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The Spiritist Review - Journal of Psychological Studies - 1864 > June
June
2nd Article – see the May 1864 issue
This is one of those books that cannot be thoroughly refuted but through another book. It would have to be discussed article by article. That is a task what we will not undertake because it touches issues that are not in our scope and that were handled by many others. We will limit ourselves to the examination of the consequences found by the author given his stand point.
There are two distinctive parts in his book as in all historic ones: the report and the analysis of the facts. The first one is a matter of erudition and good faith; the second depends entirely on a personal opinion. Two persons may agree entirely with respect to one and totally disagree about the other. It is natural that the religious part was attacked since it is a matter of belief but the historic part does not seem to be invulnerable judging by the criticism of the theologians that not only contested the analysis but also the accuracy of certain facts.
We leave it to those that are more competent than us to come up with a decision about the last issue. However and without the pretension of becoming a judge in the debate we acknowledge that certain criticisms are evidently founded but about several important historic events Mr. Renan’s observations are perfectly fair.
Among the numerous refutations made to his book we believe to be proper to mention those from Father Gratry as one of the most logical and impartial. He points out the contradictions he found with clarity every step of the way.[1]
Let us admit, however, that Mr. Renan did not move a bit away from the historic truth. That does not imply that his analysis was fair because his work was based on his personal opinion and preconceived ideas. He studied the facts to find there proofs of his opinion and not to form an opinion. Naturally he only saw there what was according to his opinion and did not see what was against it. His opinion is his measure. As I matter of fact we learned this from him at page 5 of his introduction: “After telling Jesus’ story I would be glad to tell the story of the apostles as I see it; the status of the Christian conscience during the weeks that followed Jesus’ death; the formation of the legendary cycle of resurrection; the first acts of the Church of Jerusalem; the life of St. Paul, etc.”
There could be several ways of analyzing a fact but the fact itself is always the same irrespective of one’s opinion. Mr. Renan has his story about the apostles as he has his own about the life of Jesus. Does he show enough impartiality so that his idea may deserve credit? May he allows us to doubt it!
He acted because he was persuaded. We believe that he did so in good faith and that the material errors that he is criticized for are not the result of a premediated intention to alter the truth but from a false evaluation of things. He is in the position of a conscientious person that holds exclusive partisans ideas of the old regime that was invited to write the history of the French Revolution. His report could be highly accurate as far as the events are concerned but his judgement about people and things will be the reflex of his own ideas. He will censor what others will approve. He would uselessly cover the places where the events took place because the places will confirm the events but will not make him see things differently. That is what happened to Mr. Renan. Traveling around Judea with the Gospels in hand he found the traces of Jesus then concluding that the Christ existed but that did not change the way he saw Jesus. In places where he only saw the steps of a regular man an apostle of the orthodox faith might have seen the traces of divinity. His appreciation is the result of the stand point where placed himself. Does he deny atheism and materialism because he does not believe that matter thinks and because he admits an intelligent principle after the death of each individual? If we believe Mr. Renan’s dedication to his sister the intelligent principle does keeps its individuality and affections. But if the soul keeps its individuality and affections there is then an invisible world that is intelligent and that loves. Well, considering that such a world is intelligent it cannot remain inactive; it must play any kind of role in the universe. Lo and behold! The whole book is the very negation of that invisible world and of any active intelligence beyond the visible world. Consequently it is also the negation of any phenomenon that may result from the action of hidden intelligences and every relationship between the dead and the living ones, and hence one must conclude that his touching dedication to his sister is the work of imagination driven by a sincere grief due to the loss of his sister, expressing more his desire than his belief because if he had seriously believed in the individuality of his sister; in the persistence of her feelings towards him; in her solicitude and inspiration such a belief would have given him truer ideas about the meaning of most words of Jesus. Christ, in fact, concerned with the future of the soul, incessantly makes reference to the invisible world that he presents as something much more desirable than the material world and as supposed to constitute the objective of every human aspiration.
For those that see nothing beyond humanity these words: “My kingdom is not of this world; My Father’s house has many rooms;do not store up for yourselves treasures on Earth where rust destroy and thieves break in and steal, but store up for yourselves treasures in heavens; Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted” and so many others must only have a fantastical meaning. That is how Mr. Renan considers them when he says: The part of truth in Jesus’s thought dragged him to the fantasticalthat obscured him. Nonetheless we must not neglect that fantastical thing that was the gross skin of the sacred fruit from which we live. That fantastical heaven, that never ending search for the city of God that has always concerned Christianism in its long career was the principle of the great instinct about the future that has driven all reformers, determined disciples of the Apocalypse from Joachim de Fiore to the sectary protestant of our days. (Chapter XVIII, page 285, 1st edition).[2]
All Jesus’ work was spiritual. Since Mr. Renan does not believe in the spiritualization of the being or in a spiritual world he should naturally take the opposite of Jesus’ words and judge him from an exclusively material point of view. A materialist or pantheist person judging a spiritual piece of work is like a deaf person judging a piece of music. When Mr. Renan judged Jesus from his stand point he must have been mistaken with respect to Jesus’ intentions and character. The most positive proof of that is found in this passage of his book (Chap. VII, page 128): “Jesus is not a spiritualist because everything that he produces is tangible work. He does not bring any notion of a soul separated from the body but he is a complete idealist since for him matter is not but the manifestation of thought and reality is a vivid expression of what cannot be seen.”
Is it possible to conceive Jesus Christ, the founder of the spiritualist Doctrine by excellence, not believing in the individuality of the soul, without any notion of that and consequently not believing in a future life? If he is not spiritualist then he is materialist and consequently Mr. Renan is more spiritualist than Jesus. Those words are not for discussion. They are good enough to show the latitude of his book demonstrating that the author read the Gospels either lightheartedly or with a preconceived mind for he did not see what is ordinarily seen by everyone. One can admit his good faith but certainly not his fair view.
His whole analysis stems from the idea that Jesus only target terrestrial things. According to him Jesus was an essentially good man, of kind gestures and education limited to the study of the sacred texts, of a naturally superior intelligence and that borrowed the idea of founding a doctrine from the religious disputes of the Jews. For that he was favored by the circumstances that he exploited skillfully. Without a plan or a preconceived idea and seeing that he would not succeed with the rich he then sought the support of the working class that were naturally revolted against the rich. He could make friends by flattering them. If he said that the kingdom of heavens belonged to the children that was to please their mothers by touching her weak points and then turning them into followers. Therefore the recently born religion was a movement of women and children. In one word Jesus was all about calculation and combinations and he succeeded helped by people’s attraction to marvelous things. As a matter of fact he was not much austere because he loved Magdalene who loved him back. His needs were provided by many rich women. Jesus and the apostles were work-shy people that did not refuse a good table. Here what he says:
“Three or four dedicated Galilee ladies followed the young master competing and taking turns in the pleasure of hearing him and taking care of him. They brought to the new sect an element of enthusiasm and marvelous whose importance is already learnt. One of them, Mary Magdalene that turn the name of her poor village into celebrity was apparently a very uneasy person. According to the language of the time she seemed to have been possessed by seven demons that is to say that she suffered of nervous and apparently inexplicable diseases. Jesus appeased that disturbed organization for her pure and kind beauty. Magdalene was faithful to him up until the Golgotha and the day after his death she played a leading role since she was the main instrument in the establishment of faith in the resurrection as we will see later. Joanna the wife of Chuzas, Herod’s steward from Antipas, Susanna and others that remained unknown followed and served him tirelessly. Some were rich and given their fortune they allowed the young prophet to live without working in the profession that had until then being his bread winning activity.” (Chap. IX, page 151).
“Jesus understood very soon that the official world of his time was not absolutely into his kingdom. He was very daring with respect to his preaching. He left aside that people of dry heart and narrow prejudices and look to the simple ones. The kingdom of God is for the children and their similar; for the forgotten of the world victimized by the social arrogance that repeals the simple but good person… The pure Ebionism meaning that only the poor are saved; that the kingdom of the poor is coming was therefore the doctrine of Jesus.” (Chap. XI, page 178).
“He did not appreciate the states of the soul but in proportion to the love that was aggregated. Women full of tears in their hearts and prepared for the feelings of humility due to their faults were closer to the kingdom than those of mediocre nature that frequently have no merit for not having failed. On another hand those kind souls conceivably found an easy way of rehabilitation in their conversion to the sect hence dedicated to that with passion.”
“Far from seeking the attenuation of their groans raised by their disdain to the social susceptibilities of the time he seemed to take pleasure in exciting them. Such a disdain towards the world had never been so much confessed before, a condition to the great things and the great originalities. He only forgave the rich when the rich was badly judged by society for some kind of prejudice. He openly preferred the people of doubtful life giving little importance to the orthodox notable. He told them: Publicans and courtesans will come before you in the kingdom of God. John says: ‘Publicans and courtesans believe in him and despite that you have not converted.’ One can understand that the criticism for not having followed the good example given by the daughters of pleasure must have been terrible to people that were serious and of a rigid conduct.”
“He was not given to exterior signs or austerity. He did not run away from joy since he would willingly go to wedding parties. One of his miracles was carried out to animate a wedding party in a village. In the Orient weddings take place at night. Each guest carries a lamp; the swinging lights form a very pleasant effect. Jesus liked that aspect that was joyful and lively and he took his parables from that.” (Chap. XI, page 187).
“The Pharisees and the doctors screamed at the scandal: Look at the people with whom he eats! Jesus then had fine answers that irritated the hypocrites: It is not the healthy ones that need doctor.” (Chap. XI, page 185).
Mr. Renan took care of indicating the passages of the Gospels that he mentioned in footnotes to demonstrate that he was supported by the texts. It is not the truth of the citations that are contested but the interpretations that he gives to them. That is how the profound maxim of the last paragraph is deformed by a witty comment. Everything materializes in Mr. Renan’s thoughts; he only sees material things in all of Jesus words because he himself sees nothing beyond material life. After an idyllic description of Galilea with its delicious climate and luxuriant fertility, of the hospitable and kind character of its inhabitants that creates the true shepherds of the Arcade, he then finds the source of Christianity in the soul of the people that should result from that.
“That joyful and easily satisfied life would not lead to the materialism of our peasant; to the great happiness of a generous dwelling; to the heavy joy of the flamingos. It spiritualized in ethereal dreams, in a kind of poetic mysticism, confounding heavens and Earth… Joy will be part of the kingdom of God. Isn’t that the daughter of the humble hearts, of the people of good will?
The whole history of Christianity then became a delicious pastoral. A Messiah in a wedding feast; the courtesan and the good Zacchaeus invited to the parties; the founders of the kingdom of God like in an entourage of paranymphs: that is what Galilea dared and had accepted.” (Chap. IV, page 67).
“Jesus was dominated by a remarkable feeling of profundity in all that as well as the band of joyful boys that followed him and that made him the true creator of peace to soul in eternity, the great consoler of life.” (Chap. X, page 172).
“Utopias of blessed life founded on the fraternity of mankind and on the pure cult of a true God concerned the enlightened souls and produced daring and sincere reactions from all sides but with not much future. (Chap. X, page 172).
“In the East when a house receives a foreigner it immediately becomes a public place. The whole village gathers there. Children invade the place and the servants keep them away but they always come back. Jesus would not accept that the naïve listeners would be mistreat; he would bring them over and embrace them. The mothers encouraged by such a reception would bring him the babies to that he would touch them… Women and children then loved him… The just born religion was therefore a movement of women and children. The latter surrounded him like a young guard would do to the inauguration of an innocent realty, cheering him up and calling him the son of David, singing Hosanna and clapping around him, and all that made him happy. Jesus, like Savonarola, perhaps used them as instruments in charitable missions. He felt relaxed with those young apostles that did not compromised him, putting them in front and conferring them with titles that he dared not take for himself.” (Chap. XI, page 190).
Jesus is then presented as a vulgar ambitious person, of petty passions, sneaking and that has no courage to expose himself. In the absence of an effective realty he is content with the most innocent and least dangerous that is conferred by the children. The following passage makes him an egotist:
“But all that did not result in the Church of Jerusalem or a group of Jerusalemite disciples. The charming doctor that forgave everybody as long as he was loved could not find much echo in that sanctuary of vain disputes and chronic sacrifices. It seems that his family did not love him and sometimes we see him tough on them. Like all those men exclusively worried about an idea Jesus got to the point of giving little importance to family links… Later on in his daring revolt against nature he would go even further and step onto everything that was related to people: blood, love, motherland and not preserving from the heart and soul but the idea that he presented as the absolute form of good and true.” (Chap. III, page 42, 43).
That is what Mr. Renan entitles the Origins of Christianity. Who would have ever believed that and band of mockers, a multitude of women, courtesans and children, led by an idealist that had no notion about the soul could change the face of the political, social and religious world, helped by an utopia, an illusion of a celestial kingdom?
In another article we will examine the way he sees the miracles and the nature of the person Jesus.
[1] Brochure 18-in, price 1 franc. Plon, Rue Guanancière, 8
[2] All the citations are taken from the 1st edition
This is one of those books that cannot be thoroughly refuted but through another book. It would have to be discussed article by article. That is a task what we will not undertake because it touches issues that are not in our scope and that were handled by many others. We will limit ourselves to the examination of the consequences found by the author given his stand point.
There are two distinctive parts in his book as in all historic ones: the report and the analysis of the facts. The first one is a matter of erudition and good faith; the second depends entirely on a personal opinion. Two persons may agree entirely with respect to one and totally disagree about the other. It is natural that the religious part was attacked since it is a matter of belief but the historic part does not seem to be invulnerable judging by the criticism of the theologians that not only contested the analysis but also the accuracy of certain facts.
