The issue mentioned above is discussed in our interview with Hélio Dias da Silva (photo). He lives in the city of Uberlândia, in the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais, where he is a member of the board of directors of União Cristã Allan Kardec Spiritist Centre. He also volunteers at Fraternidade Web Radio Station, where he is the editor of the programme “Momento de Oração” (A Moment of Prayer), which is broadcast from Monday to Friday at 18:00 local time, with requests for prayers from people across the world:

When was your first contact with Spiritism?

I was brought up hearing about Spiritism. My parents were Spiritists, but they never attended any Spiritist Centre and never took me to any session. When I lived in the city of Goiânia, between 1954 and 1957, I decided of my own will to look for a Spiritist Centre and that’s where I had my first real contact with the Teachings and was able to join their youth group and engage in charity campaigns. 

What is your most enduring memory in Spiritism?

I have so many pleasant memories along the years in Spiritism, but there was one particular one that has really stayed with me. It was when I interviewed for a local radio station in Ituiutaba, Francisco Cândido Xavier, who was there to receive honorary citizenship of the city. At the time I was putting pressure on my wife to carry out a sterilisation procedure as we already had four children and I was struggling financially to support the family. My wife went to seek advice from Chico, who told her: “Don’t do it now, my dear, wait a bit longer.” She got pregnant a few days later with my daughter, Sayonara, with whom I live today. Sayonara is the person who now looks after me not only like a daughter, but like a loving mother, caring for her father in his old age. 

Who are your favourite Spiritist authors?

All the Spirits who wrote through the mediumship of Chico Xavier, as well as the books of Allan Kardec, Léon Denis, Camille Flammarion, Yvonne do Amaral Pereira, Zilda Gama and so many others, especially the classic Spiritist authors. 

The internet has facilitated the dissemination of Spiritism. Do you think we have used this resource well?

The internet has indeed marked a revolution in social communications, making it a lot easier to disseminate Spiritism. But it has also created a degree of complacency in our Movement, as many fellow Spiritists end up staying at home broadcasting live talks and lectures online, especially during the pandemic, in the misguided belief that that will be enough to cover all their duties as Spiritists.

What is the best way of disseminating the Teachings and at the same time engaging with people?

It’s when you provide counselling, or fraternal assistance. As André Luiz explained in one of his books: “If the message of Christ can shine during sublimated teachings, it will glow when put into practice.”

How do you define Fraternidade Web Radio station?

It is a virtual Spiritist Centre that talks about Spiritism 24 hours a day. 

Taking into account the current challenges faced by human civilisation, what must be the top priority at the moment for those in charge of the Spiritist Movement?

The challenges are so many… One of them is the lack of fraternity among Spiritists themselves, to the point that Chico Xavier once asked Yvonne do Amaral Pereira in Rio de Janeiro why there were so many disagreements among Spiritists. She said that she was also concerned about the problem and had asked the Spiritual Benefactor, Dr Bezerra de Menezes, what the reason was for so many unfriendly acts from Spiritists. Here is what he answered: “That happens because the majority of Spiritists, with very few exceptions, are reincarnated criminal Spiritists.”

Tackling that lack of fraternity and understanding among Spiritists must be the top priority for those who are currently in positions of command in the Brazilian Spiritist Movement. It seems like we have forgotten the advice that was given to everyone by the Spirit of Truth: “Spiritists, love each other. That is the first lesson. Educate yourselves, that is the second one!”

Is there anything else you would like to add?

I would like to quote the works of Ivonne do Amaral Pereira when she said: “Let’s study the Doctrine of the Spirits, which has revealed so much to us, as it will be impossible to faithfully put it into practice without knowing its principles. And let’s love each other, with the highest form of love, as recommended in the Gospel. All the rest, or all that we can benefit from, will come to us spontaneously, without the need of us demanding and insisting with our respectable Benefators. We must set aside the ridicule of suppositions that are only fed by our ignorance of the basic principles of Spiritism and can only create baseless worries.”

Hail Christ!