Theme: Gospel at Home; family

Gospel at Home

Simone was married to Alberto and they had two children. Everyday family routine was always full of appointments. They woke up early, got ready, and left. The children went to school and the parents to work.

After school, the children still had their homework and other sports and cultural activities in which they were signed up.

Alberto worked hard at his job. Simone too, because she worked outside in the morning and then devoted herself to housekeeping and childcare.

Everyone liked what they did because they had friends and good opportunities for learning and achievement. But the routine of many commitments and responsibilities required discipline and balance. They needed to have attention to schedules, not to leave duties for later, to be organized with their things, not to lose them around the house and so on.

It turns out that this didn't always happen. The mother had been noticing that there were often fights between siblings and disrespect for rules and family members. And even she and her husband, for many days, were tired and irritated by the small situations that occurred.

One afternoon at lunchtime Simone entered in the kitchen and heard her daughter Carla shouting at her brother.

- Why did you eat everything, Daniel? Of course I would want it too! You know very well that chocolate cake is my favorite! There still was a very large piece, it was enough to share.

- I arrived first! If you wanted to, you should be smarter! - He replied nervously, with no desire to admit that he had done wrong.

- Oh yeh!? But I'm pretty smart to teach you a lesson. Don't be so selfish anymore! Shouted the angry girl as she tugged at her brother's hair.

Daniel reacted and an ugly fight was about to start if it wasn't for Simone to intervene and separate them.

The quarrel was avoided but the discomfort was not. For the rest of the afternoon the siblings didn't talk anymore and Simone felt upset and thoughtful.

Home should not only be the place of physical and mental rest, but also moral formation and learning of ethical values ​​so that, in addition to live well with each other, everyone can have good attitudes outside home. If family members are the most important people, we should take better care of living with them.

Thinking about it, Simone remembered then the Gospel at Home, which she had heard about in the spirit center they attended. When Albert came home, she talked to him, explaining properly the situation and how much they could benefit from doing the Gospel at Home.

Alberto agreed saying:

- Let's do it! We have many other commitments, but surely the most important is with Jesus!

So, the couple communicated to their children that every day at 8 o'clock at night, they would do it at home.

That same day they started. A few minutes before the scheduled time Simone put on a beautiful song, setting the mood.

Children were called but did not like the news. Daniel had to get off the internet. Carla had to interrupt the call with her friend.

Simone began the meeting with a prayer, thanking God for the day and asking Jesus for inspiration for a productive time with the family.

Simone then asked Daniel to open the book The Gospel According to Spiritism by Allan Kardec, which contains Jesus and the Spirit Doctrine´s teachings.

Daniel opened and read the lesson that says, "Do not do to others what you would not want them to do to you." At the end of the reading he laughed, embarrassed, realizing that this teaching was good for the afternoon.

The parents completed the study with brief comments, and Carla then read a page from a book of messages, psychographed by Chico Xavier. Alberto did the closing prayer and they all prayed the "The Lord’s Prayer" together. In the end they drank the water from the jar that Simone had placed in the center of the table.

The soft music, the prayers and the comments around the good contributed to the mood of harmony that formed. For about half an hour the family was reunited and received many benefits.

On the following days they needed discipline to fulfill their commitment. The same discipline they used to perform their other activities. Some failures occurred at first, but after a few months the new family practice was well incorporated into the family routine. The children came without complaint, and often they called their parents when it was time.

The teachings of the Gospel were always present in the minds of all, helping them to overcome the difficulties of living together, to be in tune with the good spirits who visited them daily and to always remember the reality and spiritual values, which are much more important than the materials.

Thus, the practice of Gospel at Home made Simone and Alberto's family harmonized and happy.
 

Translation:
Larissa Martine - larissa_am@hotmail.com

marcelapradacontato@gmail.com