We leave it to those that are more competent than us to come up with a decision about the last issue. However and without the pretension of becoming a judge in the debate we acknowledge that certain criticisms are evidently founded but about several important historic events Mr. Renan’s observations are perfectly fair.
Among the numerous refutations made to his book we believe to be proper to mention those from Father Gratry as one of the most logical and impartial. He points out the contradictions he found with clarity every step of the way.[1]
Let us admit, however, that Mr. Renan did not move a bit away from the historic truth. That does not imply that his analysis was fair because his work was based on his personal opinion and preconceived ideas. He studied the facts to find there proofs of his opinion and not to form an opinion. Naturally he only saw there what was according to his opinion and did not see what was against it. His opinion is his measure. As I matter of fact we learned this from him at page 5 of his introduction: “After telling Jesus’ story I would be glad to tell the story of the apostles as I see it; the status of the Christian conscience during the weeks that followed Jesus’ death; the formation of the legendary cycle of resurrection; the first acts of the Church of Jerusalem; the life of St. Paul, etc.”
There could be several ways of analyzing a fact but the fact itself is always the same irrespective of one’s opinion. Mr. Renan has his story about the apostles as he has his own about the life of Jesus. Does he show enough impartiality so that his idea may deserve credit? May he allows us to doubt it!
He acted because he was persuaded. We believe that he did so in good faith and that the material errors that he is criticized for are not the result of a premediated intention to alter the truth but from a false evaluation of things. He is in the position of a conscientious person that holds exclusive partisans ideas of the old regime that was invited to write the history of the French Revolution. His report could be highly accurate as far as the events are concerned but his judgement about people and things will be the reflex of his own ideas. He will censor what others will approve. He would uselessly cover the places where the events took place because the places will confirm the events but will not make him see things differently. That is what happened to Mr. Renan. Traveling around Judea with the Gospels in hand he found the traces of Jesus then concluding that the Christ existed but that did not change the way he saw Jesus. In places where he only saw the steps of a regular man an apostle of the orthodox faith might have seen the traces of divinity. His appreciation is the result of the stand point where placed himself. Does he deny atheism and materialism because he does not believe that matter thinks and because he admits an intelligent principle after the death of each individual? If we believe Mr. Renan’s dedication to his sister the intelligent principle does keeps its individuality and affections. But if the soul keeps its individuality and affections there is then an invisible world that is intelligent and that loves. Well, considering that such a world is intelligent it cannot remain inactive; it must play any kind of role in the universe. Lo and behold! The whole book is the very negation of that invisible world and of any active intelligence beyond the visible world. Consequently it is also the negation of any phenomenon that may result from the action of hidden intelligences and every relationship between the dead and the living ones, and hence one must conclude that his touching dedication to his sister is the work of imagination driven by a sincere grief due to the loss of his sister, expressing more his desire than his belief because if he had seriously believed in the individuality of his sister; in the persistence of her feelings towards him; in her solicitude and inspiration such a belief would have given him truer ideas about the meaning of most words of Jesus. Christ, in fact, concerned with the future of the soul, incessantly makes reference to the invisible world that he presents as something much more desirable than the material world and as supposed to constitute the objective of every human aspiration.
For those that see nothing beyond humanity these words: “My kingdom is not of this world; My Father’s house has many rooms;do not store up for yourselves treasures on Earth where rust destroy and thieves break in and steal, but store up for yourselves treasures in heavens; Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted” and so many others must only have a fantastical meaning. That is how Mr. Renan considers them when he says: The part of truth in Jesus’s thought dragged him to the fantasticalthat obscured him. Nonetheless we must not neglect that fantastical thing that was the gross skin of the sacred fruit from which we live. That fantastical heaven, that never ending search for the city of God that has always concerned Christianism in its long career was the principle of the great instinct about the future that has driven all reformers, determined disciples of the Apocalypse from Joachim de Fiore to the sectary protestant of our days. (Chapter XVIII, page 285, 1st edition).[2]
All Jesus’ work was spiritual. Since Mr. Renan does not believe in the spiritualization of the being or in a spiritual world he should naturally take the opposite of Jesus’ words and judge him from an exclusively material point of view. A materialist or pantheist person judging a spiritual piece of work is like a deaf person judging a piece of music. When Mr. Renan judged Jesus from his stand point he must have been mistaken with respect to Jesus’ intentions and character. The most positive proof of that is found in this passage of his book (Chap. VII, page 128): “Jesus is not a spiritualist because everything that he produces is tangible work. He does not bring any notion of a soul separated from the body but he is a complete idealist since for him matter is not but the manifestation of thought and reality is a vivid expression of what cannot be seen.”
Is it possible to conceive Jesus Christ, the founder of the spiritualist Doctrine by excellence, not believing in the individuality of the soul, without any notion of that and consequently not believing in a future life? If he is not spiritualist then he is materialist and consequently Mr. Renan is more spiritualist than Jesus. Those words are not for discussion. They are good enough to show the latitude of his book demonstrating that the author read the Gospels either lightheartedly or with a preconceived mind for he did not see what is ordinarily seen by everyone. One can admit his good faith but certainly not his fair view.
His whole analysis stems from the idea that Jesus only target terrestrial things. According to him Jesus was an essentially good man, of kind gestures and education limited to the study of the sacred texts, of a naturally superior intelligence and that borrowed the idea of founding a doctrine from the religious disputes of the Jews. For that he was favored by the circumstances that he exploited skillfully. Without a plan or a preconceived idea and seeing that he would not succeed with the rich he then sought the support of the working class that were naturally revolted against the rich. He could make friends by flattering them. If he said that the kingdom of heavens belonged to the children that was to please their mothers by touching her weak points and then turning them into followers. Therefore the recently born religion was a movement of women and children. In one word Jesus was all about calculation and combinations and he succeeded helped by people’s attraction to marvelous things. As a matter of fact he was not much austere because he loved Magdalene who loved him back. His needs were provided by many rich women. Jesus and the apostles were work-shy people that did not refuse a good table. Here what he says:
“Three or four dedicated Galilee ladies followed the young master competing and taking turns in the pleasure of hearing him and taking care of him. They brought to the new sect an element of enthusiasm and marvelous whose importance is already learnt. One of them, Mary Magdalene that turn the name of her poor village into celebrity was apparently a very uneasy person. According to the language of the time she seemed to have been possessed by seven demons that is to say that she suffered of nervous and apparently inexplicable diseases. Jesus appeased that disturbed organization for her pure and kind beauty. Magdalene was faithful to him up until the Golgotha and the day after his death she played a leading role since she was the main instrument in the establishment of faith in the resurrection as we will see later. Joanna the wife of Chuzas, Herod’s steward from Antipas, Susanna and others that remained unknown followed and served him tirelessly. Some were rich and given their fortune they allowed the young prophet to live without working in the profession that had until then being his bread winning activity.” (Chap. IX, page 151).
“Jesus understood very soon that the official world of his time was not absolutely into his kingdom. He was very daring with respect to his preaching. He left aside that people of dry heart and narrow prejudices and look to the simple ones. The kingdom of God is for the children and their similar; for the forgotten of the world victimized by the social arrogance that repeals the simple but good person… The pure Ebionism meaning that only the poor are saved; that the kingdom of the poor is coming was therefore the doctrine of Jesus.” (Chap. XI, page 178).
“He did not appreciate the states of the soul but in proportion to the love that was aggregated. Women full of tears in their hearts and prepared for the feelings of humility due to their faults were closer to the kingdom than those of mediocre nature that frequently have no merit for not having failed. On another hand those kind souls conceivably found an easy way of rehabilitation in their conversion to the sect hence dedicated to that with passion.”
“Far from seeking the attenuation of their groans raised by their disdain to the social susceptibilities of the time he seemed to take pleasure in exciting them. Such a disdain towards the world had never been so much confessed before, a condition to the great things and the great originalities. He only forgave the rich when the rich was badly judged by society for some kind of prejudice. He openly preferred the people of doubtful life giving little importance to the orthodox notable. He told them: Publicans and courtesans will come before you in the kingdom of God. John says: ‘Publicans and courtesans believe in him and despite that you have not converted.’ One can understand that the criticism for not having followed the good example given by the daughters of pleasure must have been terrible to people that were serious and of a rigid conduct.”
“He was not given to exterior signs or austerity. He did not run away from joy since he would willingly go to wedding parties. One of his miracles was carried out to animate a wedding party in a village. In the Orient weddings take place at night. Each guest carries a lamp; the swinging lights form a very pleasant effect. Jesus liked that aspect that was joyful and lively and he took his parables from that.” (Chap. XI, page 187).
“The Pharisees and the doctors screamed at the scandal: Look at the people with whom he eats! Jesus then had fine answers that irritated the hypocrites: It is not the healthy ones that need doctor.” (Chap. XI, page 185).
Mr. Renan took care of indicating the passages of the Gospels that he mentioned in footnotes to demonstrate that he was supported by the texts. It is not the truth of the citations that are contested but the interpretations that he gives to them. That is how the profound maxim of the last paragraph is deformed by a witty comment. Everything materializes in Mr. Renan’s thoughts; he only sees material things in all of Jesus words because he himself sees nothing beyond material life. After an idyllic description of Galilea with its delicious climate and luxuriant fertility, of the hospitable and kind character of its inhabitants that creates the true shepherds of the Arcade, he then finds the source of Christianity in the soul of the people that should result from that.
“That joyful and easily satisfied life would not lead to the materialism of our peasant; to the great happiness of a generous dwelling; to the heavy joy of the flamingos. It spiritualized in ethereal dreams, in a kind of poetic mysticism, confounding heavens and Earth… Joy will be part of the kingdom of God. Isn’t that the daughter of the humble hearts, of the people of good will?
The whole history of Christianity then became a delicious pastoral. A Messiah in a wedding feast; the courtesan and the good Zacchaeus invited to the parties; the founders of the kingdom of God like in an entourage of paranymphs: that is what Galilea dared and had accepted.” (Chap. IV, page 67).
“Jesus was dominated by a remarkable feeling of profundity in all that as well as the band of joyful boys that followed him and that made him the true creator of peace to soul in eternity, the great consoler of life.” (Chap. X, page 172).
“Utopias of blessed life founded on the fraternity of mankind and on the pure cult of a true God concerned the enlightened souls and produced daring and sincere reactions from all sides but with not much future. (Chap. X, page 172).
“In the East when a house receives a foreigner it immediately becomes a public place. The whole village gathers there. Children invade the place and the servants keep them away but they always come back. Jesus would not accept that the naïve listeners would be mistreat; he would bring them over and embrace them. The mothers encouraged by such a reception would bring him the babies to that he would touch them… Women and children then loved him… The just born religion was therefore a movement of women and children. The latter surrounded him like a young guard would do to the inauguration of an innocent realty, cheering him up and calling him the son of David, singing Hosanna and clapping around him, and all that made him happy. Jesus, like Savonarola, perhaps used them as instruments in charitable missions. He felt relaxed with those young apostles that did not compromised him, putting them in front and conferring them with titles that he dared not take for himself.” (Chap. XI, page 190).
Jesus is then presented as a vulgar ambitious person, of petty passions, sneaking and that has no courage to expose himself. In the absence of an effective realty he is content with the most innocent and least dangerous that is conferred by the children. The following passage makes him an egotist:
“But all that did not result in the Church of Jerusalem or a group of Jerusalemite disciples. The charming doctor that forgave everybody as long as he was loved could not find much echo in that sanctuary of vain disputes and chronic sacrifices. It seems that his family did not love him and sometimes we see him tough on them. Like all those men exclusively worried about an idea Jesus got to the point of giving little importance to family links… Later on in his daring revolt against nature he would go even further and step onto everything that was related to people: blood, love, motherland and not preserving from the heart and soul but the idea that he presented as the absolute form of good and true.” (Chap. III, page 42, 43).
That is what Mr. Renan entitles the Origins of Christianity. Who would have ever believed that and band of mockers, a multitude of women, courtesans and children, led by an idealist that had no notion about the soul could change the face of the political, social and religious world, helped by an utopia, an illusion of a celestial kingdom?
In another article we will examine the way he sees the miracles and the nature of the person Jesus.
[1] Brochure 18-in, price 1 franc. Plon, Rue Guanancière, 8
[2] All the citations are taken from the 1st edition
See the February and March 1864 issues
Mr. Dombre, from Marmande, sent us a detailed report of this cure that has already been reported to our readers. The details in that report are of the highest interest both regarding the facts and the instruction. As it will be seen it is at the same time a theoretical and practical course, a guide to analogous cases and a great source of observations for the study of the invisible world in general in its relationships with the visible one. Mr. Dombre says in his report: I was warned by one of the members of our Spiritist Society about the violent crises that the so called Teresa B… went through regularly every afternoon for eight months. On January 11th last I went to the patient’s neighbor’s house followed by Mr. L…, a medium, at about four thirty to try to witness the crisis that supposedly happened every day at five o’clock. We found the young lady and her mother there talking to the neighbors. The half hour passed fast. We suddenly saw the lady stand up, open the door and cross the street to return to her house followed by her mother that took care of her and sent her to bed dressed up. The convulsions started. The body bent over; the head tended to touch the heels; the chest gasping. In a word it was an unpleasant sight. Myself and the medium went back to the neighbor’s house and asked the Spirit Louis David, the spiritual guide of the medium, if that was a case of obsession or a pathological case. The Spirit responded: - Poor girl! She is in fact under a fatal, truly dangerous influence. Come to help her. The Spirit is stubborn and bad and will resist for a long time. Avoid to have her treated by medication as much as you can because that would do her harm. The cause is totally psychological. Try to evoke that Spirit and moralize him with ability and we will help you out. May all the sincere souls that you know get together to pray and fight that much pernicious influence of the bad Spirit. Poor little one, victim of jealousy!
