Spiritist Teachings and DissertationsFaith, Hope and Charity
(Bordeaux – medium Mrs. Cazemajoux)
Faith
“I am the older sister to Hope and Charity. My name is Faith.
I am big and strong. The one who carries me is fearless of fire and chains since charity is a shield to every physical and moral suffering. I radiate upon you like a sun whose shiny beams reflect out from the bottom of your hearts and I transfer life and strength to you. They say that I transport mountains but here is what I say: I come to elevate the world since Spiritism is the lever that will help me. Join me. I invite you. I am Faith.
I am Faith! I live with Hope, Charity and Love in the world of the pure Spirits. I have many times left the ethereal regions and come to Earth to regenerate you, giving you the life of the spirit. However, apart from the martyrs of the old days of Christianity and some eager sacrifices from time to time, apart from the progress of science, literature, industry and freedom, I have not found but indifference and neglect at the heart of humanity, thus I have sadly returned to heavens. You believe that I am among you but you are mistaken since Faith without actions is a simulacrum of Faith. True Faith is life and action.
Before the revelation of Spiritism life was barren, I was a tree dried out by light that produced no fruit. Through my actions, enlighten intelligences, and strengthen hearts, I send deceiving influences away and lead you to God through the perfection of the spirit and the heart. Come to stand before my flag. I am strong and powerful. I am Faith.
I am Faith and my kingdom starts with humanity, a peaceful kingdom that will make them happy now and throughout eternity. The dawn of my arrival is pure and serene. Its Sun will be resplendent and Faith will kindly set by embracing humanity in eternal happiness.
Spiritism! Cast upon humanity your regenerative baptism. I beg you. I am Faith.”
Georges, Bishop of Périgueux.
Hope
“My name is Hope. I smile as you come to be; I follow you step-by-step. I never leave you behind except in worlds where the promises of happiness become true to you and are constantly whispered in your ears. I am your loyal friend. Do not send my inspirations away. I am Hope.
It is I coming out of the songs of the nightingales, relaying in the echoes of the forests those tearful and scored notes that make you dream of heavens. It is me who inspire the swallow to warm up
their loved ones at the shelter of your homes; it is me caressing your hair in the quick drafts of wind; it is me spreading at your feet the subtle perfume of flower from your gardens; and you almost never think of me! Do not reject me: it is Hope!
I take all forms to come close to you: I am the star in the sky; the warmth of the beam of light that gives life to you; I cradle your smiley dreams at night; I send your somber worries and thoughts away; I guide your steps towards the virtuous path; I follow you when you visit the poor, the miserable, those in suffering, inspiring in you kind and reassuring words. Do not reject me. I am Hope.
I am Hope! It is I that, in the winter grow the thick moss on the oak tree allowing the birds to build their nests; it is I that crown the apple and the almond tree with white and pink flowers in the spring, spreading them on the ground like a celestial rug, leading to the aspiration of happy worlds. I am with you particularly when you are poor and in suffering and my voice resonates incessantly in your ears. Do not reject me. I am Hope.
Do not reject me because the angel of despair fights a cruel battle against me, struggling in vain efforts to take my place by your side. I am not always the stronger side and when it is successful in keeping me away it surrounds you with its deadly wings; it veers your thoughts off God, leading you to suicide. Join me to keep its dismal influence away, allowing yourself to be gently cradled in my arms for I am Hope.”
Felicia, medium’s daughter
Charity
I am Charity, yes, true Charity. I am nothing like the charity whose guidelines you follow. The one who took my name among you is fantasist, capricious, exclusive, and proud. I come to forearm you against the effects that overshadow the light and the merit of your good deeds before God. Be submissive to the lessons that the Spirit of Truth gives you through my voice. Follow me, my faithful ones: I am Charity.
Follow me. I know every disgrace, every pain, every suffering, and every affliction that harass humanity. I am the mother of the orphans, the daughter of the old ones, the protector and support of the widows. I cure the infected ulcers; I treat every ill person; I dress, feed and shelter those who have nothing; I visit the humblest shanty and the most miserable huts; I knock at the door of the rich and powerful for wherever there is a human being there is excruciating and bitter pain under the mask of happiness. Oh! How overwhelming is my mission! I will not be able to accomplish that if I do not have your support. Come to me. I am Charity.
I prefer no one. I never tell those who need me: ‘Go somewhere else. I have my own poor.’ Oh! False charity, how much harm you do! Friends, we owe one another. Believe me. Deny assistance to no one. Help one another with enough altruism to not expect recognition from the part of those that you have helped. Peace in one’s heart and in one’s conscience is the gentle award of my works: I am the true Charity.
Nobody knows on Earth the amount and the nature of my benefits. It is only false charity that hurts and humiliates the benefited ones. Avoid such dismal deviation. Actions of that kind have no merit before God and attract his wrath. It is only God that must know the generous impulses of your hearts when you become the dispensers of God’s benefits. Hence, my friends, refrain from giving publicity to your mutual assistance; no longer give it the name alms; believe me: I am Charity.
