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The Spiritist Review - Journal of Psychological Studies - 1863 > March > Death of Mr. Guillaume Renaud, from Lyon
Death of Mr. Guillaume Renaud, from Lyon
The vicar of the parish speaking to the parishioners about the horrors of Spiritism added that “the chief of the Spiritists of Lyon had died three or four days ago; that he had refused the sacraments; that only two or three Spiritist had attend his funeral, without relatives or priests; that if the chief of the Spiritists (meaning Mr. Allan Kardec) died he would have been sorry if he had done what the chief had done by not showing up.” He then concluded that he would not deny anything about that doctrine and that he would not affirm anything but that it was something from the devil, acting against God’s will.
My son, said the priest, you are more Christian than many who alleged to be.
The funeral of Mr. Guillaume Renard took place on Sunday February 1st; he was a former officer, honored with the medal of St. Helen, and one of the oldest and most eager followers of that town, well-known amongst his brothers in faith. Although he professed some points where we disagreed, these points were not significant and did not affect the foundation of the Doctrine. This notwithstanding, he was still liked and respected, given the goodness of his character and his distinguished moral qualities. Had we been in Lyon on that occasion, we would have thrown some flowers on his grave. May he receive here, as well as his family and personal friends, this testimony of our sympathetic memory!
A simple and modest man, Mr. Renaud was almost unknown outside Lyon. His death, however, reverberated even in a Village of Haute-Saone, where on February 8th the following was said:
A simple and modest man, Mr. Renaud was almost unknown outside Lyon. His death, however, reverberated even in a Village of Haute-Saone, where on February 8th the following was said:
The vicar of the parish speaking to the parishioners about the horrors of Spiritism added that “the chief of the Spiritists of Lyon had died three or four days ago; that he had refused the sacraments; that only two or three Spiritist had attend his funeral, without relatives or priests; that if the chief of the Spiritists (meaning Mr. Allan Kardec) died he would have been sorry if he had done what the chief had done by not showing up.” He then concluded that he would not deny anything about that doctrine and that he would not affirm anything but that it was something from the devil, acting against God’s will.
My son, said the priest, you are more Christian than many who alleged to be.
If we wanted to rebut all the falsities attributed to Spiritism aiming at the adulteration of its character and objective, we would fill out the Review with that alone. Since that does not bother us, we let them talk limiting ourselves to collect the notes that are sent to us so that they can later take part, if possible, in the history of Spiritism.
Given the circumstances that we have just mentioned, it is a material fact about which the vicar of the parish is undoubtedly misinformed. We do not wish to suppose that he had consciously intended to do this on purpose. He wdould certainly have done better if he had not been so fast and if he had sought more accurate information. Not long ago, someone from the same location had died and there was a bad rumor that started concerning the society of the “rapping brothers”. The rumor asserted that there were seven or eight individuals from the village that wanted to resuscitate the dead by placing a bandage on their foreheads with an ointment prepared by the Spiritist Society of Paris. This society of the rapping brothers would then visit the cemetery every day to reanimate the dead. Women and youngsters of the region were so frightened that dared not leave their houses for being afraid of meeting a corpse.
Nothing else was needed to negatively impress a weak or sick mind and in the event of any accident Spiritism would promptly be blamed.
Let us go back to Mr. Renaud. When he was sick, there were useless efforts employed to make him give up his Spiritist beliefs. Nevertheless, a venerable priest received his confession and offered a pardon. Following that there was an effort to withdraw the certificate of confession and null the pardon together with the clergy of Saint-Jean as if it were given lightheartedly. It is a case of conscience that we cannot solve. Hence this very just public reflection that someone who receives the pardon cannot have the guarantee of its validity considering that a priest may have given it lightheartedly despite his good will. The clergy then adamantly refused to receive the body at the Church because Mr. Renaud did not want to retreat from his convictions that had given him so much consolation and helped him to withstand the trial of life with resignation.
