Message), Scripture (Isaiah 65, Revelation 20, 21, 22) and pronouncements by past Popes.

Father Joe’s talk was followed by a fascinating practical exploration of evangelization techniques by our TLIG brother Mark Kleithermes from Midwest South. Mark reviewed the practical ways to evangelize for TLIG, as first brought to light by Chuck Morton from Midwest North. Drawing on Chuck’s experience in spreading the TLIG Messages, Mark offered a how-to on distributing TLIG literature and overall witnessing God’s Word to Vassula. Mark outlined, again, very practical techniques, in distributing books to priests, books in stores, books in universities, books in hospitals, books to prisons, booklets to pro-life pregnancy centers, and contacting media outlets, influencers and celebrities.

Continuing, after another sumptuous dinner, Saturday evening was time for a tremendous, straight from the heart talk, from Sam’s wife, Yolla. (Yolla is an approved TLIG witness, and has done many TLIG witness presentations, in English, French and Arabic) Yolla’s power-point presentation consisted of numerous impactful Messages from TLIG with accompanying video. Yolla, spoke of the intensity of love she felt when first reading the TLIG Messages. Yolla remarked that the love she first felt (and continues to feel) was so intense that she herself was truly taken aback. Yolla noted that she herself could not understand the intensity of love at receiving Jesus’ Words, but that the Words flowing from TLIG were so profound, so touching, so loving, that it was clear that only the works of the Holy Spirit could evoke such a love.  To hear Yolla explain her encounter with the Risen Christ through TLIG was a clear example to all that Jesus Words in John, chapter 3, verse 8, are as true now as they were then; namely, as it concerns the active work of the Holy Spirit:

Talk by Yolla LaNeave

“The wind blows where it chooses, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”

Praising God with song

After Yolla’s talk, we all took a break, only to finish off the evening with a marshmallow roast with smore bars!

The last day of the retreat, the Sunday, was spent with another 9am talk by Father Mark with an emphasis on the Spiritual battle all followers of Christ are engaged in. Regarding this spiritual battle, it is worthwhile to note Jesus’s Words to Vassula in a TLIG Message dated April 13, 1991:

“Love loves you, love Me;

without trials you will not grow; My affection for you is manifest, this is why Satan hates you all the more; even if you feel you are under a constant threat from My enemy, I am near you to support you; realise that I have made you to be a threat to him; anyone who snatches souls from him is a threat to him, this is one of the reasons why he never loses any occasion to aim at you; very often he uses people for his purpose, out of nothing at all he can produce an act of accusation to utterly ruin the one he wants to strike;”

After Father Mark’s Sunday morning talk, we all gathered in the chapel, to participate in a very solemn Divine Liturgy.  Of note, the Gospel reading was on Jesus’ Command for us to love one another as per John 15, and the Communion Hymn was a succinct and pressing message from Psalm 111:6,7 :

‘The just man shall be in everlasting remembrance; of evil hearsay he shall have no fear. Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!’

After receiving Jesus in the Eucharist around one tabernacle, we had a quick lunch and concluded our retreat. And what a retreat it was!

Thank you, Jesus, organizers, and all the participants!

In the Love of Christ and His Most Holy Mother, Queen of Heaven and Earth,

Peter Boushy