Study of the Works of Allan Kardec

por Astolfo O. de Oliveira Filho

 
The Revue Spirite of 1862

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).

                                     

Translation:
Eleni Frangatos - eleni.moreira@uol.com.br

 

     
     

O Consolador
 Revista Semanal de Divulgação Espírita