For a matter of decency and due to the fact that we would be forced to name people, we will remain silent about the unfortunate maneuvers that were tried and the lies that were told to provoke disorder in this case. We will only say that they were totally contradicted by the common sense and prudence of the Spiritists that, despite it all, deserved the benevolence of the authorities. The leaders of the groups recommended that no answer should be given to any provocation.
Regarding the refusal of the clergy to provide prayers at the Church, the body was taken directly to the cemetery, followed by approximately a thousand people, having the funeral the attendance of about fifty women and young ladies, something that is not typical in Lyon. A special prayer was read at the grave by one of the participants, respectfully and silently heard by everybody. Then the crowd left quietly and everything ended as it had begun in perfect order.
As a contrast, we say that our former colleague, Mr. Sanson, received every sacrament before dying and was taken to the Church, followed by a priest from the cemetery, although he had previously and formally declared that he was a Spiritist and did not deny any of his convictions. The priest said: What would you do, however, if I told you that your pardon would depend on such a denial? - It would bother me but I would persist because your pardon is worth nothing. What do you mean? Don’t you believe in the efficacy of the pardon? – Yes, but I do not believe in the validity of a pardon received under such hypocrisy. Hear me out. Spiritism is not just a simple belief, an article of faith, but it is as positive as life. How would you like me to deny a fact that has been demonstrated to me like the light that illuminates us and to whom I owe the miraculous healing of my leg? If I did so, it would have been with my lips rather than my heart; it would be perjure. Then you would have given the pardon to a perjurer. I say that it would not be worth anything because it would be given in appearance but not in reality. That is why I would rather go without it.
We heard these words from Mr. Sanson himself. Since similar situations may occur here and there we hope that all Spiritists follow the example of Lyon and that in no circumstance may they lose civility that is a consequence of the principles of the Doctrine and the best response to be given to its adversaries that only seek pretext to justify their attacks.
Evoked thirty-six hours after his death at the central group of Lyon Mr. Renaud gave the following communications:
“I am still a bit confused despite the fact that I found here friendly faces and sympathetic hearts, feeling almost ashamed or, better saying, my thoughts are somewhat young. Oh! Mrs… what a difference, what a change in my condition! Thank you very much for your constant kindness. Thank you Mrs. V… for your good visits and for being so welcoming. You would like to know what happened to me since yesterday. I began to detach from the body in the morning. It seemed that I was evaporating. I felt the blood coagulating in my arteries, feeling as if it was about to end. I gradually lost consciousness and slept with a certain compressing pain; I then woke up and saw spirits celebrating around me. I then became confused since I could not separate the dead from the living ones; my head was a bit disturbed by the tears and by the joy; I was called from all sides as right now. Yes, thanks to the true friends that protected and encouraged me, now evoked in this difficult transition since the separation is painful and the pain is truly real, I understand the scream of arrival and the sigh of departure. I was already evoked several times hence I feel fatigued as the traveler who travelled all night long. Before I live would you allow me to return and shake hands with everyone?
G. Renaud”
Mr. Renaud was evoked at the Parisian Society of Spiritist Studies. We postpone the publication due to a lack of space.
Given the circumstances that we have just mentioned, it is a material fact about which the vicar of the parish is undoubtedly misinformed. We do not wish to suppose that he had consciously intended to do this on purpose. He wdould certainly have done better if he had not been so fast and if he had sought more accurate information. Not long ago, someone from the same location had died and there was a bad rumor that started concerning the society of the “rapping brothers”. The rumor asserted that there were seven or eight individuals from the village that wanted to resuscitate the dead by placing a bandage on their foreheads with an ointment prepared by the Spiritist Society of Paris. This society of the rapping brothers would then visit the cemetery every day to reanimate the dead. Women and youngsters of the region were so frightened that dared not leave their houses for being afraid of meeting a corpse.