Louis David
Question – Which name shall we use to call that Spirit?
Answer: Julio.
I had him evoked immediately. The Spirit showed up in a violent mood, cursing, tearing the paper up and refusing to respond to certain questions. While entertaining ourselves with the Spirit Mr. B…, a physician that had come to examine the crisis, came close to us and said with amazement: - It is remarkable! The girl suddenly stopped contorting and she is now lying in bed motionless.
Mr. Dombre, from Marmande, sent us a detailed report of this cure that has already been reported to our readers. The details in that report are of the highest interest both regarding the facts and the instruction. As it will be seen it is at the same time a theoretical and practical course, a guide to analogous cases and a great source of observations for the study of the invisible world in general in its relationships with the visible one. Mr. Dombre says in his report: I was warned by one of the members of our Spiritist Society about the violent crises that the so called Teresa B… went through regularly every afternoon for eight months. On January 11th last I went to the patient’s neighbor’s house followed by Mr. L…, a medium, at about four thirty to try to witness the crisis that supposedly happened every day at five o’clock. We found the young lady and her mother there talking to the neighbors. The half hour passed fast. We suddenly saw the lady stand up, open the door and cross the street to return to her house followed by her mother that took care of her and sent her to bed dressed up. The convulsions started. The body bent over; the head tended to touch the heels; the chest gasping. In a word it was an unpleasant sight. Myself and the medium went back to the neighbor’s house and asked the Spirit Louis David, the spiritual guide of the medium, if that was a case of obsession or a pathological case. The Spirit responded: - Poor girl! She is in fact under a fatal, truly dangerous influence. Come to help her. The Spirit is stubborn and bad and will resist for a long time. Avoid to have her treated by medication as much as you can because that would do her harm. The cause is totally psychological. Try to evoke that Spirit and moralize him with ability and we will help you out. May all the sincere souls that you know get together to pray and fight that much pernicious influence of the bad Spirit. Poor little one, victim of jealousy!
Louis David
Question – Which name shall we use to call that Spirit?
Answer: Julio.
I had him evoked immediately. The Spirit showed up in a violent mood, cursing, tearing the paper up and refusing to respond to certain questions. While entertaining ourselves with the Spirit Mr. B…, a physician that had come to examine the crisis, came close to us and said with amazement: - It is remarkable! The girl suddenly stopped contorting and she is now lying in bed motionless.
- I am not surprised, I said, because the obsessing Spirit is with us right now.
- Please leave the past alone. When the bad things are cauterized why poking the wound? I feel that we must become better. I feel really bad about my past and look at the future with hope. When the mouth of an angel tells you: vengeance is a torture to the executioner; love is happiness to the one that spreads it; ah the yeast that spoils and shrinks the heart disappears! Love is what is needed. Are you surprised with my words? They are not mine. I learned them and have the pleasure to repeat them to you. Ah! You would be really happy if you could notice this angel for a minute only, a radiant angle like the sun, good and kind like the refreshing little drops of dew falling onto a plant in a scorching hot day! As you can see it is not hard for me to say because I drink from the spring.
- Thank you my friends, for the good you did to me. I ask you to allow me to stay with you from now on in order to attend your meetings. I need to drink from the good source the advices to fulfill a new life that I will ask God when I have endured the atonement of my infamous past reproached by my own conscience.
I then convinced Mr. B… to return to the patient while we continued to question the Spirit that at a certain point stopped responding. The medium’s guide informed us that he had returned to his task and recommended that we should no longer evoke him during the crises for the girl’s own good because if he returned to her even more furious he would torture her even more intensely. At that very moment the doctor returned and told us that the crisis had resumed stronger than ever. I showed him the warning we had just received and we were all shocked with the coincidences that left no doubt with respect to the cause of the problem. From that afternoon onwards and by recommendation of the good Spirits that assist us in the Spiritist work we gathered every night until the complete cure. On the very same 11th day we received the following communication from the protector Spirit of our group:
Vigilant guardian of the unhappy infancy I come to join your work, uniting my efforts with yours to free this young lady from the cruel claws of a bad Spirit. The remedy is in your hands. Wake, evoke and pray tirelessly until the complete cure.
Little Carita
This Spirit that uses the name Little Carita is that of a young lady that I knew and that died at an early age and that had given proof of the most angelical character and rare goodness. The evocation of the obsessing Spirit rendered only a lot of gross cursing that is useless to repeat. Our exhortations passed by him with no effect.
Friends, do not be discouraged! He feels strong because he sees your pain with his rude language. Abstain from preaching to him for now. Talk to him in a familiar and friendly way. You will gain his trust and later on you will be able to talk seriously. Perseverance, friends!
Your guides.
Following those recommendations our questions became lighter but were responded in the same tone. In the following day, Janeiro 12th, the crisis lasted such a long time and had such a violence as those of the preceding days. It lasted about an hour and a half. The girl would reject the Spirit, stand up in bed and say: Leave me! Leave me! The bedroom was full of people. Some of us were close to the bed to attentively observe the phases of the crisis. At that evening we received the following communication:
-My friends I advise you to follow this obsession step by step since this is a new event to you. Your observations will be of great help considering that similar cases may multiply and you will have to intervene. This is a purely physical obsession that I believe will be followed by a psychological but harmless one. You will soon witness happy moments amidst those tortures imposed by that bad Spirit. You must recognize the hands of the good Spirits there. If the tortures remain you will notice a complete paralysis of the body after the crisis and after paralyzing a soothing and ecstatic feeling that will relieve the pain of obsession. Observe carefully. Other symptoms will manifest and you will find in them new subjects of study. The Lord told his angels: Take my words to the children of men. We touched the earth with the stick and earth generates prodigies. Bend my children. It is the manifestation of the Eternal omnipotence. Friends, watch and pray. We are near you and close to the bed of sufferings to dry out the tears.
Little Carita
Once evoked the Spirit Julio was less adversarial than on the day before. Truth be said we responded to his witty comments with others and that pleased him. Before he left us we made him promise that he would not be so tough on his victim. He said: “I will be moderate”. As for ourselves we promised that we would pray for him. He then responded: “I accept although I do not understand the validity of that.”
Question to the Spirit: - Since you don’t know prayer would you like to get to know it and write one that we would dictate to you? – A. He then wrote the following that was dictated by us: “Oh God, I promise to open my soul to regret. Have a ray of love to my fellow human beings shinning upon my heart, the only thing that can purify me. As a guarantee to that desire I promise hereafter…” (The final part of the sentence would be: to stop my obsession, but the Spirit did not write these final words). He then added: “Watch it! You want to trick me. Be careful. I don’t like traps. You are too fast.” And because we wanted to know the origin of his vengeance and his jealousy he answered: “Don’t you ever talk to me about the girl. You can only keep me away from you.”
The struggle of the 13th only lasted half an hour and the fight was followed by smiles of happiness, ecstasy and tears of joy. The girl had her eyes wide open, forming a remarkable picture; she would raise her hands, stand up in bed and look at the sky. The predictions of Little Carita were happening in all points. In the evocation later at night the Spirit Julio seemed kinder and more submissive and again promised to moderate his attacks against the girl whose story he never told us. He even promised to pray.
The guide of the medium told us this: “Do not trust much his words. They can be sincere but he can also be deceiving you to get rid of you. Be forearmed. Having him keeping his promises and if you have to criticize him later do kindly so that he can notice the good feelings that you have towards him.”
Louis David
On the 14th the crisis was as short as on the previous evening and less lively. It was equally followed by manifestations of joy and ecstasy. The tears rolling down on the child’s face caused an undisguised emotion in the audience.
Gathered later on, at 8pm as we habitually did, we received the following communication for starters:
“As you must have seen, something more sensitive has reached the girl. I must tell you that our presence has a great influence upon the Spirit. We remind him about yesterday’s promise. The girl learned more during the ecstasy and tried to repel the attacks of the aggressor. Do not take short cuts during Julio’s evocation. Avoid the details that lead to fatigue on both sides. Be frank and benevolent with him and you will conquer him earlier. He moved a large step ahead as we noticed in this latest crisis.
Little Carita
1.Evocation of Julio – A. I am here, gentlemen.
2.How are you feeling today? – A. Good.
3.Have you felt the effects of our prayers? – A. Not much.
4.Forgive your victim and that will give you a satisfaction that is not familiar to you. That is what we feel when we forgive offenses. – A. Me? Much to the contrary. I found satisfaction in the vengeance for an offense. I call that paying the debts.
5.But the hatred in your soul is a painful feeling that is far from giving you peace. – A. Would you believe if I told you that it is the attachment?
6.We do believe. However kindly explain how do you conciliate such an affection with the ongoing vengeance that you carry out? What was to you the Spirit of this child in another life and what is it that she does to deserve such a punishment? – A. It is useless to ask. I have already told you: do not mention the girl.
7.That is fine. We will no longer talk about it but we must congratulate you for the change. We are happy for that. – A. I made progress in your school… What will the others say? They will boo and shout: Ah you became and hermit!
8.Why bother with the mockery if you have the laurel of the good Spirits? – A. True.
9.Look. In order to demonstrate to your former friends that you have definitely broke up with them you must completely forgive from now on; you must be generous and good and absolutely leave our good young lady alone. – A. My dear Sir that is impossible. That cannot happen just like that. Allow me to gradually leave behind what is now a necessity to me. Are you aware that if I suddenly stopped that would expose you? You could see me coming again. However, I want to promise you this: spare the girl and torture her tomorrow less than I did today. My condition, however, is that I am not forced to come here. I want to come and respond to your call freely and if I fail my word I agree to lose that favor. I must say that the change that you see in me is due to this shiny figure that you have near you and that is also by the girl’s bed every day, at the time of struggle. We are touch irrespective of ourselves. Without that you and your saints would have trouble for some time. (The Spirit referred to Little Carita).
10.Is she beautiful then? – A. Beautiful, very much so, yes!
11.But is she alone near you during the struggle? – A. No, no. There are others, the former ones from the body, the friends. They never laugh but now I make fun of them.
OBSERVATION: The questioner wanted undoubtedly to talk about other good Spirits but Julio mentioned the other bad ones, his companions.
12.Let us go! Before you leave we promise to pray for you tonight. – A. I want ten prayers. Say it from the bottom of your hearts and tomorrow you will be glad for me.
13.Be it ten then. And since you are in such a good mood would you like to write a three word prayer from the heart dictated by me? – A. By all means.
The Spirit then wrote: “Oh God, give me the strength to forgive.”
On January 15th the crisis happened at 5 pm but lasted just fifteen minutes. It was a weak fight followed by ecstasy, smiles and tears that expressed joy and happiness. At the evening meeting Little Carita gave us the following communication:
“My dear protégé, as expected the Spiritist phenomena before your eyes changes, improves every day, becoming lighter and less serious. An advice to begin with: You must use this as a subject matter for study from the point of view of physical tortures and moral lessons. Do not make external signals to the eyes of the world and do not use useless words. What does it matter to you what others will say? Leave the discussions to the idle ones. The element of your private and serious conversations must be the practical objective of liberation of this girl and the improvement of the Spirit that obsesses her. Do not talk about cure out loud. Ask God for that in the silence of your prayer.
I am happy to tell you that this obsession is coming to an end. Julio improved sensibly. I also acted upon the Spirit of the girl as much as I could so that these so much opposing vibes became more compatible. The combination of their fluids will no longer offer any danger with respect to the physical organization and the abandonment that this young body felt in contact with that fluid disappears notably. Your work is not finished. Everyone’s prayer must always precede and follow the evocation.”
Little Carita
After the evocation of Julio and the prayer in which he was classified as a bad Spirit he says:
-I am here. In the name of justice I request to have some words changed in your prayer. I changed my actions. You should change the way you classify me.
-You are right. We will not make the same mistake again. Have you come on your own today?
-Yes, I came freely. I kept my promises.
-Now that you are calm and full of good feelings would you agree in telling us the reasons for you to be so harsh on the girl?
A quick glance over my vagabond life: I was born amidst the miseries of life in addiction and soon I experienced the disgusting encounters of that kind of life. I was fed with milk and all kinds of beverages that come with those passions. I wandered around without faith, without law and without honor. Anything is good when one has to live wandering around. The hen of the peasant as well as the sheep of the shepherd was my meal.
Marauder was my occupation, when chance no doubt since I do not believe that Providence watches over such scoundrels, took me and equipped me. Proud of the rasped costume which replaced my rags, the halberd on my arm, I joined a band of bad companions, living at the expense of a fearful lord who, in turn, exploited his countrymen; but what mattered to us the source of money and provisions that flowed in our hands! I will not go into detail about the facts that are personal to me: they are wicked, hideous and unworthy of being told. Do you believe that educated in such a school like that one can become a good man?
Split by death the gang reunited in the spiritual world. Far from avoiding the opportunities of doing bad we sought them. In my lost thoughts I found someone to turn into my victim and I did that. You know the rest. Please ladies and gentlemen, pray also for that gang. You are sometimes surprised by the fact that certain regions have more bad people than others. It is very simple. They do not want to move away from each other and then fall onto a region like a cloud of locust. To the wolves, the forest, to the doves, the cote.
I had lived my earthly life in the times of Louis XIII. My last existence was in the Empire. I was a guerrilla. I liked very much the blunderbuss and the adorned conic hat. I loved danger, theft and the adventures. Sad taste! But what else to do? I was used to live with those bands. The change must astonish you; it is the works of an angel. I promise you nothing for tomorrow. You will judge me for my actions. A prayer please. As for myself I will say one:
-Little angel, open thy wings; fly to the throne of the Lord; ask to have me forgiven having my regret laid by your feet.
