In all eras of Humanity, different messengers came to
Earth, with the mission to guide the procedure of Man,
through the awareness and application of the Eternal
Truths.
In the 19th century BC, Abraham, the patriarch of the
Hebrews, led his people to an awareness of the one God;
in the 13th century BC, Moses, who in addition to
receiving the Ten Commandments on Mount Sinai, created
the civil and disciplinary law. One, immutable; the
other, which is appropriate to the customs and character
of the people, changes with time.
Approximately 20 centuries after Moses, the one who
constitutes the spiritual guide of all mankind came to
Earth: Jesus.
Someone said that the birth of Jesus was so important
that His birthplace did not fit into the history of
mankind. Jesus is not in history. He is History. The
world He lived in is the Christian world, born of His
teachings.
The setting for Jesus' coming was Galilee, located in
northern Palestine.
Amidst this scene was Nazareth, on the shores of Lake
Gennesaret.
Although He lived in Nazareth, Jesus was not born there.
According to Messianic prophecies, His hometown was
Bethlehem, the birthplace of King David.
At that time, in Nazareth, Joseph lived, with
approximately 38 years of age. On the other hand, on the
outskirts of Jerusalem, lived a young woman named Mary
(Miriam, in Hebrew), who was, at that time,
approximately 17 years old. Having lost her father at
age 15, she lived with her mother, the widow Hanan, on
the outskirts of Jerusalem.
Spirit of high virtues, Miriam was also a great medium.
She had dreams and visions and in these dreams, the
Spirits announced certain facts that were about to
happen, such as, for example, that in a short time she
would meet a young man named Joseph, from whose marriage
the long-awaited Messiah would be born in Israel.
And on one of those nights when all was peace, Jesus was
born in Bethlehem, with the manger as the starting point
for the lesson of Christ, a true lesson in humility,
because humility is the key to all virtues.
Jesus simplified the law created by Moses, based on an
eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, on laws based on
charity, humility and love of neighbor. Jesus taught man
to think. For example: when the so-called doctors of the
law asked him a tricky question, he would initially
respond with another question, forcing the inquirer to
reason about the matter. This is the case, for example,
with the question "which is the greatest commandment in
the law?" (Matthew, 22: 34 to 40), (Mark, 12: 28 to 34),
(Luke, 10: 25 to 27); of the issue of tribute to Caesar
(Matthew, 22: 15 to 33), Mark: 12: 13 to 17), Luke, 20:
20 to 26).
Jesus taught man to think, the starting point for
reasoned faith, adopted by the Spiritist Doctrine, or
the interpretation of the Gospel in Spirit and Truth.
And as time went by, after Jesus, on October 3, 1804,
the one who would come to codify a New Doctrine, the
Spiritist Doctrine, was born in Lyon, France, which
brought new and definitive light to the teachings of
Jesus.
Thus, on April 18, 1857, the first book of the Spiritist
Codification appeared, The Book of Spirits.
It was with The Book of Spirits that the six
periods of Spiritism, classified by Allan Kardec, began.
The Spiritist Magazine, which circulated in the
French capital for twelve consecutive years, from 1858
to 1869, and which was founded and directed by Allan
Kardec, brings in the December 1863 issue a study made
by Allan Kardec about the successive periods that would
be experienced by the Spiritism: curiosity,
philosophical, fighting, religious, intermediary and
social regeneration.
The period of curiosity corresponds to the period of the
turning tables, or talking tables, because they moved in
different directions and ways and answered, by tapping
(yes or no), to questions that were asked. It was a
common phenomenon throughout Europe in the nineteenth
century. From 1853 to 1855, they were a pastime to
animate the frivolity of the salons and the curiosity of
the masses, but they served, in fact, a determination
from Above, awakening consciences to the immortality of
the soul and the reality of the Spirit.
The philosophical period was marked by the publication
of The Book of Spirits, its first edition
appeared on April 18, 1857, with 501 questions by Allan
Kardec and the Spirits' answers to important questions
of human knowledge. It contains, written in bold,
explanations by Allan Kardec, in addition to some
related matters.