Nothing else was needed to negatively impress a weak or sick mind and in the event of any accident Spiritism would promptly be blamed.
Let us go back to Mr. Renaud. When he was sick, there were useless efforts employed to make him give up his Spiritist beliefs. Nevertheless, a venerable priest received his confession and offered a pardon. Following that there was an effort to withdraw the certificate of confession and null the pardon together with the clergy of Saint-Jean as if it were given lightheartedly. It is a case of conscience that we cannot solve. Hence this very just public reflection that someone who receives the pardon cannot have the guarantee of its validity considering that a priest may have given it lightheartedly despite his good will. The clergy then adamantly refused to receive the body at the Church because Mr. Renaud did not want to retreat from his convictions that had given him so much consolation and helped him to withstand the trial of life with resignation.
For a matter of decency and due to the fact that we would be forced to name people, we will remain silent about the unfortunate maneuvers that were tried and the lies that were told to provoke disorder in this case. We will only say that they were totally contradicted by the common sense and prudence of the Spiritists that, despite it all, deserved the benevolence of the authorities. The leaders of the groups recommended that no answer should be given to any provocation.
Regarding the refusal of the clergy to provide prayers at the Church, the body was taken directly to the cemetery, followed by approximately a thousand people, having the funeral the attendance of about fifty women and young ladies, something that is not typical in Lyon. A special prayer was read at the grave by one of the participants, respectfully and silently heard by everybody. Then the crowd left quietly and everything ended as it had begun in perfect order.
As a contrast, we say that our former colleague, Mr. Sanson, received every sacrament before dying and was taken to the Church, followed by a priest from the cemetery, although he had previously and formally declared that he was a Spiritist and did not deny any of his convictions. The priest said: What would you do, however, if I told you that your pardon would depend on such a denial? - It would bother me but I would persist because your pardon is worth nothing. What do you mean? Don’t you believe in the efficacy of the pardon? – Yes, but I do not believe in the validity of a pardon received under such hypocrisy. Hear me out. Spiritism is not just a simple belief, an article of faith, but it is as positive as life. How would you like me to deny a fact that has been demonstrated to me like the light that illuminates us and to whom I owe the miraculous healing of my leg? If I did so, it would have been with my lips rather than my heart; it would be perjure. Then you would have given the pardon to a perjurer. I say that it would not be worth anything because it would be given in appearance but not in reality. That is why I would rather go without it.
We heard these words from Mr. Sanson himself. Since similar situations may occur here and there we hope that all Spiritists follow the example of Lyon and that in no circumstance may they lose civility that is a consequence of the principles of the Doctrine and the best response to be given to its adversaries that only seek pretext to justify their attacks.
Evoked thirty-six hours after his death at the central group of Lyon Mr. Renaud gave the following communications:
“I am still a bit confused despite the fact that I found here friendly faces and sympathetic hearts, feeling almost ashamed or, better saying, my thoughts are somewhat young. Oh! Mrs… what a difference, what a change in my condition! Thank you very much for your constant kindness. Thank you Mrs. V… for your good visits and for being so welcoming. You would like to know what happened to me since yesterday. I began to detach from the body in the morning. It seemed that I was evaporating. I felt the blood coagulating in my arteries, feeling as if it was about to end. I gradually lost consciousness and slept with a certain compressing pain; I then woke up and saw spirits celebrating around me. I then became confused since I could not separate the dead from the living ones; my head was a bit disturbed by the tears and by the joy; I was called from all sides as right now. Yes, thanks to the true friends that protected and encouraged me, now evoked in this difficult transition since the separation is painful and the pain is truly real, I understand the scream of arrival and the sigh of departure. I was already evoked several times hence I feel fatigued as the traveler who travelled all night long. Before I live would you allow me to return and shake hands with everyone?
G. Renaud”
Mr. Renaud was evoked at the Parisian Society of Spiritist Studies. We postpone the publication due to a lack of space.