Julio
Q – Since you are in such a good path pray for the poor girl…
A – I cannot… it would be derision or a cruelty to see the executioner embracing the victim.
Next day, January 16th, the girl had no crisis but only a stomach ache. To our eyes it was her liberation. Later on at 8pm the Spirit Julio answered our call and gave the following communication:
-My friends, allow me to call you that. I, the obsessing Spirit, the bad Spirit, astute and perverse; I who was deep in the mud of evil a few days ago, I will preach you with the help of the angel. I am surprised myself with such a change and wonder if this is me. I believed that every feeling had disappeared in my soul but there was still a thread that vibrated. The angel guessed and touched it. I begin to see and feel. I am horrified by evil. I looked over my past and only saw crimes. A kind voice told me: wait; observe the hoy and happiness of the good Spirits; purify yourself; forgive instead of revenge; love instead of hate. I will also love you myself if you want to love and become better. I felt touched. I now understand the happiness that everyone will fell when they learn to practice charity. Little lady (he was addressing the child present at the session) you that I had chosen as my prey like the voucher preys the dove, pray for me, and that the name of the reproached one may disappear from your memory. I received the baptism of love from the hands of an angel of the Lord and today I dress the tunic of innocence. Poor child may your prayers addressed to the Lord in my favor soon free me from the remorse that will chase me like a well-deserved atonement.
-My friends, please keep praying for my miserable companions that chase me with their malicious envy because I escape them. Still yesterday I asked myself about what they thought of me. Today I can tell them: I won. My past is forgiven because I was able to repent. Do as I did. Engage in the battle against evil that keeps you slaved to this place of torment and desperation and leave it as winners. If your hand is stained by the blood of crime, like mine, it will also take you the sacred water of prayer that washes the stigmas of the sinner. God, forgive me!
Julio
On January 17th and following Julio’s promise, the girl experienced no ill-feeling and did not feel bad at all even in her stomach. Little Carita announced that she would still go endure a moral test at 5 pm for a few days or during her sleep, but that would not be painful to her and the only symptoms would be smiles and sweet tears and that is what really happened for two days. The following days showed a total absence of any crisis. Yet we still watched and prayed for the girl. On February 18th Little Carita gave us the following instruction:
-My good friends, have no fear. The obsession is over and very much so. It is an order of strange things to you but soon it will all seem very natural as perhaps a consequence of this obsession but not the works of Julio. Some developments are needed here for your instruction. Now that you know the Doctrine obsession or subjugation of the material being is no longer a supernatural phenomenon to you but only a different character of the organic diseases. The subjugating Spirit penetrates the perispirit of the person that is to be acted upon. The perispirit of the obsessed receives the fluidic body of the Spirit as an envelope and that is how the person is thoroughly hit. The material body experiences the pressure indirectly imposed. I seemed strange that the soul could have physically acted upon the animated matter. Yet the soul is the true actor of all those facts. Intelligence and will are the attributes of the soul. It acts from that will and the agent is the perispirit that operates like an instrument utilized by the soul. The physical discomfort is just apparent but the fluidic combination that your senses cannot detect hides an infinite number of mysteries that will be revealed with the progress of the Doctrine, considered from a scientific point of view.
When the Spirit abandons its victim its will no longer acts upon the body but the impression received by the perispirit from the strange Spirit does not vanishes instantaneously and thus continues to influence the material organization for some time still. In the case of our ill young lady it is through sadness, tears, sleepiness, insomnia and vague disturbs that will be produced as a consequence of her liberation but rest assured and make sure she and her family understand that this will not bring her any danger. It is my duty to successfully carry out the task I started with you. It is now necessary to act upon the Spirit of the girl through a moralizing influence.
As for yourselves, my friends, continue to attentively observe all of these phenomena. Study them unstoppably since it is a vast open field before you. Have all these things known and the Spiritist ideas will gradually penetrate the soul of your brothers that were found incredulous or indifferent by the surge of the Spiritist Doctrine.
Little Carita
OBSERVATION: We owe a fair tribute of praise to our brothers from Marmande by their care, prudence and enlightened devotion that they demonstrated in these circumstances. For such a brilliant success they were rewarded by God in their faith, perseverance and moral selflessness since they did not seek any satisfaction to their self-love. Things would have been different had they stained their good actions with pride. God withdraws the gifts from anyone that does not use them with humility. The most eminent mediumistic faculties are perverted, altered and extinguished under the domain of pride because the good Spirits remove their support. Deceptions, annoyances and effective disgraces in this life are many times the consequence of deviations of such faculty from its providential objective. We could mention several sad examples among mediums that anticipated the most beautiful hopes. It is never too much to revisit the instructions found in The Imitation of the Gospels, numbers 285, 326 and next, 333, 392 and the following ones. We recommend the obsessing Spirit above, Julio, to every good Spiritist in order to give him the strength needed to his good resolutions and to allow him to understand the rewards of doing good.
Vigilant guardian of the unhappy infancy I come to join your work, uniting my efforts with yours to free this young lady from the cruel claws of a bad Spirit. The remedy is in your hands. Wake, evoke and pray tirelessly until the complete cure.
Little Carita
This Spirit that uses the name Little Carita is that of a young lady that I knew and that died at an early age and that had given proof of the most angelical character and rare goodness. The evocation of the obsessing Spirit rendered only a lot of gross cursing that is useless to repeat. Our exhortations passed by him with no effect.
Friends, do not be discouraged! He feels strong because he sees your pain with his rude language. Abstain from preaching to him for now. Talk to him in a familiar and friendly way. You will gain his trust and later on you will be able to talk seriously. Perseverance, friends!
Your guides.
Following those recommendations our questions became lighter but were responded in the same tone. In the following day, Janeiro 12th, the crisis lasted such a long time and had such a violence as those of the preceding days. It lasted about an hour and a half. The girl would reject the Spirit, stand up in bed and say: Leave me! Leave me! The bedroom was full of people. Some of us were close to the bed to attentively observe the phases of the crisis. At that evening we received the following communication:
-My friends I advise you to follow this obsession step by step since this is a new event to you. Your observations will be of great help considering that similar cases may multiply and you will have to intervene. This is a purely physical obsession that I believe will be followed by a psychological but harmless one. You will soon witness happy moments amidst those tortures imposed by that bad Spirit. You must recognize the hands of the good Spirits there. If the tortures remain you will notice a complete paralysis of the body after the crisis and after paralyzing a soothing and ecstatic feeling that will relieve the pain of obsession. Observe carefully. Other symptoms will manifest and you will find in them new subjects of study. The Lord told his angels: Take my words to the children of men. We touched the earth with the stick and earth generates prodigies. Bend my children. It is the manifestation of the Eternal omnipotence. Friends, watch and pray. We are near you and close to the bed of sufferings to dry out the tears.
Little Carita
Once evoked the Spirit Julio was less adversarial than on the day before. Truth be said we responded to his witty comments with others and that pleased him. Before he left us we made him promise that he would not be so tough on his victim. He said: “I will be moderate”. As for ourselves we promised that we would pray for him. He then responded: “I accept although I do not understand the validity of that.”
Question to the Spirit: - Since you don’t know prayer would you like to get to know it and write one that we would dictate to you? – A. He then wrote the following that was dictated by us: “Oh God, I promise to open my soul to regret. Have a ray of love to my fellow human beings shinning upon my heart, the only thing that can purify me. As a guarantee to that desire I promise hereafter…” (The final part of the sentence would be: to stop my obsession, but the Spirit did not write these final words). He then added: “Watch it! You want to trick me. Be careful. I don’t like traps. You are too fast.” And because we wanted to know the origin of his vengeance and his jealousy he answered: “Don’t you ever talk to me about the girl. You can only keep me away from you.”
The struggle of the 13th only lasted half an hour and the fight was followed by smiles of happiness, ecstasy and tears of joy. The girl had her eyes wide open, forming a remarkable picture; she would raise her hands, stand up in bed and look at the sky. The predictions of Little Carita were happening in all points. In the evocation later at night the Spirit Julio seemed kinder and more submissive and again promised to moderate his attacks against the girl whose story he never told us. He even promised to pray.
The guide of the medium told us this: “Do not trust much his words. They can be sincere but he can also be deceiving you to get rid of you. Be forearmed. Having him keeping his promises and if you have to criticize him later do kindly so that he can notice the good feelings that you have towards him.”
Louis David
On the 14th the crisis was as short as on the previous evening and less lively. It was equally followed by manifestations of joy and ecstasy. The tears rolling down on the child’s face caused an undisguised emotion in the audience.
Gathered later on, at 8pm as we habitually did, we received the following communication for starters:
“As you must have seen, something more sensitive has reached the girl. I must tell you that our presence has a great influence upon the Spirit. We remind him about yesterday’s promise. The girl learned more during the ecstasy and tried to repel the attacks of the aggressor. Do not take short cuts during Julio’s evocation. Avoid the details that lead to fatigue on both sides. Be frank and benevolent with him and you will conquer him earlier. He moved a large step ahead as we noticed in this latest crisis.
Little Carita
1.Evocation of Julio – A. I am here, gentlemen.
2.How are you feeling today? – A. Good.
3.Have you felt the effects of our prayers? – A. Not much.
4.Forgive your victim and that will give you a satisfaction that is not familiar to you. That is what we feel when we forgive offenses. – A. Me? Much to the contrary. I found satisfaction in the vengeance for an offense. I call that paying the debts.
5.But the hatred in your soul is a painful feeling that is far from giving you peace. – A. Would you believe if I told you that it is the attachment?
6.We do believe. However kindly explain how do you conciliate such an affection with the ongoing vengeance that you carry out? What was to you the Spirit of this child in another life and what is it that she does to deserve such a punishment? – A. It is useless to ask. I have already told you: do not mention the girl.
7.That is fine. We will no longer talk about it but we must congratulate you for the change. We are happy for that. – A. I made progress in your school… What will the others say? They will boo and shout: Ah you became and hermit!
8.Why bother with the mockery if you have the laurel of the good Spirits? – A. True.
9.Look. In order to demonstrate to your former friends that you have definitely broke up with them you must completely forgive from now on; you must be generous and good and absolutely leave our good young lady alone. – A. My dear Sir that is impossible. That cannot happen just like that. Allow me to gradually leave behind what is now a necessity to me. Are you aware that if I suddenly stopped that would expose you? You could see me coming again. However, I want to promise you this: spare the girl and torture her tomorrow less than I did today. My condition, however, is that I am not forced to come here. I want to come and respond to your call freely and if I fail my word I agree to lose that favor. I must say that the change that you see in me is due to this shiny figure that you have near you and that is also by the girl’s bed every day, at the time of struggle. We are touch irrespective of ourselves. Without that you and your saints would have trouble for some time. (The Spirit referred to Little Carita).
10.Is she beautiful then? – A. Beautiful, very much so, yes!
11.But is she alone near you during the struggle? – A. No, no. There are others, the former ones from the body, the friends. They never laugh but now I make fun of them.
OBSERVATION: The questioner wanted undoubtedly to talk about other good Spirits but Julio mentioned the other bad ones, his companions.
12.Let us go! Before you leave we promise to pray for you tonight. – A. I want ten prayers. Say it from the bottom of your hearts and tomorrow you will be glad for me.
13.Be it ten then. And since you are in such a good mood would you like to write a three word prayer from the heart dictated by me? – A. By all means.
The Spirit then wrote: “Oh God, give me the strength to forgive.”
On January 15th the crisis happened at 5 pm but lasted just fifteen minutes. It was a weak fight followed by ecstasy, smiles and tears that expressed joy and happiness. At the evening meeting Little Carita gave us the following communication:
“My dear protégé, as expected the Spiritist phenomena before your eyes changes, improves every day, becoming lighter and less serious. An advice to begin with: You must use this as a subject matter for study from the point of view of physical tortures and moral lessons. Do not make external signals to the eyes of the world and do not use useless words. What does it matter to you what others will say? Leave the discussions to the idle ones. The element of your private and serious conversations must be the practical objective of liberation of this girl and the improvement of the Spirit that obsesses her. Do not talk about cure out loud. Ask God for that in the silence of your prayer.
I am happy to tell you that this obsession is coming to an end. Julio improved sensibly. I also acted upon the Spirit of the girl as much as I could so that these so much opposing vibes became more compatible. The combination of their fluids will no longer offer any danger with respect to the physical organization and the abandonment that this young body felt in contact with that fluid disappears notably. Your work is not finished. Everyone’s prayer must always precede and follow the evocation.”
Little Carita
After the evocation of Julio and the prayer in which he was classified as a bad Spirit he says:
-I am here. In the name of justice I request to have some words changed in your prayer. I changed my actions. You should change the way you classify me.
-You are right. We will not make the same mistake again. Have you come on your own today?
-Yes, I came freely. I kept my promises.
-Now that you are calm and full of good feelings would you agree in telling us the reasons for you to be so harsh on the girl?
A quick glance over my vagabond life: I was born amidst the miseries of life in addiction and soon I experienced the disgusting encounters of that kind of life. I was fed with milk and all kinds of beverages that come with those passions. I wandered around without faith, without law and without honor. Anything is good when one has to live wandering around. The hen of the peasant as well as the sheep of the shepherd was my meal.
Marauder was my occupation, when chance no doubt since I do not believe that Providence watches over such scoundrels, took me and equipped me. Proud of the rasped costume which replaced my rags, the halberd on my arm, I joined a band of bad companions, living at the expense of a fearful lord who, in turn, exploited his countrymen; but what mattered to us the source of money and provisions that flowed in our hands! I will not go into detail about the facts that are personal to me: they are wicked, hideous and unworthy of being told. Do you believe that educated in such a school like that one can become a good man?