I have so much pain and suffering to alleviate that sometimes my hands are empty. I come to tell you that I am waiting for you. Spiritism holds the flag of Love and Charity and every true Spiritist wants to comply with this sublime precept taught by Jesus Christ eighteen centuries ago. Therefore, follow me brothers and I will lead you to the Kingdom of God, our father. I am Charity.”
Adolph, Bishop of Alger.
Instructions given by our Guides about the three communications above
My friends, you must have thought that one of us had given their teachings about faith, hope and charity. And you were right. Our joy is not diminished when we happily see elevated Spirits frequently giving you advices that must guide your spiritual works, helping you in your Spiritist apostleship.
Hence you can attribute the communication about faith to the spirit of Georges; about hope to Felicia, finding there the poetic style that she had in life; and charity to Mr. Dupuch, Bishop of Alger and one of its eager apostles on Earth.
We still have to handle the issue of charity under another point of view. This will be done in a few days.
Your guides.
Forgetting Humiliation
Parisian Society of Spiritist Studies – medium Mrs. Costel
“My dear, forgetting humiliation is achieving the perfection of the soul. It was easier for Jesus to forgive the outrage of his Passion than it is for you to forgive the slight mockery. The great soul of the Savior was used for kindness and would not conceive bitterness or vengeance; ours, when hit by little things, forget what is important.
People daily beg for God’s forgiveness that falls upon them like a beneficent drizzle, but their hearts forget that word, incessantly repeated in their prayers. Truly, I tell you: the internal pride corrupts the soul. It is the huge rock that attaches it to the ground, delaying its elevation. When criticized look inside; examine your sinful self, the one that the world ignores; probe its depth and heal your vanity through the recognition of your own misery. If the offense is more serious and reaches your heart be sorry for the unfortunate one who has done that, as you would be for an injured person whose open wound is gushing blood. Someone that annihilates his future deserves compassion.
Jesus met human suffering at the Garden of Olives but he always ignored the roughness of pride and the insignificance of vanity. He incarnated to demonstrate to humanity the type of moral beauty that should serve as their role model. Do not move away from that ever. Work onto your souls as one does with the soft material and transform your clay into an imperishable marble that God, the great sculptor, may sign.”
Lazarus
February 1862 About Instinct
Parisian Society of Spiritist Studies – medium Mrs. Costel
“I will teach you about the true meaning of good and evil that is frequently confounded by the spirit. Evil is a revolt of the instincts against the conscience, this inner and delicate measure that is the moral measure. What are the borders that separate it from good that is surrounded by evil all over the place? Evil is not complex; it is unique and comes out of the primitive being that wishes the satisfaction of the instincts to the price of the duties. The instinct develops in the animal man to care for his own wellbeing and preservation; it is the only source of evil since it is still rougher and more violent in certain people, pushing them to take what they want and accumulate what they have. The instinct that is blindly obeyed by animals, their actual virtue, must be continuously fought by the person that wishes to move up higher, replacing the unpolished utensil of need by the finely carved arms of intelligence.
Note, however, that instinct is not always bad and humanity eventually owes it sublime inspirations. Examples exist in cases where maternity and certain acts of dedication where safety replaces thoughts. My daughter, your objection is precisely the cause of the error that leads to the downfall of people who are ready to ignore the truth, always absolute in its consequences. Regardless of the good results of a bad cause, the examples must never lead to conclusions that go against premises that were established by reason. Instinct is bad because it is purely human and humanity must think of nothing else but of unloading those instincts and leaving the flesh to elevate the spirit. If evil walks shoulder to shoulder with good it is for the fact that its principle frequently leads to results opposed to itself and that go unnoticed by frivolous and sensation driven people.
Nothing truly good can come out of instinct. This sublime impulse is not devotion as an isolated inspiration is not genius. The true progress of humanity is its struggle and triumph against its very essence. Jesus was sent to Earth to demonstrate that humanely. He unveiled the truth, this beautiful spring hidden under the sand of ignorance. Keep the purity of the divine gift away from your mistakes. Believe me that those who are only good and devout just out of their instincts are bad since they are blindly dominated by something that can suddenly throw them off the cliff.
Lazarus
NOTE: Despite our respect for the spirit of Lazarus who has given us so many beautiful pages we take the liberty of disagreeing with his last propositions. One can say that there are two kinds of instinct: the animal and the moral. The first, as Lazarus says well, is organic; it is given to living beings for their conservation and that of their descendants. It is blind and almost unconscious because the Providence wanted to give a counter weight to its indifference and negligence. The same does not apply to the moral instinct that is a privilege of the humanity. It can be defined as this: An innate propensity to do good or bad. Now, such propensity is due to the more or less advanced state of the spirit. A person whose spirit is already purified does good without premeditation and as a very natural thing and being praised for that a cause of surprise. Hence it is not fair to say “those who are only good and devout just out of their instincts are bad since they are blindly dominated by something that can suddenly throw them off the cliff”. The ones who are instinctively good and sincere demonstrate an already realized progress; those who do so intentionally, progress is still to take place and for that reason there is struggle between the two feelings. In the first group the difficulty has been defeated; in the second group it must be defeated. The first group is like someone that can read and do so effortlessly, almost unnoticeably; the second one is like someone that works on the spelling. Should one have less merit than the other just because it is late?
