An analysis of an important case described by Andre Luiz
on chapter 8 of the book The Messengers by the medium Francisco Candido Xavier

(Second and final part)

 
Jesus is adamant in the admonition of such conduct, and his words are harsh when addressing the hypocrites:

"But woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For men who shut up the kingdom of heaven: and ye neither go in yourselves, neither suffer ye that are entering to go.

But woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For ye devour widows' houses, a pretence make long prayer: therefore, will suffer stricter judgment.

Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For that traverse sea and land to make one proselyte, and, after having made it, you do it twice the child of hell than yourselves.

Woe to you, blind guides! For which say, Whosoever shall swear by the temple, it is nothing, but whoever swears by the gold of the temple, he is a debtor. Ye fools and blind! For which is greater, the gold or the temple that sanctifies the gold? ".(Matthew, 23:13-17)

To fall alone has a consequence. Falling trailing others (and to a structure, as seems to be the case of Acelino) has another. Both will be the size of the injury.

The spiritual friends moved one in vain (...) In vain, disembodied comrades called me for an opportune clarification. I held on to the lower concern and to my point of view.

 If we suffer harassment from evil, by our own desire, even so we are at the mercy of the shadows: But you will also have others (the Good spirits) about you who will try to (Spirits’ Book, question 466)

“That is how God entrusts to our conscience the choice of path that we must follow and the freedom to yield to one or other of the opposing influences acting on us." 

Much will be asked from whom much is given  

When we fix an objective, we try to gather the conditions necessary to achieve it. Your heart will always be where your treasure is (Matthew, 6:21). We must, therefore, be very careful about what we choose as a life purpose.

Let us see some warnings in the Gospel: The Lord answered, “Martha, Martha! You are worried and upset about so many things, but only one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen what is best, and it will not be taken away from her.” (Luke 10:41-42)

─   But when your eyes are bad, everything is dark. If the light inside you is dark, you surely are in the dark (Matthew, 6:23)

─ But more than anything else, put God’s work first and do what he wants. Then the other things will be yours as well (Matthew, 6:33)

─  Everyone who asks will receive (Matthew 7:8).

Much is required from the person to whom much is given; much more is required from the person to whom much more is given (Luke 12:48).

Much will be asked of Spiritists because they have received much; on the other hand, to those who have taken every advantage of their learning much will be given. Therefore, the first thought of all sincere Spiritists should be to find out if, in the counselling received from the Spirits, there is not something which applies to themselves. Spiritism will multiply the number of those who are called; likewise through growing faith the proportion of those who are chosen will also be multiplied”.(The Gospel according to Spiritism, chapter 18, item 12)

Huge interest was aroused among those who wished for physical improvements and a solution to earthly business. - Again, we choose our "partners", our commensals, our partners of journey in the venture we commit ourselves to. In Acelino’s case, the option for inferior evolved friends is clear, at the expense of fellow noble ideals.

The lessons on higher spirituality (...) stayed at a distance (...)- Water and oil do not mix, as the good does not make a pact with evil: "No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or be devoted to one and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and Mammon.” (Matthew 6:24)

If we allow the approach of a spirit from the darkness, we are, by contrast, hampering the protection of the Spirits of the Light. Again, it is a matter of choice!

The lower mental vibes from the restless clients imprisoned me in the dark psychic chain. – We know for a fact that obsession is na alignment amongst unbalanced minds that look for each other in a common, unhappy purpose. The most vigorous mind is finally imposed on the other, but the subdued mind has to "call", "open the door" for such a happening. Through our inattention, we just end up victimized by our own actions.Those whom we victimise today, transform our despite, in our keeper.  They go on, then to charge what you have caused them. It is for justice. 

We think very little about death 

There is no attachment without consequences. However fortuitous and ephemeral a relationship seem to be, elements are launched which will generate fruits, good or bad, sooner or later.

What kind of spirit are we linking to? What purposes unite? Are we erecting our prisons or paving the road of our liberation?

Death arrived (...) and yanked me from the fantasy.  – It is strange to deal with so much contempt with that which is, perhaps the only phenomenon of which we know they will not escape from – biological death. It seems that we nurture, in our intimacy, the hope of deceiving it.

We think very little about it and we prepare ourselves for it even less.

The spirits make clear to us that we take with us what we were in life (not what we have in life), and that the rendering of accounts is inevitable. But we carry on forward, behaving as if we were able to deceive our own conscience.

