João Elias Blanco Lançanova, a military man and father of four children, from the southern state of Rio Grande do Sul, is a dynamic Spiritist leader. He lives in city of Alegrete, near the Brazilian border with Uruguay and Argentina. In this interview, he talks about the Spiritist Movement in the region and also shares his reflections on the transformations Earth is undergoing, changing from a world of Trials of Tribulations into a planet of Regeneration:  Why did you become a Spiritist?  I was born into an evangelical family,

How many Spiritist Centres are there in Alegrete? How does local society view Spiritism? 

We have five Spiritist Groups – three of them members of the State Federation. Spiritism is seen locally as something that can offer practical answers to the questions that disturb so many of us, a Doctrine that provides comfort and encourages healthy social life and fraternity without imposing on those who aren’t affiliated. 

Tell us about your Spiritist Centre and your activities there. 

I am a volunteer work at Casa Espírita Joanna de Ângelis, where I’m currently in charge of the Study Group. I also give speeches and take part in regular mediumship meetings. Another important activity we’re involved in is Amarte, a regional meeting gathering Spiritist Groups from the region. 

What about the dissemination of the Doctrine outside Spiritist Groups… How is it going? 

The best way a Spiritist can disseminate the Doctrine is by his behaviour and acts. We, of course, also have a number of activities in the media that help our efforts to make Spiritism known to a wider public. We have a weekly half-an-hour programme broadcast on local radio on Saturday mornings, which is picked up in many nearby towns and rebroadcast via the Internet. We also publish and distribute to those who come to our meetings our newsletter. 

Tell us a bit more about the history of Spiritism in the far south of Brazil and the current developments of the Spiritism Movement there. 

Nearly 19 years ago, a group of Spiritists from the region decided to encourage the various groups in the region, who didn’t know each other, to make contact and begin working together. I made contatct with many eminent Spiritists from that time, including Alfredo Godoi Vargas, Leoni Samuel Echeverry, Alajandro Benites and Paulo Caetano, some of them already back in the Spiritual World. That’s how our early regional meetings began. We now have a well organised Spiritist Movement in the region, determined to achieved unity, but bearing in mind one of Allan Kardec’s mottos: “Work, solidarity and tolerance.” We face in this border region the same challenges of other Spiritists in other parts of the country. Our moral imperfections are the main problem, not the Doctrine, which is very clear in its proposals for unification. 

How much support have you been able to offer to the Spiritists of Uruguay? 

The Spiritist Centre Chapot Prevost, on the border town of Quaraí, enjoys a good working relationship with our Uruguayan brothers, who attend regularly our regional meetings and events.  

How important do you think the Gospel in the Home is and what do you do to encourage its practice among Spiritists? 

The Gospel in the Home is a pre-arranged meeting with Jesus in our home, which is the location where we go through some of the most valuable experiences for our spiritual development. It takes us back 2000 years to that night among the hills when His Love woke us up from years, centuries of lethargy so we could become fully aware of who we really were, where we came from and what our glorious destiny is. The Gospel in the Home is the opportunity we have, thanks to His kindness and grace, to be together with Him. In these occasions, He comes to us, comforts us and sheds light on our doubts, providing enough to keep us on track and avoiding diversion from the plan we have agreed for our current incarnation. To cultivate the healthy habit of practicing the Gospel in the Home is crucial to keepin our links with this Angelic Spirit, who has guided us from the very first day so we can achieve true peace and happiness – our final destiny. We, in the Spiritist Centre Joana Angélica, encourage all to practice the Gospel in the Home by setting the example, and also by trying to be a good Christians on our daily lives. 

What is your assessment of the Spiritist Movement in Brazil? What are the main challenges laying ahead? 

Despite all the obstacles we’ve met – and I repeat, they are due mostly to our moral imperfections – I firmly believe that the Spiritist Movement will eventually fulfil its goal of uniting Spiritists on both levels of live. One day we will achieve the main aim of the Spiritist Doctrine, which is “the moral transformation of Humankind.” That will be done through its intermediate goals, “enlightening and providing console.” Spiritism found among the hearts of the Brazilian people fertile land to produce the fruits of peace and agreement, and that will certainly lead to a new dawn for fraternity and love amongst brothers and sisters. At a personal level, my challenge for the next few years will be the same one that has brought me into Spiritism: to curb my bad thoughts and tendencies, to free me from the chains of ignorance, to win over the pride and selfishness that are still very much a part of me, to overcome vanity, which still pops up here and there, as well as remaining faithful to Jesus, to Allan Kardec and the core values of the Spiritist Doctrine. 

What else would you like to add? 

I would like to thank God, Our Father, and Jesus, Our Good Sheppard, for the opportunity provided by this electronic magazine, O Consolador. And let me quote from the great Spiritual Benefactor Bezerra de Menezes, who said that “Spiritism to me is Jesus coming back with open arms, down from the cross, reborn and alive, singing the glorious symphony of solidarity.” Let us work together to reduce our disagreements on the Doctrine and put into practice our ideals of uniting and understanding. Any dissent and petty quarrelling should be abandoned in favour of the great goal to be achieved by all of us – that of living true fraternity in its purest form. Let us overcome any personal disagreements, so we can look up and focus on the glorious dawn of the New Epoch, which is already visible to those who have the eyes to see. Let our hearts continue to be driven by the feeling of true fraternity and let us be faithful to Our Lord Master Jesus until the end. Most of all, we must make sure we continue to follow his teaching, to love each other as He loved us and loves us. Peace to you all.