Familiar lessons of morality.

I.

[Is everything that happens the expression of the will of God?]

My dear children, your manner of understanding the will of God is mistaken, inasmuch as you take everything that happens as the expression of that will. Certainly God knows all that has been, that is, and that will be; His will being always the expression of His divine love, it brings, in being accomplished, grace and blessing, whereas, by departing from that sole way, man draws to himself sufferings, which are nothing but warnings. Unfortunately, the man of today, blinded by the pride of his spirit, or drowned in the mire of the passions, will not understand them. Now, my children, you know that the time draws near in which the reign of the will of God will begin on Earth; then, woe to him who still dares to oppose it, for he will be broken like the reed, whereas those who have amended themselves will see the treasures of infinite mercy open for them. You see from this that if the will of God is the expression of His love and, for that very reason, immutable and eternal, every act of rebellion against that will, though tolerated by the incomprehensible wisdom, is only temporary and transitory; rather than the expression of His will, it represents a trial of the patient mercy of God. II.

[The good that comes from God will always end by triumphing over the evil that comes from men.]

I see with pleasure, my children, that your faith does not grow cold, despite the attacks of the unbelievers. If all men welcomed this extraordinary manifestation of the divine goodness, this new door opened to your advancement, with the same zeal, the same perseverance, and above all with the same purity of intention, it would have been an evident proof that the world is not so bad after all, nor so hardened as it appears, and – what is inadmissible – that the hand of God had become unjustly heavy upon Humanity. Do not be astonished, then, at the opposition that Spiritism encounters in the world. Destined to combat egoism victoriously and to lead charity to triumph, it is, naturally, the target of the persecutions of egoism and of fanaticism, the latter often derived from the former. Remember what was said many centuries ago: “Many are called, but few are chosen.” Nevertheless, the good, which comes from God, will always end by triumphing over the evil, which proceeds from men. III.

[Religious faith and the communist systems without faith.]

God caused faith and charity to descend to the Earth to help men shake off the double tyranny of sin and of arbitrariness; and there is no doubt that, with these two divine motive forces, they would long ago have attained a happiness as perfect as human nature and the physical state of your globe allow, had men not let faith languish and hearts dry up. For a moment, they even believed they could dispense with it and save themselves by charity alone. It was then that there was seen to be born that multitude of social systems, good in the intention that dictated them, but defective and impracticable in form. And why are they impracticable? you will ask; are they not based on the disinterestedness of each one? Yes, no doubt; but to be based on disinterestedness, it is necessary, first, that disinterestedness exist. Now, it is not enough to decree it, it is necessary to inspire it. Without the faith that gives the certainty of the compensations of the future life, disinterestedness is a delusion in the eyes of the egoist. This is why those systems that rest only upon material interests are unstable, so true is it that man could build nothing harmonious and lasting without faith, which not only endows him with a moral force superior to all physical forces, but also opens to him the assistance of the spiritual world and permits him to drink at the source of divine omnipotence. IV.

[Humility as the first basis of faith and one of the first conditions of charity.]

“Even when you have fulfilled all that was commanded you, consider yourselves as useless servants.” These words of Christ teach you humility as the first basis of faith and one of the first conditions of charity. He who has faith does not forget that God knows all imperfections; consequently, he never thinks of wishing to appear better than he is in the eyes of his neighbor. He who has humility always welcomes with gentleness the reproaches made to him, however unjust they may be, for, know it well, injustice never irritates the just man. It is by laying a finger on some envenomed wound of your soul that one makes the flush of shame rise to your face, a sure index of an ill-disguised pride. Pride, my children, is the greatest obstacle to your perfecting, because it does not let you profit from the lessons given to you. It is, then, by combating it without truce and without quarter that you will best work for your advancement. V.

[Harmony.]

If you cast your gaze upon the world that surrounds you, you will see that all is harmony. The harmony of material life is the beautiful. Yet it is only the least noble part of Creation. The harmony of the spiritual world is love, a divine emanation that fills the spaces and leads the creature to its Creator. Seek, my children, to fill your hearts with it. All that you might do that is great outside of this law would not be taken into consideration for you. Love alone, when you have assured its triumph on Earth, will make come to you the kingdom of God promised by the apostles.