Mário Frigéri (photo) has been a Spiritist since the age of 15, when he adopted the principles of Spiritism after reading The Spirits’ Book. He was born in Nuporanga and lives in Campinas, both cities in the Brazilian state of São Paulo. He is a poet, writer, essayist and researcher, with many books published, as he explains in the following interview.

What can be said about the Sermon of the Mount?

The Sermon of the Mount is the platform established by Jesus for the redemption of humankind. Before the presence of Our Master in this world, human beings had no one to seek in order to solve their existential anxieties, except the Lord of the Armies for the Jews and some religious leaders, like Buda and Confucius for their followers. Jesus revealed the Lord of the Universe as a present Parent, loving and fair, who blesses his children and protect them in times of trouble. There is no comparison between before and after. Jesus divided history. He opened the curtain that separated human beings from the Spirits and inaugurated a New Era for the world.

Taking into account your previous answer, what are the main points of the documents written by the evangelists?

Jesus subverted all that was known by then, bringing down what was above and taking upwards what was underneath. Until then, the powerful of this world were conquerors such as Alexander the Great, Hannibal of Carthage and Julius Caesar. From then on, the conquered, especially the humble, those who cry and are persecuted became the powerful. Those who are big on Earth will be small in Heaven and the small ones on Earth will be big in Heaven. The essence of his message is that love, not hatred, giving, not retaining, peace and not war have the power to take human beings to their pinnacles.

As a researcher of the Gospels, what aspect of the proposal of Jesus in the Sermon of the Mount do you believe is essential to help human spirit in their struggles?

Let’s recap. There are millions of happy worlds in the Universe and there are some planets, like the Earth, where pain, suffering and thousands of other obstacles to the evolution of human beings are prevalent. Why? Because we are in debt with the Law, because we have made debts through our multiple existences. In the Sermon of the Mount, Jesus gives us the directions that will get us out of this swamp by creating the paradigm of men and women who respect the Law and are plentiful in wisdom and love. He brings the tomorrow to today when he says that we are the salt of the earth and the light of the world and that if we seek first and foremost the kingdom of God and his justice, everything else will come to us. That is the essence of his proposal: to make spirits of light out of us. He believes in us. Do we believe in him?

And why we, as human beings still struggling with our imperfections, still find it so hard to assimilate his proposal?

Because of our striking moral and spiritual inferiority. Men and women enjoy the inebriating material pleasures. For as long as they have power without limit and sex without commitment and all the imperfections that come of that as their gods, the message of Christ will remain beyond their visual field. In order to see their cosmic goal, men and women must subjugate the rule of the flesh and dematerialise it excessively materiliased mind. 

What do we need to do to incorporate pacification and meekness to our behaviour?

The lack of prayer and vigilance has made human beings drop very low in the scale of evolution. That is why there will be no miracles for their regeneration. We must remember here the plate of blood, sweat and tears that Churchill offered to his people and that drove him to victory against Germany in the Second World War, despite putting at stake the very existence of England. When we finally domesticate our pain and accept it as a blessing, our soul will reach peace and Christian virtues will begin to flourish in our hearts.

What are your strongest impressions from the texts of the Sermon of the Mount and why?

The most touching part is when Jesus speaks about the anxious solicitude for life. Why are we so anxious about what we will eat, drink and dress? Why is humankind so tormented by such anxiety? Doesn’t God dress the lilies of the fields and doesn’t he feed the sparrows? And are we worth anything more than them? For me that is one of the most profound teachings about faith in the Sacred Bible?

Is there anything that you would like to highlight?