Split by death the gang reunited in the spiritual world. Far from avoiding the opportunities of doing bad we sought them. In my lost thoughts I found someone to turn into my victim and I did that. You know the rest. Please ladies and gentlemen, pray also for that gang. You are sometimes surprised by the fact that certain regions have more bad people than others. It is very simple. They do not want to move away from each other and then fall onto a region like a cloud of locust. To the wolves, the forest, to the doves, the cote.
I had lived my earthly life in the times of Louis XIII. My last existence was in the Empire. I was a guerrilla. I liked very much the blunderbuss and the adorned conic hat. I loved danger, theft and the adventures. Sad taste! But what else to do? I was used to live with those bands. The change must astonish you; it is the works of an angel. I promise you nothing for tomorrow. You will judge me for my actions. A prayer please. As for myself I will say one:
-Little angel, open thy wings; fly to the throne of the Lord; ask to have me forgiven having my regret laid by your feet.
Julio
Q – Since you are in such a good path pray for the poor girl…
A – I cannot… it would be derision or a cruelty to see the executioner embracing the victim.
Next day, January 16th, the girl had no crisis but only a stomach ache. To our eyes it was her liberation. Later on at 8pm the Spirit Julio answered our call and gave the following communication:
-My friends, allow me to call you that. I, the obsessing Spirit, the bad Spirit, astute and perverse; I who was deep in the mud of evil a few days ago, I will preach you with the help of the angel. I am surprised myself with such a change and wonder if this is me. I believed that every feeling had disappeared in my soul but there was still a thread that vibrated. The angel guessed and touched it. I begin to see and feel. I am horrified by evil. I looked over my past and only saw crimes. A kind voice told me: wait; observe the hoy and happiness of the good Spirits; purify yourself; forgive instead of revenge; love instead of hate. I will also love you myself if you want to love and become better. I felt touched. I now understand the happiness that everyone will fell when they learn to practice charity. Little lady (he was addressing the child present at the session) you that I had chosen as my prey like the voucher preys the dove, pray for me, and that the name of the reproached one may disappear from your memory. I received the baptism of love from the hands of an angel of the Lord and today I dress the tunic of innocence. Poor child may your prayers addressed to the Lord in my favor soon free me from the remorse that will chase me like a well-deserved atonement.
-My friends, please keep praying for my miserable companions that chase me with their malicious envy because I escape them. Still yesterday I asked myself about what they thought of me. Today I can tell them: I won. My past is forgiven because I was able to repent. Do as I did. Engage in the battle against evil that keeps you slaved to this place of torment and desperation and leave it as winners. If your hand is stained by the blood of crime, like mine, it will also take you the sacred water of prayer that washes the stigmas of the sinner. God, forgive me!
Julio
On January 17th and following Julio’s promise, the girl experienced no ill-feeling and did not feel bad at all even in her stomach. Little Carita announced that she would still go endure a moral test at 5 pm for a few days or during her sleep, but that would not be painful to her and the only symptoms would be smiles and sweet tears and that is what really happened for two days. The following days showed a total absence of any crisis. Yet we still watched and prayed for the girl. On February 18th Little Carita gave us the following instruction:
-My good friends, have no fear. The obsession is over and very much so. It is an order of strange things to you but soon it will all seem very natural as perhaps a consequence of this obsession but not the works of Julio. Some developments are needed here for your instruction. Now that you know the Doctrine obsession or subjugation of the material being is no longer a supernatural phenomenon to you but only a different character of the organic diseases. The subjugating Spirit penetrates the perispirit of the person that is to be acted upon. The perispirit of the obsessed receives the fluidic body of the Spirit as an envelope and that is how the person is thoroughly hit. The material body experiences the pressure indirectly imposed. I seemed strange that the soul could have physically acted upon the animated matter. Yet the soul is the true actor of all those facts. Intelligence and will are the attributes of the soul. It acts from that will and the agent is the perispirit that operates like an instrument utilized by the soul. The physical discomfort is just apparent but the fluidic combination that your senses cannot detect hides an infinite number of mysteries that will be revealed with the progress of the Doctrine, considered from a scientific point of view.
When the Spirit abandons its victim its will no longer acts upon the body but the impression received by the perispirit from the strange Spirit does not vanishes instantaneously and thus continues to influence the material organization for some time still. In the case of our ill young lady it is through sadness, tears, sleepiness, insomnia and vague disturbs that will be produced as a consequence of her liberation but rest assured and make sure she and her family understand that this will not bring her any danger. It is my duty to successfully carry out the task I started with you. It is now necessary to act upon the Spirit of the girl through a moralizing influence.
As for yourselves, my friends, continue to attentively observe all of these phenomena. Study them unstoppably since it is a vast open field before you. Have all these things known and the Spiritist ideas will gradually penetrate the soul of your brothers that were found incredulous or indifferent by the surge of the Spiritist Doctrine.
Little Carita
OBSERVATION: We owe a fair tribute of praise to our brothers from Marmande by their care, prudence and enlightened devotion that they demonstrated in these circumstances. For such a brilliant success they were rewarded by God in their faith, perseverance and moral selflessness since they did not seek any satisfaction to their self-love. Things would have been different had they stained their good actions with pride. God withdraws the gifts from anyone that does not use them with humility. The most eminent mediumistic faculties are perverted, altered and extinguished under the domain of pride because the good Spirits remove their support. Deceptions, annoyances and effective disgraces in this life are many times the consequence of deviations of such faculty from its providential objective. We could mention several sad examples among mediums that anticipated the most beautiful hopes. It is never too much to revisit the instructions found in The Imitation of the Gospels, numbers 285, 326 and next, 333, 392 and the following ones. We recommend the obsessing Spirit above, Julio, to every good Spiritist in order to give him the strength needed to his good resolutions and to allow him to understand the rewards of doing good.
A few refutations
History will register the singular contradictors of Spiritism of whom we will give some examples below. We got the ordination of Mr. Bishop of Langres from the Department of Haute-Marne, containing the following passage:
“…Faith, that is what people who call themselves friends of humanity, freedom and progress struggle to remove from the heart of Christian populations at any cost, people that in reality must be taken as the most dangerous enemies of society. It is our duty to warn you, dearest brothers, we that are in charge of watching your souls so that our warnings make you prudent and cautious since such a hateful, broad and dangerous conspiracy has never been seen before and more wisely, that is, more satanically organized against the Catholic faith than the one we see today. It is the conspiracy of secret societies that operate in the shadows in order to annihilate Catholicism if they could; conspiracy of Protestantism that through an active propaganda tries to sneak in everywhere; conspiracy of the rational and anti-Christians philosophers that reject without reason and fight against every reason, the supernatural and the revealed religion and that strive to make their false and dismal doctrine prevail in the literate world; conspiracy of the Spiritist societies that through the practical superstition of the evocation of the dead incite others to engage with the perfidious malice of the spirit of lie and sin; conspiracy of an impious or corrupting literature; conspiracy of the bad journals and books that fearfully propagate in the shadow or under the pretext of a freedom boasted to be the progress of the century as the conquest of what they call modern spirit that is not but an encouragement to the genius of evil, a fair reason for pain of a Catholic nation, a trap and a very imminent danger to all followers of every class that are not sufficiently instructed in matters of religion and whose number is large, unfortunately; finally, conspiracy of that practical materialism that only sees and seeks the interest of the body and the physical well-being; that is not concerned with the soul and its destiny as if it did not exist and whose pernicious example easily seduces and drags the masses. These are, dearest brothers, at first sight, the dangers that faith encounters today etc.”
We are in perfect agreement with Mr. Bishop with respect to the dismal consequences of materialism but it is a surprise to see him confusing in the same reproach materialism that denies everything: the soul, the future, God, the Providence – with Spiritism that comes to fight against materialism and succeeds through the material proofs that are given of the existence of the soul, precisely with the very support of those supposedly superstitious evocations.
Will it be because Spiritism triumphs where the Church is powerless? Would Mr. Bishop share the opinion of that cleric that said from the pulpit: “I prefer to see you out of the Church than with Spiritism” And the other one that said: “I prefer an Atheist that believes nothing than a Spiritist that believes in God and in the soul.” It is an opinion like any other and taste is not to be discussed. Whatever Mr. Bishop’s opinion is about that point we would greatly appreciate his answer to the following two questions: “How come the Church, despite all of its powerful means of making the truth shine to the eyes of everyone, could not stop materialism while Spiritism that was born yesterday converts hardened non-believers on a daily basis? Is the means by which a goal is reached worse than that by which it is not reached?"
Mr. Bishop enumerates a large number of conspiracies that loom against religion. He certainly did not think properly; through such a threatening image he works precisely against his own objective and may even provoke thoughts that are harmful. By hearing him the deduction is that soon the conspirators will be in larger numbers.
Now, what would happen to a State if the whole nation conspired? If religion sees itself attacked by such a large number of flanks that is not a testimony in favor of the sympathies that it finds. By saying that the orthodox faith is endangered is a confession of its argumentations. If it is founded on the absolute truth it must not fear any contrary argument. Sounding the alarm in such a case is a lack of skill.
“…Faith, that is what people who call themselves friends of humanity, freedom and progress struggle to remove from the heart of Christian populations at any cost, people that in reality must be taken as the most dangerous enemies of society. It is our duty to warn you, dearest brothers, we that are in charge of watching your souls so that our warnings make you prudent and cautious since such a hateful, broad and dangerous conspiracy has never been seen before and more wisely, that is, more satanically organized against the Catholic faith than the one we see today. It is the conspiracy of secret societies that operate in the shadows in order to annihilate Catholicism if they could; conspiracy of Protestantism that through an active propaganda tries to sneak in everywhere; conspiracy of the rational and anti-Christians philosophers that reject without reason and fight against every reason, the supernatural and the revealed religion and that strive to make their false and dismal doctrine prevail in the literate world; conspiracy of the Spiritist societies that through the practical superstition of the evocation of the dead incite others to engage with the perfidious malice of the spirit of lie and sin; conspiracy of an impious or corrupting literature; conspiracy of the bad journals and books that fearfully propagate in the shadow or under the pretext of a freedom boasted to be the progress of the century as the conquest of what they call modern spirit that is not but an encouragement to the genius of evil, a fair reason for pain of a Catholic nation, a trap and a very imminent danger to all followers of every class that are not sufficiently instructed in matters of religion and whose number is large, unfortunately; finally, conspiracy of that practical materialism that only sees and seeks the interest of the body and the physical well-being; that is not concerned with the soul and its destiny as if it did not exist and whose pernicious example easily seduces and drags the masses. These are, dearest brothers, at first sight, the dangers that faith encounters today etc.”
We are in perfect agreement with Mr. Bishop with respect to the dismal consequences of materialism but it is a surprise to see him confusing in the same reproach materialism that denies everything: the soul, the future, God, the Providence – with Spiritism that comes to fight against materialism and succeeds through the material proofs that are given of the existence of the soul, precisely with the very support of those supposedly superstitious evocations.
Will it be because Spiritism triumphs where the Church is powerless? Would Mr. Bishop share the opinion of that cleric that said from the pulpit: “I prefer to see you out of the Church than with Spiritism” And the other one that said: “I prefer an Atheist that believes nothing than a Spiritist that believes in God and in the soul.” It is an opinion like any other and taste is not to be discussed. Whatever Mr. Bishop’s opinion is about that point we would greatly appreciate his answer to the following two questions: “How come the Church, despite all of its powerful means of making the truth shine to the eyes of everyone, could not stop materialism while Spiritism that was born yesterday converts hardened non-believers on a daily basis? Is the means by which a goal is reached worse than that by which it is not reached?"
Mr. Bishop enumerates a large number of conspiracies that loom against religion. He certainly did not think properly; through such a threatening image he works precisely against his own objective and may even provoke thoughts that are harmful. By hearing him the deduction is that soon the conspirators will be in larger numbers.
Now, what would happen to a State if the whole nation conspired? If religion sees itself attacked by such a large number of flanks that is not a testimony in favor of the sympathies that it finds. By saying that the orthodox faith is endangered is a confession of its argumentations. If it is founded on the absolute truth it must not fear any contrary argument. Sounding the alarm in such a case is a lack of skill.
In a Catechism of perseverance at the Diocese of Langres in regards to the ordination reported above a lesson about Spiritism was given as a matter to be handled by the students. Here is the textual narrative of one of them:
“Spiritism is the works of the devil that invented it. Dealing with Spiritism is the same as to enter into direct contact with the devil. Diabolic superstition! God sometimes allows such things in order to revive the faith of the followers. The devil pretends to be good, sacred, and cites texts of the Scriptures.”
Such a means of reviving the faith seems to be a very bad choice.
“Tertullian that lived in the second century says that they made the goats and tables talk; it is the essence of idolatry. Those satanic operations were rare in certain Christian countries and are very common today. Such demoniac power showed its full shine with the surge of Protestantism.”
These are kids well convinced of the great power of the devil. Isn’t that the case that it should have made them doubt a little bit the power of God when one sees the devil winning so many times?
“Spiritism was born in America at the heart of a Protestant family called Fox. The devil showed up first with scaring knocks. They became impatient and tried to find out about the origin of those knocks. One day Mr. Fox’s daughter started saying: Knock here, knock there and the noises happened where she had ordered.”
Always the excitement against the Protestants! We then have children educated in the hatred against their fellow citizens sometimes members of the same family! Fortunately this is countered by the spirit of tolerance that reigns in our days without which we would see the renovation of the bloody scenes of past centuries.
“That heresy vulgarized soon; it soon counted on five hundred thousand followers. The invisible Spirits were given to do all sorts of things. Just after the request of a simple creature they would move tables covered by hundreds of books; hands without bodies were seen. That is what happened in America and came to France through Spain. Soon the Spirit was forced by God and the angels to acknowledge that it was the devil so that righteous people would not fall in their traps.”