By the level of knowledge we have already reached, as well as through the reiterated appeals from the spiritual benefactors  to rectify our ways, we are already fit for transformation, to bring out the new man, the renewed man, the Son of the Man, to assume our condition of “…………..” It is not justifiable we are caught by surprise, if the appeal for vigilance is so clear in the evangelical messages and from the good Spirits;

Homeowners never know when a thief is coming, and they are always on guard to keep one from breaking in.  Always be ready! You don’t know when the Son of Man will come.

I screamed, cried, begged (...). For eleven consecutive years, I atoned (...) between remorse and bitterness. - As the separation between the wheat and the weeds, when the latter will be burned, "all things that offend, and those which do iniquity"  “will be thrown into a flaming furnace, where people will cry and grit their teeth in pain”(Matthew 13:41-42).

As good as nothing were worth the exhortations from the spiritual benefactors so that Acelino towed the line, of no use are his cries and wails now. The atonement - its duration and pain - is proportional to the injury committed against conscience. Especially in his case, as he was more enlightened and was surrounded by help, the deviation is even more serious, with consequences on the same level.

Everyone who commits sin is a slave of sin. (John 8:34) 

Remorse and repentance come first 

It is worth remembering that the atonement is not the rescue. It is preparing the ground for the reconstruction work that will follow. It is the foundation of the new house - if the foundation is weak, the house will be compromised. Hence repentance and remorse coming first necessarily, before reparation.

Going to the carnal circles to serve the creatures of God, (...) I just made religious belief addictives and hidden offenders, faith maimed and thought crippled. - The simplest reasoning shows that the greater the condition of an individual, the greater the damage if he chooses a life of excesses. Like a tree, the more robust and high, the higher the damage caused by its felling, as much as those creatures seeking nest, feed or rest on its branches, as those others around the tree, are directly or indirectly affected.

The survey of the damage is multiplied, if we consider the impact on the environment, on time, and the projects of those many who relied on that resource. This illustrates Acelino’s situation, and all who, like him, carry burdens of leadership and responsibilities of major consequence. The majestic mango tree can do  much more than the humble mustard, but its fall will also be much more disastrous.

In the advancement of evolution, it is inevitable that our burdens increase in proportion to our ability to respond (responsibility) and achievement (knowledge). It is not lawful to flee them - it would be "not to play", Octavius’ situation - and the collection of consciousness is the extent of unused resources, and as in the parable of the talents, the one who received five than buried them. One must always bear in mind how much we can and should do, but one shouldn’t neglect how much one can also harm. 

The sense of sin against the Holy Spirit 

Progress does not bring only the accrued obligations. It also carries the resources of defence, the experience and assistance of spirituality. We receive no greater mission than our ability to perform it well.

For Acelino all this is clear. Hence he considers that he is "worse off" and that his case "carries various and much more serious features."

I have no excuses, because it was clear, I have no forgiveness, because I did have divine assistance. - To err through ignorance is one thing, "for those unaware, what one does is law." To err knowingly is quite another, "Verily I say unto you that all sins will be forgiven of the sons of men, and all sorts of blasphemy, those that blaspheme. Anyone but he that shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost hath never forgiveness, but is guilty of eternal damnation. "(Mk 3:28-29).

To the ignorant person, the error does not entail the feeling of guilt. If anything, he records a painful experience that may or may not lead to a change in practices. Guilt comes when we insist on behaviours that do not fit in with what we already know - this is the meaning of "sin against the Holy Ghost."

Can they assess the extent of my guilt? - Only the individual can make a correct assessment of his guilt. Any judgment of another person will be flawed – it will tend to undervalue or overvalue the results, increasing or decreasing the blame. "Every one knows the pain and delight of being what one is" (Caetano Veloso). Often we rely on the good opinion of friends in search of a moral solace for our pain - but when alone, we have to deal with our conscience, there is no word that they say to us that can comfort us or alleviate our suffering.  Likewise, the trial of opponents however aggressive one is, will not affect us, if our conscience does not endorse their criticisms - their harsh words might cause us some external discomfort, but inwardly we are pacified. 

Concluding... 

The experience of Acelino is of great importance to all of us, students of the things of the spirit, seekers of light. We know that progress is inevitable and our efforts pave the road and expedite our steps. But we have to pay the price and bear the attached obligations upon our shoulders, together with clarification. The more we receive, the more we can fulfil, but on the other hand, our idleness can cause greater damage. And there's no avoiding it - no return and stagnation is very limited and has its own consequences. To encourage us, let us remember that the more committed to and involved in the divine task we are, the greater assistance and support - the closer the focus of light, energy and warmth we received.