Part 5
We continue in this issue the study of the Revue Spirite
corresponding to the year of 1862. The condensed
text of the mentioned volume will hereby be presented in
sixteen parts, based on the translation of Julio Abreu
Filho and published by EDICEL.
Issues for discussion
A. To whom will God entrust the most difficult posts in
the great work of regeneration through Spiritism?
B. How do the Higher Spirits see our attachment to
earthly things?
C. Does God want us to live in a state of constant need?
Text for reading
47. Sent from The Hague by Baron de Kock, the Revue
publishes a message received there, in which the
spiritual author asserts that reincarnation is an
undeniable truth and human life, a school of spiritual
perfection. (Pages 82 to 85)
48. The world has improved greatly, both materially and
in
Science, the message says, but from the moral point of
view it is still very backward. Unaware of the Law of
God, men no longer hear the voice of Christ. That is why
God gives them, as a last resort, direct communication
with the Spirits and the teaching of reincarnation.
(P. 86)
49. The Spirit of Nicolas Poussin (1594-1665) says
through the medium A. Didier that painting is an art
that aims to portray the most beautiful and highest land
scenes. Poussin states that when on Earth he rarely saw
a masterpiece that did not combine the highest idealism
with the most perfect realism. (Pages 86 and 87)
50. Speaking about the Lord's workers, the Spirit of
Truth affirms how blessed are those who have labored in
the field of the Lord with disinterest, and with no
other motive than charity, because their working days
will be paid to the hundredfold of what they expect. And
he affirms that God will entrust to those who have not
retreated before their task the most difficult posts in
the great work of regeneration by Spiritism. (Pages 88
and 89)
51. Lacordaire says that his soul experiences a bitter
suffering when he sees in people so much attachment to
earthly things. Addressing the Spiritists of Paris, he
advises: "Go before your suffering brothers, give to the
poor the oblation of the day, and wipe the tears of the
widow and the orphan with sweet, consoling words. Lift
the discouraged mood of the old bent to the weight of
the years..." Everywhere, at your door, offer love and
consolation". (Pages 89 and 90)
52. Saint Augustine recommends: "Sow, sow, and one day
you will reap with abundance". And he says that the
splendid vine which should rise up for God is Spiritism,
which we must maintain and propagate, cutting off its
shoots and planting them in another field to produce new
vineyards and other shoots in every country in the
world.
(P. 91)
53. God does not ask us - says Saint Augustine - to live
in constant need and austerity, or to cover ourselves
with sackcloth: He only asks us to live according to
charity and our heart. (P. 91)
54. Should we risk our lives to save an evildoer?
Lamennais says yes and says that in doing so, we may
also release him, by his repentance, from the world of
crimes in which he lived. (Pages 92 and 93)
55. Elisabeth of France, sister of Louis XVI, beheaded
on May 10, 1794, gave in Le Havre a communication on the
same subject, in which she states that true charity
consists not only in alms, but also in the benevolence
granted always and in all things to our neighbor,
including to the criminals.
(P. 93)
56. Kardec discusses the fundamental foundations of
phrenology, stating that phrenologists are divided into
materialists and spiritualists. The former, admitting
nothing outside matter, say that thought is a product of
the brain substance. Spiritualists say that the organs
are not the cause of the faculties, but only instruments
of manifestation of the faculties and that the thought
is an attribute of the soul and not of the brain. (Pages
95 to 98)
57. In the light of the preexistence of soul and
reincarnation, the Encoder then analyzes various
questions that cannot be explained only by the thesis
espoused by the two currents of phrenologists, such as
the existence in the world of sages and savages, and
diversity of temperament and intelligence in children of
the same household. (Pages 98-99)
(Continued on next
issue).
Answers to the proposed issues
A. To whom will God entrust the most difficult posts in
the great work of regeneration through Spiritism?
According to a message signed by the Spirit of Truth,
happy are those who have worked in the field of the Lord
with disinterest and without other motive than charity,
because their days of work will be paid to the
hundredfold of what they expect. To those who do not
retreat before their task is that God will entrust the
most difficult positions in the great work of
regeneration through Spiritism. (Revue Spirite,
1862, pages 88 and 89).
B. How do the Higher Spirits see our attachment to
earthly things?
Lacordaire says that his soul experiences a bitter
suffering when he sees in people so much attachment to
earthly things. And advises: "Go before your suffering
brethren, give to the poor the oblation of the day, and
wipe the tears of the widow and the orphan with sweet,
comforting words. Lift the discouraged mood of the old
man bowed to the weight of the years ..." "Everywhere,
in your presence, and offer love and consolation".
(Ibid, pages 89 and 90).
C. Does God want us to live in a state of constant need?
No. God does not ask us to live in constant need and
austerity, nor to cover ourselves with sackcloth: only
that we live according to charity and our heart. "Sow,
sow, and one day you will reap with abundance," says St.
Augustine.
(Ibid, page 91).
