So I didn't play for 3 monthsFollow

Judgments of the Wise: you get this just for choosing Protection as your main talent tree.

Instant Flash of Light: sorry, but these are gone.

And where the hell is that shield-ability that absorbs 500 damage each 3 secs you take damage?

Is that gone too?

You get it for speccing into Retribution too. They also removed Divine Intervention.

You can get the same effect as an AoW-FoL by using accumulated Holy Power to cast Word of Glory rather than Templar's Verdict or Divine Storm. Same thing - trade off DPS for an instant self-heal (and this one is mana-free) - but it's a bigger tradeoff because while the heal is bigger, the HP are worth a lot more damage than a single AoW proc.

The mechanics are going to require a fair amount of relearning, especially for people who haven't played a rogue or cat druid far enough to get their high-level talents. But nothing has really been "nerfed" for Ret - single target damage is not down, AoE damage is proportional to everyone else's, you still have a self-heal, you have a new interrupt, and while the new gap closer isn't very useful, there wasn't one at all before.