We believe to be well aware of the march followed by Spiritism and never heard that it came to France through Spain. Would that be the case to rectify the history of Spiritism?
From the confession of the adversaries of Spiritism one can see how fast the new idea gained terrain. An idea that has just appeared and conquered five hundred thousand followers is not without value and demonstrates the path that it will follow later on. That is how ten years later one of them increases the number to twenty million in France alone and forecasts that the heresy will soon gain another twenty million (see The Spiritist Review, July 1863). But then if everybody is heretic what is it that will be left to orthodoxy? Wouldn’t that be the case to apply the maxim: When everybody is wrong everybody is right? What would the instructor have answered if a young boy from his juvenile auditorium had framed the following question: how come St. Peter in his first preaching converted only three thousand Jews while Spiritism that is the works of the devil has immediately made five hundred thousand followers? Would Satan be more powerful than God?
He would perhaps have answered: The reason is that they were Protestants.
“Satan says that he is a good Spirit but he is a liar. One day they wanted the table to speak; it did not want to answer and they thought that the presence of a priest precluded that. Finally two knocks were heard warning that the Spirit was there. They asked:
“Spiritism is the works of the devil that invented it. Dealing with Spiritism is the same as to enter into direct contact with the devil. Diabolic superstition! God sometimes allows such things in order to revive the faith of the followers. The devil pretends to be good, sacred, and cites texts of the Scriptures.”
Such a means of reviving the faith seems to be a very bad choice.
“Tertullian that lived in the second century says that they made the goats and tables talk; it is the essence of idolatry. Those satanic operations were rare in certain Christian countries and are very common today. Such demoniac power showed its full shine with the surge of Protestantism.”
These are kids well convinced of the great power of the devil. Isn’t that the case that it should have made them doubt a little bit the power of God when one sees the devil winning so many times?
“Spiritism was born in America at the heart of a Protestant family called Fox. The devil showed up first with scaring knocks. They became impatient and tried to find out about the origin of those knocks. One day Mr. Fox’s daughter started saying: Knock here, knock there and the noises happened where she had ordered.”
Always the excitement against the Protestants! We then have children educated in the hatred against their fellow citizens sometimes members of the same family! Fortunately this is countered by the spirit of tolerance that reigns in our days without which we would see the renovation of the bloody scenes of past centuries.
“That heresy vulgarized soon; it soon counted on five hundred thousand followers. The invisible Spirits were given to do all sorts of things. Just after the request of a simple creature they would move tables covered by hundreds of books; hands without bodies were seen. That is what happened in America and came to France through Spain. Soon the Spirit was forced by God and the angels to acknowledge that it was the devil so that righteous people would not fall in their traps.”
We believe to be well aware of the march followed by Spiritism and never heard that it came to France through Spain. Would that be the case to rectify the history of Spiritism?
From the confession of the adversaries of Spiritism one can see how fast the new idea gained terrain. An idea that has just appeared and conquered five hundred thousand followers is not without value and demonstrates the path that it will follow later on. That is how ten years later one of them increases the number to twenty million in France alone and forecasts that the heresy will soon gain another twenty million (see The Spiritist Review, July 1863). But then if everybody is heretic what is it that will be left to orthodoxy? Wouldn’t that be the case to apply the maxim: When everybody is wrong everybody is right? What would the instructor have answered if a young boy from his juvenile auditorium had framed the following question: how come St. Peter in his first preaching converted only three thousand Jews while Spiritism that is the works of the devil has immediately made five hundred thousand followers? Would Satan be more powerful than God?
He would perhaps have answered: The reason is that they were Protestants.
“Satan says that he is a good Spirit but he is a liar. One day they wanted the table to speak; it did not want to answer and they thought that the presence of a priest precluded that. Finally two knocks were heard warning that the Spirit was there. They asked:
-Is Jesus the son of God? – A. No.
-Do you recognize the sacred Eucharistic? – A. Yes.
- Has Jesus Christ’s death brought your more suffering? – A. Yes.”
- Do you like what I hold in my hand (medals of the St. Virgin)? – A. No. I wanted to inspire trust in you. Hell calls for me. Goodbye!”
- Do you want to join?
- I want to possess you. Purgatory does not exist. Villains, bad people, all that in heavens.”
- Give us proofs.
Then there are priests that attend such diabolic sessions? The terrible boy could have asked why, when they come, they do not scare the devil away?
“This is a diabolic scene. Here is what Mr. Allan Kardec said: The lewdness of the mystifying Spirits goes beyond imagination. There was two Spirits, one representing good and the other evil. After a few months one said:
-I am tired of repeating mellow words to you, words that I do not accept.
-You are then the evil Spirit? – A. Yes.
-Talking about God, the virgin and the saints, doesn’t it make you suffer? – A. Yes.
-Do you want good or evil? – A. Evil.
-Aren’t you the Spirit that was speaking before? – A. No.
-Where are you? – A. In hell.
-Do you suffer? – A. Yes.
-Always? – A. Yes.
-Are you submitted to Jesus Christ? – A. No, to Lucifer.
-Is he eternal? – A. No.
This report is undoubtedly dramatic but someone that could demonstrate any involvement from us with such a thing would be very skillful. It is so sad to see what people do convey give faith to others. They forget the fact that these children will grow and think. A faith that is founded on such proofs is right to fear conspiracies.
“We have just seen the evil Spiritism forced to confess what it is. This is another statement written by the pencil in the hands of a medium: - if you want to give yourself to me in soul, Spirit and body I will satisfy your desires; if you want to be with me write your name below mine. He then wrote: Giefle or Satan. The medium then trembled and did not write. Every session ended with these words:
The devil wanted people to cut a deal with him.
-Give me your soul!
-Who are you?
-I am the devil.
-What do you want?
What will those children say when they witness some evocations and instead of a deal with the hellish the hear this from the Spirits: “Love God above all and your neighbor as yourselves; practice the charity taught by Christ; be good to all even to your enemies; pray to God and follow the commandments so that you may be happy in this world and in the next”?
“All of those prodigies, all of those extraordinary things come from the Spirits of darkness. Mr. Home, an eager Spiritist, tell us that the ground sometimes shakes under his feet, apartment buildings tremble, people shiver; an invisible hand touches your knee and shoulders; a table jumps. People then ask:
-Are you there? –A. Yes.
And the table lifts twice!”
Once more all that is very dramatic. However among the listeners more than one has undoubtedly wished to see that and will not miss the first opportunity. Susceptible young ladies of a delicate built will also be found, some that before the slightest sway will see the hand of the devil and will feel ill.
“All these things are ridiculous. The sacred Church, the mother of all of us, makes us see that it is all just a lie.”
If all that is ridiculous and deceptive why then giving so much importance to that? Why scaring the children with scenes that have nothing of real? If there is lie isn’t that in those very images?
“For example, the evocation of the dead. We cannot believe that it is our relatives that are talking to us; it is Satan speaking and going by the name of a dead person. We are certainly in communication through the communion of the saints. We have examples of apparitions of the dead in the life of the saints but that is a rare miracle of the divine wisdom. Here what is said: Demons sometimes manifest as if they were dead people and sometimes as if they were saints.”
“Sometimes” is not the same as always hence it may happen that the communicating Spirit is not a demon.
“They can do many other things. One day a medium that could not draw reproduced the image of Jesus Christ and the Saint Virgin having the hand led by a Spirit; the images were presented to some of our best artists and were considered worthy of being exposed.”
On hearing that one student might think: Ah if a Spirit could guide my hand to do my homework and win an award! Let us try!
“Saul consulted with the medium of Endor and God allowed Samuel to appear to him to say: Why do you bother me in my sleep? Tomorrow you will be with me in the tomb. Our Sauls of theater could well think about this story. St. Philip Neri says: If the Saint Virgin or even Jesus Christ shows up spit on their faces because it would just be a deception of the devil to induce you in error.”
What is then the meaning of the apparition of the Hail Lady of La Salette to two poor children? According to this instruction of catechism she should have been spat on the face.
“Our Saint Father Pope Pius IX expressly prohibited these things. Mr. Bishop of Langres and many others did the same. Life is at risk. Two old men committed suicide because the Spirits had told them that they would enjoy eternal happiness after death. Danger to reason. Several mediums went mad and in a psychiatric home there was more than forty that went crazy.”
We still don’t know the papal bull that expressly prohibits to get involved with such things. If it did exist Mr. Bishop of Langres and the others would not have failed to mention it. The story about the two old men that was mentioned is inaccurate. It was proved through official documents presented to the court and notably through letters written by them before their death that they were committing suicide for lack of money and their fear of becoming miserable (see The Spiritist Review, April 1863). The story of forty persons in a psychiatric homes is truer. It would be very difficult to justify by the name of those pretense mad persons that a first newspaper indicated to be four, a second one forty, a third one four hundred and a fifth said that they were working in the amplification of the home. An instructor of catechism should collect his historical information from another source other than gossips from newspapers.
The children have confidence in stories that are told seriously. However the stronger the confidence the greater the contrary reaction later on when they get to know the truth. This is said generally and not only with respect to Spiritism. If we analyze the work of that young man let it be clear that it is not the opinion of a child that we refute but the one that constitutes the summary of the narrative. If all instructions of that kind were carefully investigated we would be less surprised by the fruits that are picked up later on. It is necessary a lot of care and experience to educate children since we cannot imagine the reach of a single imprudent word that like a bad weed germinates in those young imaginations like in a virgin soil.
As it seems the adversaries of Spiritism don’t think it is too spread yet. One could say that they are imperceptibly impelled to engineer means of propagating it ever further. After the sermons whose result is well-known we could not find a more efficient way of doing that than turning it into homework of lessons of catechism. The sermons act upon the departing generations. The lessons above act upon the newcomers. We would be wrong to assess them negatively.
“This is a diabolic scene. Here is what Mr. Allan Kardec said: The lewdness of the mystifying Spirits goes beyond imagination. There was two Spirits, one representing good and the other evil. After a few months one said:
-I am tired of repeating mellow words to you, words that I do not accept.
-You are then the evil Spirit? – A. Yes.
-Talking about God, the virgin and the saints, doesn’t it make you suffer? – A. Yes.
-Do you want good or evil? – A. Evil.
-Aren’t you the Spirit that was speaking before? – A. No.
-Where are you? – A. In hell.
-Do you suffer? – A. Yes.
-Always? – A. Yes.
-Are you submitted to Jesus Christ? – A. No, to Lucifer.
-Is he eternal? – A. No.
This report is undoubtedly dramatic but someone that could demonstrate any involvement from us with such a thing would be very skillful. It is so sad to see what people do convey give faith to others. They forget the fact that these children will grow and think. A faith that is founded on such proofs is right to fear conspiracies.
“We have just seen the evil Spiritism forced to confess what it is. This is another statement written by the pencil in the hands of a medium: - if you want to give yourself to me in soul, Spirit and body I will satisfy your desires; if you want to be with me write your name below mine. He then wrote: Giefle or Satan. The medium then trembled and did not write. Every session ended with these words:
The devil wanted people to cut a deal with him.
-Give me your soul!
-Who are you?
-I am the devil.
-What do you want?
What will those children say when they witness some evocations and instead of a deal with the hellish the hear this from the Spirits: “Love God above all and your neighbor as yourselves; practice the charity taught by Christ; be good to all even to your enemies; pray to God and follow the commandments so that you may be happy in this world and in the next”?
“All of those prodigies, all of those extraordinary things come from the Spirits of darkness. Mr. Home, an eager Spiritist, tell us that the ground sometimes shakes under his feet, apartment buildings tremble, people shiver; an invisible hand touches your knee and shoulders; a table jumps. People then ask:
-Are you there? –A. Yes.
And the table lifts twice!”
Once more all that is very dramatic. However among the listeners more than one has undoubtedly wished to see that and will not miss the first opportunity. Susceptible young ladies of a delicate built will also be found, some that before the slightest sway will see the hand of the devil and will feel ill.
“All these things are ridiculous. The sacred Church, the mother of all of us, makes us see that it is all just a lie.”
If all that is ridiculous and deceptive why then giving so much importance to that? Why scaring the children with scenes that have nothing of real? If there is lie isn’t that in those very images?
“For example, the evocation of the dead. We cannot believe that it is our relatives that are talking to us; it is Satan speaking and going by the name of a dead person. We are certainly in communication through the communion of the saints. We have examples of apparitions of the dead in the life of the saints but that is a rare miracle of the divine wisdom. Here what is said: Demons sometimes manifest as if they were dead people and sometimes as if they were saints.”
“Sometimes” is not the same as always hence it may happen that the communicating Spirit is not a demon.
“They can do many other things. One day a medium that could not draw reproduced the image of Jesus Christ and the Saint Virgin having the hand led by a Spirit; the images were presented to some of our best artists and were considered worthy of being exposed.”
On hearing that one student might think: Ah if a Spirit could guide my hand to do my homework and win an award! Let us try!
“Saul consulted with the medium of Endor and God allowed Samuel to appear to him to say: Why do you bother me in my sleep? Tomorrow you will be with me in the tomb. Our Sauls of theater could well think about this story. St. Philip Neri says: If the Saint Virgin or even Jesus Christ shows up spit on their faces because it would just be a deception of the devil to induce you in error.”
What is then the meaning of the apparition of the Hail Lady of La Salette to two poor children? According to this instruction of catechism she should have been spat on the face.
“Our Saint Father Pope Pius IX expressly prohibited these things. Mr. Bishop of Langres and many others did the same. Life is at risk. Two old men committed suicide because the Spirits had told them that they would enjoy eternal happiness after death. Danger to reason. Several mediums went mad and in a psychiatric home there was more than forty that went crazy.”
