A Careless FatherCharles-Emmanuel Jean was a good worker, of a kind character, but given to drinking since his youth days. He had fallen in love with a young woman of his acquaintance that did not accept his proposal. She had always rejected him, saying that she would never marry a drunk. He married someone else with whom he had several children, but due to his drinking he never worried about their education and future. He died around 1823 and nobody knew what had become of him. One of his sons followed the footsteps of the father; he moved to Africa and gave no more news. Another one was of a completely different nature; his conduct had always been regular. He started apprenticeship early on, becoming well-liked by his employers as a qualified, laborious, active, and intelligent worker. Through his work and savings, he achieved an honorable position in the industry, and took proper care and educated a large family. He is today a keen and devoted Spiritist.
One day, in a private conversation, he expressed frustration of not having ensured an independent fortune to his children; we tried to appease his conscience, congratulating him, on the contrary, for the way he had accomplished his duty as a father. Since he is a good medium, we prayed for him to get a communication, without appealing to any determined Spirit. He wrote:
-“It is me, Charles-Emmanuel.”
It is my father, he said. Poor father, he is not happy. The Spirit continued:
-Yes, the teacher is right. You did more for your children than I did for you. I, therefore, have a mission to accomplish. Praise God, that gave you the love for your family.
Question (from Mr. Allan Kardec) – Where did your inclination for drinking come from?
Answer – A habit from my father that I inherited. It was a trial that I had to have fought.
Observation: In fact, his father had the same vice, but it is not correct to say that he had inherited; he simply gave in to the influence of a bad example. One cannot inherit defects of character, as it can do to defects of formation. Free-will has total power upon the former and none upon the latter.
Question – What is your current situation in the world of the Spirits?
Answer – I am permanently looking for my children and for the one that made me suffer, that always rejected me.
Q – You must find consolation in your son, Jean, an honored and well-liked man, and that prays for you, although you gave little attention to him.
A – Yes, I know; he has done and still does. That is why I am allowed to talk to you. I am always by his side, trying to mitigate his pains; it is my mission; it will only end when my son comes close to us.
Q – What was your situation, as a Spirit, after death?
A – In the beginning I did not believe to be dead; I drank nonstop; I saw and tried to reach Antoinette, but she fled. I then sought my children that I loved, despite everything, and that my wife did not want to give me. I then revolted, acknowledging my insignificance and impotence, and God condemned me to watch over my son Jean, that never died of an accident because always, and everywhere, I spare him of a violent death.
Observation: In fact, Mr. Jean escaped several times form imminent danger, as if out of a miracle; he escaped from drowning, from fire, from being smashed in the gears of an engine, from exploding with a steam engine; in his youth he was hung by accident, and an unexpected help always saved him at a critical time, something that seems to be due to the vigilance carried out by his father.
Q – You said that God condemned you to watch out for the safety of your son. I do not see a punishment in this; since you love him, this must be, on the contrary, a satisfaction to you. Many Spirits are assigned with the mission of taking care of the incarnate, protecting them, and that is a mission that pleases them to accomplish.
A – Yes, teacher. I should not have neglected my children, as I did. The law of justice now condemns me to repair. I do not do it against my will; I am happy to do that for the love of my son, but the pain that he would feel in the accidents that I save him from, I feel them myself; if he had to go through ten bullets, I would feel that pain as if it happened. That is the punishment that I attracted, by not carrying out the duties of a father before them in my life.
Q (by Mr. Jean) – Do you see my brother Numa, and can you tell me where he is? (the one that was given to drinking and whose fate was unknown).
A – No, I do not see him, but I look for him. Your daughter Jeanne saw him by the coast of Africa, falling into the sea. I was not there to help him. I couldn’t.
Observation: Mr. Jean’s daughter, in a moment of ecstasy, had really seen him falling into the sea, at the time of his disappearance. The punishment of this Spirit offers this particularity: He feels the pains that must be spared from his son. From that, it is understandable that it must be painful; but since he does not complain and consider it to be a fair amends, and that it does not diminishes his affection towards his son, such an atonement is useful.
