Resist Temptation
"Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial" (James, 1:12)
While our spiritual ship navigates through the waters of inferiority, we cannot maintain immunity from harsh interior conflicts. Primarily in the corporeal sphere, every time that we intend the improvement of the soul, making use of the work and obstacles in the world, we should be on the look-out for the multiplication of the difficulties that we come across, right in the middle of the road of illuminated knowledge.
In opposition to our great desire for clarification, there are thousands of millenniums of shadows. Interfering with our most humble aspiration for advancement in righteousness, there were centuries in which we took pleasure in evil.
For this reason, in spite of the blessings from on High, so many temptations exist on the path of the disciples.
Sometimes the student feels he is well prepared to overcome the beastly dragons that surround his doors; however, when he least expects it, the degrading suggestions pry upon him, obliging him once again to engage in a difficult battle.
Therefore, it is apparent that not even the grave exonerates us from the obstacles with the shadows, whose roots extend into our spiritual organization. Only the death of the imperfection within each one of us, will liberate us from it.
Let there be constructive tolerance surrounding human advancement, as the evil insinuations will surround us everywhere, while we delay in the partial achievement of righteousness.
We shall only achieve liberation when we obtain complete light.
Fully understanding the importance of the matter, the Apostle proclaimed, "Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial." At the present time it is impossible to reach any reference of absolute triumph, as we are still so far apart from an angelic state. Nevertheless, blessed shall we be if we go through these types of battles, controlling the impulses of our least advanced sentiments, thereby, perfecting it, little by little, through our personal efforts, so that we do not lifelessly give in to the inferior suggestions that seek to convert us into living instruments of evil.
XAVIER, Francisco Cândido. Our Daily Bread. By the Spirit Emmanuel. Spititist Alliance for Books, 2003. Chapter 101.
Let Us Give Thanks
"Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." Paul (I Thessalonians, 5:18) The stone secures.
The thorn alerts.
Bile remedies.
Fire recasts.
Garbage fertilizes.
Storms purify the atmosphere.
Suffering redeems.
Illness alerts.
Sacrifice enriches life.
Death always renovates.
Let us learn, therefore, to praise the Lord for the blessings He bestows upon us.
Good is the heat that modifies; good is the cold that preserves.
The happiness that stimulates is the sister to the pain that perfects us.
Let us pray to Heavenly Providence for enough light, so that our eyes may be able to identify the granary of grace in which we find ourselves.
It is our inner blindness that causes us to trip over obstacles, wherein only divine favor exists.
And, especially upon announcing a noble wish, let us prepare ourselves to receive the lessons, which we should take advantage of, in order to achieve according to the superior goal that directs our destiny.
Let us not be frightened by difficulties or unforeseen suffering.
Not always does the assistance from on High appear in the form of a celestial feast.
Quite often it appears in the form of an undesired recourse. Let us remember that an individual in danger of drowning in the deep waters that cover the abyss sometimes succeeds in being saved at the price of hard knocks.
Let us pay homage, therefore, for all the experiences of the evolutionary path, in the sanctifying search of the Divine Will, in Jesus Christ, our Lord.
XAVIER, Francisco Cândido. Our Daily Bread. By the Spirit Emmanuel. Spititist Alliance for Books, 2003. Chapter 100.
With Ardent Love
"Above all, love each other deeply" Peter (I Peter, 4:8)
It is not enough to proclaim virtue in favor of the establishment of the Divine Kingdom among mankind.
Problem extensively debated = solution much delayed.
Let us individually listen to the apostolic warning and swell with ardent charity, one for all.
To speak well, to teach with certainty, and to believe sincerely, are the primary phases of the service. It is crucial to work, to create and to feel with the Christ.
Fraternity simply suggested to others builds brilliant façades that experience can consume in one minute.
It is imperative to achieve the substance, the essence...
Let us be understanding with those who are ignorant, vigilant in relation to those who have gone astray in evil and in the shadows, patient toward those who are ill, serene toward the irritated, and above all, let us manifest goodwill toward all those who the Master entrusted to us for the daily teachings.
Prompt reasoning, being well prepared to act with agility on Earth, can constitute a valuable patrimony; on the other hand, if the heart is lacking in feeling for the problems, in conducting and resolving them for the common good, he will be susceptible to being easily converted into a calculator.
Let us not be detained in theoretic compassion.