We still don’t know the papal bull that expressly prohibits to get involved with such things. If it did exist Mr. Bishop of Langres and the others would not have failed to mention it. The story about the two old men that was mentioned is inaccurate. It was proved through official documents presented to the court and notably through letters written by them before their death that they were committing suicide for lack of money and their fear of becoming miserable (see The Spiritist Review, April 1863). The story of forty persons in a psychiatric homes is truer. It would be very difficult to justify by the name of those pretense mad persons that a first newspaper indicated to be four, a second one forty, a third one four hundred and a fifth said that they were working in the amplification of the home. An instructor of catechism should collect his historical information from another source other than gossips from newspapers.
The children have confidence in stories that are told seriously. However the stronger the confidence the greater the contrary reaction later on when they get to know the truth. This is said generally and not only with respect to Spiritism. If we analyze the work of that young man let it be clear that it is not the opinion of a child that we refute but the one that constitutes the summary of the narrative. If all instructions of that kind were carefully investigated we would be less surprised by the fruits that are picked up later on. It is necessary a lot of care and experience to educate children since we cannot imagine the reach of a single imprudent word that like a bad weed germinates in those young imaginations like in a virgin soil.
As it seems the adversaries of Spiritism don’t think it is too spread yet. One could say that they are imperceptibly impelled to engineer means of propagating it ever further. After the sermons whose result is well-known we could not find a more efficient way of doing that than turning it into homework of lessons of catechism. The sermons act upon the departing generations. The lessons above act upon the newcomers. We would be wrong to assess them negatively.
The following report is a textual transcription of an original letter that we hold in our hands.
“Viviers, April 10th 1741.
No one in this world, my dear de Noailles, can tell you better than I can about everything that took place in Sister Mary’s cell and if the description you gave made us face ridicule in our town I want to share that with you. The power of truth will always make me face the fear of being taken by a visionary and an excessively believer. Therefore this is a summary of everything that I saw and heard during the four nights that I spent there together with more than forty people, all of them trustworthy. I will only mention the most remarkable events.
On March 23rd, the day of the Annunciation, I heard rumors that for three days a lot of noise was coming from Sister Mary’s cell; that the two Sisters from St. Domingo that live with her were so much horrified that they had sent for Father Chambon from St. Laurent; that when he arrived one hour past midnight to that cell he heard paintings knocking on walls, a basin with holy water moving around noisily and a chair that was placed in the middle of the room taken down six times. I confess, Sir, that after hearing those things I couldn’t help it and made fun of that. All the devotees were subjected to my criticism and since then I decided to spend the night following that Sister Mary, well persuaded that it would all be quiet in my presence or that I would discover the trickery.
I then in fact went to that home about 9 pm. I questioned many Sisters and in particular Sister Mary that seemed to be aware of the cause of all those noises but did not want to tell us. I then proceed to a very careful search of her room. I looked over and below her bed, the walls and paintings. Everything was examined very carefully and since I found nothing that could explain those noises I ordered that the room was cleared and that I was the only one authorized to return there. I then accommodated myself near the fireplace in a neighboring room; I left the door to the cell opened and placed a candle by the door sill so that from my place I could see almost the whole cell and a chair that I had left near the bed. At about 10 pm Mr. d’Entrevaux and Mr. Archambaud joined me and with them two other artisans from our town.
Around 11:30 pm I heard the chair moving and promptly ran to the room. Having found it down I lifted it and put it further from the patient’s bed since I did not want to lose the sight of the chair. Mr. d’Entrevaux and Mr. Archambaud did the same and soon after we saw it moving for the second time; the basin of holy water near the bed of Sister Mary at a height that could not be reached by her jingled several times and a painting knocked the wall three times. At that time I went to speak to the patient. I found her extremely depressed and from there she fell ill, losing consciousness and the control of her senses but the hearing. I attended her as a doctor myself; she soon recovered her senses with the application of lavender water. We heard the same noises every fifteen minutes and since the paintings were always found in the same condition I ordered the noisy one to knock three times and flip the painting; at that point I was obeyed. Sometime later I ordered that the painting should be flipped back and had the second proof that my orders were obeyed.
I noticed that the only noisy things in the cell were the chair, two paintings and the basin with holy water so that I had them removed. The noise then moved over to the images that we heard dragging several times and a small crucifix that was hanging on a nail on the wall. We made no secret about everything that we saw and heard and leave you to consider if I was not tricked in my vision. I induced the most skeptical persons into believing. We went there three nights in a role and that is what seemed remarkable to me. I only reported certain facts for it would take long to describe all the details. It should be enough to tell you that Messrs. Digoine, Bonfils, d’Entrevaux, Chambon, Faure, Allier, Aoust, Grange, Bouron, Bonnier, Fontenès, Robert and many others witnessed all that.
“The rumor around town was that Sister Mary could be the good actress of that comedy and that had changed the good opinion I had about her; I wanted even to be suspicious of foul play and although she is paralyzed as attested by our doctor and all of those that approach her and that ensure us that she hasn’t moved for over three years, not even her head, I wanted to admit that she could move and with such a hypothesis, Sir, here is how I proceeded: For two or three days in a role I went to the Sister’s home at 9 pm and forewarned her about the actions that I was taking to avoid being deceived and that in the presence of five or six of the gentlemen mentioned above. I had her tucked in in her own clothes. She was placed and attached to her bed like a one month old child in her crib. I also employed two pieces of paper and placed them on her chest in the form of a cross so that she could not make any move without disarranging them.
That day she had told Father Chambon and Father David about the mystery; Father Chambon is her guide in the absence of Mr. Bishop, and Father David is the director of our Seminary. The former asked her and she allowed him to tell us about the causes of all those noises. In confidence she told me that it was a suffering soul whose name she mentioned and that with God’s permission came to have her punishments mitigated. I then duly informed about the mistake did not allow anybody in that cell. That night it was eight of us, everyone determined to not believe anything. Around 11pm the paintings and basin were heard. Next Mr. Digoine and I moved to the door with a light in hand. It must be noted that the cell is small, that I could reach all walls reaching out with my hands, standing in the middle of the room. As soon as we got there the painting knocked on the wall. We moved fast and found the painting stationary and the patient in the same position. We returned to our post and heard the painting making a second noise; we rushed back and saw the painting flipping around over the bed. I placed it by the window. A moment later and it knocked three times in front of all those gentlemen. Wanting to be convinced about the truth of the story told by Sister Mary I ordered the suffering Spirit to take the crucifix from the wall and put it on the chest of the patient. It was immediately obeyed. All of those persons that were with me witnessed that. I then ordered to have the crucifix put back on its original place and the basin moved with noise. It was obeyed again and since I had taken the precaution of moved the basin to a place that could be seen by all we all saw and heard the movement. Since those signs were not good enough to convince me I requested other proofs. I then moved a table next to the bed and told the suffering Spirit that we would in good faith offer her our vows and prayers but she would need to knock on that table as many times as the number of masses she wanted us to give in her favor and that the sacrifice of the mass was the safest to alleviate her pain. She knocked immediately and we heard thirty three. We then organized ourselves to proceed accordingly and while we talked the paintings, the basin and the crucifix knocked all at the same time with a noise that was higher than ever before.
It was 2 am when I sent for Father Chambon that witnessed everything that we had told him since the thirty three knocks were repeated in his presence. Father Chambon then asked to have the crucifix transported to a certain chair. We soon heard a noise from that chair and saw the crucifix under the bed near the chair. I had Canon Digoine, Father Chambon and Father Robert hiding around the cell to keep an eye and see if they could detect something. They heard two different voices in the patient’s bed. The voice of the patient was very distinctive and asking many questions; as for the other one they could not distinguish the response since it spoke in a very lower and fast tone. Those gentlemen passed that information to me and when asked Sister Mary confirmed the fact.
I proposed to them to say a De Profundis for the relief of the sufferings of that soul and when the prayer was over the chair dropped, the paintings knocked and the basin jingled. I told the Spirit that we would say five The Lord’s Prayer and five Hail Mary to honor the five ulcers of our Lord Jesus and that I ordered her to knock the chair down once more and with more force to demonstrate that the prayers pleased her. As soon as we kneeled the chair fell forward lifted in the air and fell backwards, before our eyes.
When I saw the kindness of that Spirit and the readiness to obey I thought I could try everything. I place 40 coins of silver on the bed of the patient and ordered to have them counted. We immediately heard the count on a glass that I had placed nearby. I took the coins and put them on the table. I ordered the same thing that was soon obeyed again. I then placed a shield of six francs and asked to have the number of masses counted with that. The Spirit knocked on the wall 33 times with the shield.
I then called Father Digoine, Father Bonfils and Father d’Entrevaux to the cell, drew the curtains and placed a candle on the bed, asking the Spirit to knock and tell us the number of masses. The four of us saw Sister Mary always lying in bed in the same condition, without a movement and with the pieces of paper in the form of a cross on her chest, and we heard the 33 knocks on the wall. It is necessary to note that the adjacent cell by this wall was empty. We had been careful enough to remove anything and anybody that could bring us any doubt.
Finally, Sir, I tried something else. I wrote the following words in a piece of paper: I command you, suffering soul, to tell us who you are for our consolation and for the satisfaction of our faith. Write your name on this paper or, at least, make a mark and from that we will know the need that you have of our prayers. I then put that text under the patient’s bed with an inkpot and a pen. A moment later and I heard the basin jingle. We all rushed at the same time and found the paper with the crucifix on top. I then ordered to have the crucifix taken back to its place and a mark left on the paper. We said the Hail Mary prayer and when finished we saw the crucifix in its place and the piece of paper with two crosses made with the pen. Father Chambon that was near the bed heard the noise of the pen on the paper. I could tell you many other equally remarkable facts but the detail would require a lot of time.
You will undoubtedly ask, my dear Sir, what my thoughts are about such adventure. I will make my profession of faith. I first establish that what I saw and heard has a cause. The paintings, the chair, the basin, etc. are animated things that cannot move on their own. What is then the cause that made them move? It must necessarily be natural or supernatural. If it is natural it must be Sister Mary since she was the only one there. I cannot consider the hypothesis of springs being used to generate the noises because we examined everything with maximum care even disassembling the paintings and even if a single hair were responsible for the basin or chair we would have noticed. Now, I say that Sister Mary was not the cause. She did not want, or better, she could not deceive us. She did not want because a young lady with the smell of sanctity, a young lady whose life is a continuous miracle that hardly eat or drink for three years and only stones come out of her body; a woman that is suffering for six year always with a remarkable patience and that only opens her mouth to pray and that shows the deepest humility; is it possible, I ask, that she may have wanted to deceive us by forcing the public, her Bishop and confessor and to a number of priests to question her? We found a marvelous consistency in everything that she said; never the slightest contradiction that is the unique character of truth since lies would not sustain it. I don’t believe the martyrs have suffered more than this saint young lady. There are times when her body is a sole ulcer; blood and pus come out of her ears and sometimes long worms are taken from her nostrils. She suffers continually and asks God to make her suffer. A wonderful thing is that every year during East she has bloody vomit collected and after that she receives the Sacred Viaticum and an instant later she is totally shut down. That is what happened last Wednesday.
I then say that she could not deceive us. She has no condition to do anything since she is paralyzed, as I said, and a young lady from our town was completely convinced when she pierced her thigh with a needle. In fact you can attest the precautions we took. We tied her up with her clothes and frequently kept her under our eyes. Hence it is not her. What can you tell me then? It is easy to find the consequence of everything that I have the honor to report to you.
Signed: Abbot de Saint-Ponc, Cannon Presenter.”
“Viviers, April 10th 1741.
No one in this world, my dear de Noailles, can tell you better than I can about everything that took place in Sister Mary’s cell and if the description you gave made us face ridicule in our town I want to share that with you. The power of truth will always make me face the fear of being taken by a visionary and an excessively believer. Therefore this is a summary of everything that I saw and heard during the four nights that I spent there together with more than forty people, all of them trustworthy. I will only mention the most remarkable events.
On March 23rd, the day of the Annunciation, I heard rumors that for three days a lot of noise was coming from Sister Mary’s cell; that the two Sisters from St. Domingo that live with her were so much horrified that they had sent for Father Chambon from St. Laurent; that when he arrived one hour past midnight to that cell he heard paintings knocking on walls, a basin with holy water moving around noisily and a chair that was placed in the middle of the room taken down six times. I confess, Sir, that after hearing those things I couldn’t help it and made fun of that. All the devotees were subjected to my criticism and since then I decided to spend the night following that Sister Mary, well persuaded that it would all be quiet in my presence or that I would discover the trickery.
I then in fact went to that home about 9 pm. I questioned many Sisters and in particular Sister Mary that seemed to be aware of the cause of all those noises but did not want to tell us. I then proceed to a very careful search of her room. I looked over and below her bed, the walls and paintings. Everything was examined very carefully and since I found nothing that could explain those noises I ordered that the room was cleared and that I was the only one authorized to return there. I then accommodated myself near the fireplace in a neighboring room; I left the door to the cell opened and placed a candle by the door sill so that from my place I could see almost the whole cell and a chair that I had left near the bed. At about 10 pm Mr. d’Entrevaux and Mr. Archambaud joined me and with them two other artisans from our town.
Around 11:30 pm I heard the chair moving and promptly ran to the room. Having found it down I lifted it and put it further from the patient’s bed since I did not want to lose the sight of the chair. Mr. d’Entrevaux and Mr. Archambaud did the same and soon after we saw it moving for the second time; the basin of holy water near the bed of Sister Mary at a height that could not be reached by her jingled several times and a painting knocked the wall three times. At that time I went to speak to the patient. I found her extremely depressed and from there she fell ill, losing consciousness and the control of her senses but the hearing. I attended her as a doctor myself; she soon recovered her senses with the application of lavender water. We heard the same noises every fifteen minutes and since the paintings were always found in the same condition I ordered the noisy one to knock three times and flip the painting; at that point I was obeyed. Sometime later I ordered that the painting should be flipped back and had the second proof that my orders were obeyed.