The second (and definitive) edition appeared on March
16, 1860, with 1,019 issues.
The period of struggle was marked by the Act of Faith in
Barcelona, which took place on October 9, 1861, with
the burning, in a public square, of copies of The
Book of Spirits, The Book of Mediums,
collections of the Spiritist Magazine and several
Spiritist works and brochures, in a total of 300
volumes, sent by Allan Kardec to the publisher Maurice
Lachatre, based in Barcelona. The books were intercepted
at the Post Office by the Bishop of Barcelona, Don
Antonio Palau Y Termens, who ordered them to be burned
at the stake of the Inquisition.
The infamous act was committed at half past ten in the
morning on the hill of the city of Barcelona, in the
place where those sentenced to maximum punishment were
executed.
The religious period is the one we are living in, when
the guidelines for the moral regeneration of man are
drawn up; when the lights of the Gospel spread in all
directions, inviting everyone to live happier, in the
example of the teachings of Jesus, who, as we said,
taught man to think and laid the foundations for
reasoned faith, valued by Spiritism.
The intermediate period will be the continuation of this
period that we are living.
The period of social regeneration will take place when
Earth passes from a world of atonement and trials and
reaches the rank of a world of regeneration. It is when
the Humanity that will populate the Earth will be made
up of people who only wish for the good.
People who are currently focused on doing good will have
the opportunity to return to Earth in the next
reincarnation, to continue to do the good work they did
here, in favor of the Earth's own progress. As for those
who, today, are barbarizing and spreading violence, the
great majority of them will no longer be able to return
here, going to reincarnate in a backward world, which is
in accordance with the evolution they managed to achieve
here. It is not that, in these cases, the Spirit
regresses. In its path, it never regresses. In this
case, the Spirit remains in the stationary state in
which it finds itself, from there to follow its path,
towards its evolution.
In this period of social regeneration, Christian
valuesbased on charity, humility and love of neighbor
will predominate. Men will only unfurl the flag of unity
and solidarity.
Sociability is a natural tendency and obeys the
imperative of the Law of Progress. It is in the life of
relationships that man develops, enriches himself and
satisfies the desire to share that characterizes the
nature of his Spirit. It is in social life that the
divine essence that inhabits the human Spirit is
revealed.
Within these concepts, solidarity emerges, which can
only be exercised by those who do not live only for
themselves. It is a word that frightens selfish people,
because it imposes the mobilization of resources in
favor of others.
To be supportive is to feel an intimate need to share
something with others. Solidarity is the feeling of
identification with the problems of others, which leads
people to help each other. It is the commitment by which
we feel obligated to help each other.
At this point, the Spiritist solidarity is projected on
the general social plan of the Spiritist community
through Spiritist Groups, Centers and Institutions,
involving all creatures, protecting them, supporting
them, stimulating them in their daily struggles and
needs, trying to help them without asking for anything
in return, not even doctrinal sympathy, since those who
help do not have the right to impose anything.
The Law of Society drives man to communion, to
solidarity. And to love, divine spark that everyone,
without exception, has deep in their hearts, having seen
that a man, no matter how vile, gives someone, an animal
or any object, a living and ardent affection.
Let's love each other. Let us be solidary. Let us
exercise moral charity, supporting one another despite
differences. Let's put into practice the advice of
Lazarus (Spirit), recorded in item 8 of chapter 11 (Love
your neighbor as yourself), of The Gospel According
to Spiritism: "Happy is he who loves, because he
does not know the anxieties of the soul, nor those of
the body! His feet are light, and he lives as if
transported outside of himself. When Jesus spoke that
divine word, - love - he made the peoples tremble, and
the martyrs, drunk with hope, went down to the circus."
Thus, let us make the beginning of a new way of life,
with the daily and constant practice of love, union and
fraternity, the only paths that lead man to the
evolution of his Spirit, towards a better society and a
happier world.
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