Let us seek fraternal love, spontaneous, ardent and pure.
Heavenly charity not only scatters benefits, it also radiates the Divine Light.
XAVIER, Francisco Cândido. Our Daily Bread. By the Spirit Emmanuel. Spititist Alliance for Books, 2003. Chapter 99.
Questions 43 to 49 - The Formation of Living Beings
Spirits's replies to Allan Kardec
"In the beginning, all was chaos; the elements were all jumbled together. Little by little, each thing settled into its proper place. Then, living beings appropriate for that state of the globe appeared."
"The earth already contained their prototypes, which had been waiting for the favorable moment in order to develop. The organic elements began to combine the moment the force that had kept them apart ceased, thereby forming the prototypes of all living beings. These prototypes then remained latent and inert – like a chrysalis or a seed – until the proper time for each species to appear. Then, the beings of each species came together and reproduced."
"They were in a fluidic state (so to speak) in space amongst the spirits or on other planets, waiting for the creation of the earth in order to commence a new existence on that new globe."
"Yes, but their primitive prototype has always existed in the latent state. You witness this phenomenon all the time. Don’t human and animal tissues contain a multitude of larval prototypes waiting to emerge as soon as the decay needed for their existence begins? It is a microscopic world that slumbers and then awakens."
"Yes, and it came forth at just the right time. This is the basis for the statement that humans were formed from the dust of the earth."
"No, all of your calculations are purely speculative."
"The beginning of things remains one of God’s secrets. Nevertheless, we can say that once early humans began to spread out over the earth, they absorbed into themselves the elements needed for their formation in order to pass on these elements according to the laws of reproduction. The same happened with all the other species of living beings."
KARDEC, Allan. The Spirits’ Book. 3.ed. International Spiritist Council, 2011.
Avoid Quarrels
"And the Lord's servant must not quarrel." Paul (II Timothy, 2:24)
Avoid those who look for quarrels in the service of the Lord.
They are not in search of divine clarity for the heart. They just dispute over glory and the promotion in the area of fleeting considerations. Upon analyzing the sacred scriptures, they do not attract their personal illumination, but rather, a way of putting their inferior personalism in evidence.
They combat the fellow beings that do not adopt their personal ideas, they disfavor the services that they do not hold in direct control; they do not collaborate except from the vertex to the base; they do not see advantages except in the tasks to which they themselves are assigned. They take pleasure in long discussions over where to place a comma, and they waste immense days in discovering the apparent contradictions of the writers consecrated to the ideals of Jesus. They never find time for the service of the Christian humility, simply interested in their own personal recognition. They always perceive as strange the conjugation of the verbs to help, to forgive and to serve. They invariably notice humanity's imperfection and they carry whips in their hands due to their poor taste of striking. They quarrel over all the particulars of the evangelical edification and, when the possibility for constructive agreement appears, they create new motives for disturbance.
Those that incorporate into the Redeeming Gospel, in the spirit of contention, are the greatest and most subtle adversaries of the Kingdom of God.
It is indispensable for the apprentice to be vigilant, so that he does not lose himself in the delirium of blunt useless words.
We were not called upon for quarrels, but rather, to serve and to learn with the Master; nor were we called upon to exalt the "self," but instead to fulfill the supreme designs in the construction of the Divine Kingdom within us.
XAVIER, Francisco Cândido. Our Daily Bread. By the Spirit Emmanuel. Spititist Alliance for Books, 2003. Chapter 98.
Allan Kardec's remarks:
Chemistry shows us that when the proper conditions are present, the molecules of inorganic bodies unite to form crystals of a consistent regularity according to each type. However, the slightest shift in such conditions is enough to prevent the combining of the elements, or at least the orderly arrangement that comprises the crystal. Why would the same not apply to organic elements? We can store the seeds of plants and animals for many years but they do not develop unless given the appropriate temperature and environment. We have seen grains of wheat germinate after several centuries. Thus, there is a latent life principle in these seeds that merely waits for favorable circumstances in order to develop. Could this everyday occurrence not have existed since the globe’s origin? Is God’s glory diminished by the fact that living beings were formed out of chaos by the forces of nature? Far from it. Instead, this fact corresponds better to the idea that God wields divine power over all the infinite worlds by using eternal laws. Granted, this theory does not solve the problem of how the life elements themselves originated, but God guards the divine secrets and has put limits on our inquiries.