I noticed that the only noisy things in the cell were the chair, two paintings and the basin with holy water so that I had them removed. The noise then moved over to the images that we heard dragging several times and a small crucifix that was hanging on a nail on the wall. We made no secret about everything that we saw and heard and leave you to consider if I was not tricked in my vision. I induced the most skeptical persons into believing. We went there three nights in a role and that is what seemed remarkable to me. I only reported certain facts for it would take long to describe all the details. It should be enough to tell you that Messrs. Digoine, Bonfils, d’Entrevaux, Chambon, Faure, Allier, Aoust, Grange, Bouron, Bonnier, Fontenès, Robert and many others witnessed all that.
“The rumor around town was that Sister Mary could be the good actress of that comedy and that had changed the good opinion I had about her; I wanted even to be suspicious of foul play and although she is paralyzed as attested by our doctor and all of those that approach her and that ensure us that she hasn’t moved for over three years, not even her head, I wanted to admit that she could move and with such a hypothesis, Sir, here is how I proceeded: For two or three days in a role I went to the Sister’s home at 9 pm and forewarned her about the actions that I was taking to avoid being deceived and that in the presence of five or six of the gentlemen mentioned above. I had her tucked in in her own clothes. She was placed and attached to her bed like a one month old child in her crib. I also employed two pieces of paper and placed them on her chest in the form of a cross so that she could not make any move without disarranging them.
That day she had told Father Chambon and Father David about the mystery; Father Chambon is her guide in the absence of Mr. Bishop, and Father David is the director of our Seminary. The former asked her and she allowed him to tell us about the causes of all those noises. In confidence she told me that it was a suffering soul whose name she mentioned and that with God’s permission came to have her punishments mitigated. I then duly informed about the mistake did not allow anybody in that cell. That night it was eight of us, everyone determined to not believe anything. Around 11pm the paintings and basin were heard. Next Mr. Digoine and I moved to the door with a light in hand. It must be noted that the cell is small, that I could reach all walls reaching out with my hands, standing in the middle of the room. As soon as we got there the painting knocked on the wall. We moved fast and found the painting stationary and the patient in the same position. We returned to our post and heard the painting making a second noise; we rushed back and saw the painting flipping around over the bed. I placed it by the window. A moment later and it knocked three times in front of all those gentlemen. Wanting to be convinced about the truth of the story told by Sister Mary I ordered the suffering Spirit to take the crucifix from the wall and put it on the chest of the patient. It was immediately obeyed. All of those persons that were with me witnessed that. I then ordered to have the crucifix put back on its original place and the basin moved with noise. It was obeyed again and since I had taken the precaution of moved the basin to a place that could be seen by all we all saw and heard the movement. Since those signs were not good enough to convince me I requested other proofs. I then moved a table next to the bed and told the suffering Spirit that we would in good faith offer her our vows and prayers but she would need to knock on that table as many times as the number of masses she wanted us to give in her favor and that the sacrifice of the mass was the safest to alleviate her pain. She knocked immediately and we heard thirty three. We then organized ourselves to proceed accordingly and while we talked the paintings, the basin and the crucifix knocked all at the same time with a noise that was higher than ever before.
It was 2 am when I sent for Father Chambon that witnessed everything that we had told him since the thirty three knocks were repeated in his presence. Father Chambon then asked to have the crucifix transported to a certain chair. We soon heard a noise from that chair and saw the crucifix under the bed near the chair. I had Canon Digoine, Father Chambon and Father Robert hiding around the cell to keep an eye and see if they could detect something. They heard two different voices in the patient’s bed. The voice of the patient was very distinctive and asking many questions; as for the other one they could not distinguish the response since it spoke in a very lower and fast tone. Those gentlemen passed that information to me and when asked Sister Mary confirmed the fact.
I proposed to them to say a De Profundis for the relief of the sufferings of that soul and when the prayer was over the chair dropped, the paintings knocked and the basin jingled. I told the Spirit that we would say five The Lord’s Prayer and five Hail Mary to honor the five ulcers of our Lord Jesus and that I ordered her to knock the chair down once more and with more force to demonstrate that the prayers pleased her. As soon as we kneeled the chair fell forward lifted in the air and fell backwards, before our eyes.
When I saw the kindness of that Spirit and the readiness to obey I thought I could try everything. I place 40 coins of silver on the bed of the patient and ordered to have them counted. We immediately heard the count on a glass that I had placed nearby. I took the coins and put them on the table. I ordered the same thing that was soon obeyed again. I then placed a shield of six francs and asked to have the number of masses counted with that. The Spirit knocked on the wall 33 times with the shield.
I then called Father Digoine, Father Bonfils and Father d’Entrevaux to the cell, drew the curtains and placed a candle on the bed, asking the Spirit to knock and tell us the number of masses. The four of us saw Sister Mary always lying in bed in the same condition, without a movement and with the pieces of paper in the form of a cross on her chest, and we heard the 33 knocks on the wall. It is necessary to note that the adjacent cell by this wall was empty. We had been careful enough to remove anything and anybody that could bring us any doubt.
Finally, Sir, I tried something else. I wrote the following words in a piece of paper: I command you, suffering soul, to tell us who you are for our consolation and for the satisfaction of our faith. Write your name on this paper or, at least, make a mark and from that we will know the need that you have of our prayers. I then put that text under the patient’s bed with an inkpot and a pen. A moment later and I heard the basin jingle. We all rushed at the same time and found the paper with the crucifix on top. I then ordered to have the crucifix taken back to its place and a mark left on the paper. We said the Hail Mary prayer and when finished we saw the crucifix in its place and the piece of paper with two crosses made with the pen. Father Chambon that was near the bed heard the noise of the pen on the paper. I could tell you many other equally remarkable facts but the detail would require a lot of time.
You will undoubtedly ask, my dear Sir, what my thoughts are about such adventure. I will make my profession of faith. I first establish that what I saw and heard has a cause. The paintings, the chair, the basin, etc. are animated things that cannot move on their own. What is then the cause that made them move? It must necessarily be natural or supernatural. If it is natural it must be Sister Mary since she was the only one there. I cannot consider the hypothesis of springs being used to generate the noises because we examined everything with maximum care even disassembling the paintings and even if a single hair were responsible for the basin or chair we would have noticed. Now, I say that Sister Mary was not the cause. She did not want, or better, she could not deceive us. She did not want because a young lady with the smell of sanctity, a young lady whose life is a continuous miracle that hardly eat or drink for three years and only stones come out of her body; a woman that is suffering for six year always with a remarkable patience and that only opens her mouth to pray and that shows the deepest humility; is it possible, I ask, that she may have wanted to deceive us by forcing the public, her Bishop and confessor and to a number of priests to question her? We found a marvelous consistency in everything that she said; never the slightest contradiction that is the unique character of truth since lies would not sustain it. I don’t believe the martyrs have suffered more than this saint young lady. There are times when her body is a sole ulcer; blood and pus come out of her ears and sometimes long worms are taken from her nostrils. She suffers continually and asks God to make her suffer. A wonderful thing is that every year during East she has bloody vomit collected and after that she receives the Sacred Viaticum and an instant later she is totally shut down. That is what happened last Wednesday.
I then say that she could not deceive us. She has no condition to do anything since she is paralyzed, as I said, and a young lady from our town was completely convinced when she pierced her thigh with a needle. In fact you can attest the precautions we took. We tied her up with her clothes and frequently kept her under our eyes. Hence it is not her. What can you tell me then? It is easy to find the consequence of everything that I have the honor to report to you.
Signed: Abbot de Saint-Ponc, Cannon Presenter.”
OBSERVATION: There is an evident analogy between these events and those of the Rapping Spirit of Bergzabern and Dibblesdorf reported in the Spiritist Review May, June, July and August 1858, with the exception that in this case there was nothing malevolent about the Spirit. They are attested by a man whose character cannot be suspicious and that did not observe them lightheartedly. If, like some intend, it is only the devil that manifests, how come it would be near a lady that smells sanctity? It is noticeable that she was not afraid or tormented; she knew herself, and the experiments demonstrated, that it was a suffering soul. If it is not the devil than do other souls can communicate?
There are two things that hold a particular analogy with what we see today. To begin with the first thought is that there is deception from the part of the person that is involved with the phenomena, despite the material impossibilities that sometimes occur. In the moral and physical situation of that lady it is hard to believe that there was suspicion of a game in the minds of the other Sisters. The second aspect is more important. If some of the phenome took place before the eyes of the persons that were present the majority occurred when they were next door when showing their backs or in the absence of direct light like frequently observed in our days. What is the reason for that? That is not yet sufficiently explained. Since those phenomena have a material and not supernatural cause, it could be the case that like in certain chemical reactions diffuse light would be more favorable to the action of fluids utilized by the Spirit. Spiritual Physics is still in its infancy.
There are two things that hold a particular analogy with what we see today. To begin with the first thought is that there is deception from the part of the person that is involved with the phenomena, despite the material impossibilities that sometimes occur. In the moral and physical situation of that lady it is hard to believe that there was suspicion of a game in the minds of the other Sisters. The second aspect is more important. If some of the phenome took place before the eyes of the persons that were present the majority occurred when they were next door when showing their backs or in the absence of direct light like frequently observed in our days. What is the reason for that? That is not yet sufficiently explained. Since those phenomena have a material and not supernatural cause, it could be the case that like in certain chemical reactions diffuse light would be more favorable to the action of fluids utilized by the Spirit. Spiritual Physics is still in its infancy.
Varieties
May 1st 1864 will be marked in the archives of Spiritism like the October 9th 1862. It will remember the decision of the Sacred Congregation of the Index with respect to our books about Spiritism. If something surprised the Spiritists is that such a decision was not taken earlier on. As a matter of fact there is only one opinion about the effects that it may produce already confirmed by the information that come to us from everywhere. Given the news, all bookstores promptly give evidence to all those books. Some more timid booksellers that believe in a prohibition of their sale take them out of the shelves but continue to sell them behind the curtains. They were appeased when learned that the organic law says that “No bull, mandate, decree, provision, signature serving as provision or any other expedient from the Court of Rome, even when only concerning individuals, may be received, published, printed or in executed in any other way without authorization of the government.”
As for ourselves, that act is one that we awaited and is an indication that will serve us and that will guide us in future works.
As for ourselves, that act is one that we awaited and is an indication that will serve us and that will guide us in future works.
Spiritism counts on a large number of representatives in the army amongst officers in all ranks that have attested its beneficial influence upon themselves and their subordinates. In some regiments, however, it finds in the higher ranks not exactly deniers but declared adversaries that formally prohibit their subordinates to get involved with Spiritism. We know an officer whose name was crossed out from the list of nominees to the Legion of Honor and others that were led to forced labor because of Spiritism. We have advised them to abide by the hierarchical discipline without complaint and patiently wait for better days that won’t be long since they will come by the force of general opinion. We have even advised them to abstain from any exterior Spiritist manifestation, if absolutely necessary, because there could not be any embarrassment to an intimate belief or nobody could take away from them the encouragement and consolations that they find in Spiritism. These small persecutions are a test to their faith and serve Spiritism instead of causing it any harm. They must rejoice for suffering a little in the name of a cause that is dear to them. Don’t they feel proud for leaving a limb behind in the battle field in the name of their terrestrial battlefield? What are then a few displeasures and setbacks endured in the name of the eternal homeland and for the cause of humanity?
Sunday, April 3rd, 1864 was a day of great celebration in the commune of Cempuis, near Grand Villiers, in the Oise. Many thousands gathered there for a touching ceremony that will leave indelible marks in the hearts of all of those that attended. Our colleague, Mr. Prevost, member of the Spiritist Society of Paris and founder of the retirement home of Cempuis and charitable societies of the Department was the modest hero. A huge entourage preceded by the band of Gran Villiers led him to the City Hall where he received a medal of honor from the local authority for his noble devotion to the humane cause of those in suffering. We extracted the following passage from the speech given by the local official:
“If in this short analysis, ladies and gentlemen, I am able to assign the fair value that each one deserves in the consecration of this great day, allow me to rejoice with you in the accomplishment of a duty that is very dear to me from all points of view. It is then with great happiness and legitimate pride that you will all see on Mr. Prevost’s chest this honorific award granted by the Emperor with his name expecting, make no mistake that the star of honor may shine there with its most vivid light. Before we finish this beautiful ceremony that they youth awaits impatiently to replace by their joyful animation, and rightfully so, let us remember the great Emperor and his faithful interpreter, the mayor of Oise.”
The Spiritist Society of Paris is also proud of the distinguish honor served to one of its highly recognized members. (For more details about the retirement home of Cempuis see The Spiritist Review, October 1863).
“If in this short analysis, ladies and gentlemen, I am able to assign the fair value that each one deserves in the consecration of this great day, allow me to rejoice with you in the accomplishment of a duty that is very dear to me from all points of view. It is then with great happiness and legitimate pride that you will all see on Mr. Prevost’s chest this honorific award granted by the Emperor with his name expecting, make no mistake that the star of honor may shine there with its most vivid light. Before we finish this beautiful ceremony that they youth awaits impatiently to replace by their joyful animation, and rightfully so, let us remember the great Emperor and his faithful interpreter, the mayor of Oise.”
The Spiritist Society of Paris is also proud of the distinguish honor served to one of its highly recognized members. (For more details about the retirement home of Cempuis see The Spiritist Review, October 1863).