Gustavo Silveira Marques (photo) was born in the Brazilian city of Araxá and lives in Uberlândia, both located in the state of Minas Gerais. He has a Masters degree in Computer Science and works as a systems analyst. In the Spiritist Movement, he is a member of two organisations: the Léon Denis and the Paulo Apóstolo (Paul, the Apostle) Spiritist Centres in Uberlândia. In the following interview, he explains the relevance of the literary work of the Spiritual Benefactor, Emmanuel.

How did you become a Spiritist?

Spiritism has been in my family since the days of my great-grandmother (beginning of the 20th Century). She was a medium and her process of approaching Spiritism came quite naturally. Her family didn’t understand her decision, but notwithstanding she was able to develop her mediumship and never abandoned Spiritism. She would later introduce my grandmother and my mother to Spiritism, well before I was born. And even though my father comes from a Catholic family, he has never imposed any restrictions and even supported my decision to attend the activities of the local Spiritist Centre. He also joined us during our Gospel in the Home sessions. 

Where does your passion for the writings of Emmanuel come from?

From a very early age, the name of Chico Xavier touched my heart in a very special way. And to this day no one else has had the same impact on me. But it took many years for me to wake up to the importance of the books he wrote as a medium, through his psychographic faculties or automatic writing. It was only during a Spiritist Congress in Uberlândia in 2016 that I for the first time heard someone reading a text by Emmanuel [-- who wrote extensively through the mediumship of Chico Xavier]. The person delivering the talk explained how profound and sensitive that text was and that had an indescribable impact on me. From then on, I have dedicated myself to reading the work of Emmanuel and trying to analyse and understand it. 

What aspects about his work stand out to you?

I often say that Emmanuel speaks directly to my soul. The content of his writings go well beyond the words and the letters and touch my Spirit in such a clear and profound way that’s difficult to explain. The brevity, depth, clarity and truth that characterise Emmanuel’s writings certainly stand out and enable me to have a better understanding of the new life proposed by the Gospel. 

How can the Spiritist Movement benefit more from the writings of Emmanuel?

It must be stressed that Emmanuel has one fundamental goal in his work: to strengthen the moral aspect of Spiritism, for us to understand that Spiritism is an indivisible unit. So its scientific and philosophical aspects cannot be considered in isolation. He invites us to rethink the Teachings of Jesus according to the principles introduced by Kardec. And we need to bear in mind the principles of the Gospel of Jesus in order to avoid falling again into the toxic intellectualism and rationalism that have done so much damage not only to the Teachings of Christ but also to the First Revelation [of Moses].

I believe, therefore, that the Spiritist Movement may make wider use of the writings of Emmanuel, realising that his goal is essentially to help us reconsider our life and our actions. Emmanuel doesn’t waste time with new interpretations and empty discussions. He speaks of life, the life we need to live, and the Gospel we need to feel inside us. He urges us to focus on ourselves and our inner lives so that we are increasingly able to put into practice the lessons of Jesus.

Which, from all the books and other writings by Emmanuel, would you like to recommend to our readers? 

That is perhaps the most challenging question so far. I am particularly fond of Two Thousand Years Ago. I think what makes that book special is the fact that in it Emmanuel reveals his own story. This is the only one of his five novels in which he features as the main character. As Clovis Tavares said in his book Trinta Anos com Chico Xavier (Thirty Years with Chico Xavier): if Saint Augustin has his own Confessions, Emmanuel also had his, in the aforementioned novel. 

What is your strongest memory from all these years in the Spiritist Movement?

It is the gratitude for being able to meet again people who are so dear to me. I look back at my life today and I realise that without Spiritism I would have missed the opportunity to share the current incarnation with souls that are very close to my heart. After centuries of falls and defeats, I feel that Jesus has given me another opportunity to lift myself up. I wouldn’t be able to do it by myself. So he’s doing it through the people that he has put in my life. Without them I truly wouldn’t be able to wake up and move forward. 

Is there anything else you would like to add?

Chico Xavier used to say that he felt like a slug, which moves slowly but always goes forward. I feel even lower than that, as I’m not always sure I’m moving forward. But what I feel like saying, from the bottom of my heart, is that we must look back and avoid repeating the same mistakes we made in the past when we distorted in such a serious way all the religious movements. In Judaism, we lost ourselves in a faith without action; in Christianity, we got stuck in fundamentalism, dogma and external acts of worship. And that’s why I think so much about what we could and should do for the Spiritist Movement.