Work

The measure of the work imposed on each Spirit, incarnate or disincarnate, is the certainty of having scrupulously carried out the mission entrusted to it. Now, each one has a mission to fulfill: this one on a large scale, that one on a smaller scale. However, relatively speaking, the obligations are all equal, and God will ask you to account for the mite placed in your hands. If you gained an advantage, if you doubled the sum, you certainly fulfilled your duty, because you obeyed the supreme order. If, instead of having increased this mite, you had lost it, it is certain that you would have abused the confidence your Creator had placed in you; for this reason, you will be treated as a thief, because you took and did not give back; far from increasing it, you squandered it. Now, if, as I have just said, every creature is obliged to receive and to give, how much more, Spiritists, must you obey this divine law, the more effort you must make to fulfill this duty before the Lord, who chose you to share His labors and invited you to His table. Consider, my brothers, that the gift given to you is one of the sovereign goods of God. Do not be vain about it, but make every effort to deserve this high favor. If the titles you might receive from a great one of the Earth, if his favors are something beautiful in your eyes, all the more should you feel happy with the gifts of the lord of the worlds; incorruptible and imperishable gifts, which raise you above your brothers and will be for you the source of pure and holy joys! But do you wish to be their sole possessors? Like egoists, would you wish to keep so much happiness and joy only for yourselves? Oh! no; you were chosen as depositaries. The riches that shine before your eyes are not yours, but belong to all your brothers in general. You must, then, increase them and distribute them. Like the good gardener who preserves and multiplies his flowers, and presents to you in the harshness of winter the delights of spring; as in the sad month of November roses and lilies are born, so you are charged with sowing and cultivating in your moral field flowers of all seasons, flowers that will defy the breath of the north wind and the suffocating wind of the desert; flowers that, once opened on their stalks, will not fade nor ever wither; but, brilliant and lively, will be the emblem of eternal verdure and colors. The human heart is a soil fertile in affection and in sweet sentiments, a field full of sublime aspirations, when cultivated by the hands of charity and of religion.

Oh! do not reserve only for yourselves those stalks on which such sweet fruits always grow! Offer them to your brothers, invite them to come and savor, to smell the perfume of your flowers, to learn to cultivate your fields. We will assist you, we will find fresh streams which, flowing gently, will give strength to the exotic plants, which are the germs of the celestial land: Come! we will work with you, we will share your fatigue, so that you too may accumulate these goods and let other brothers partake of them, in case of need. God gives to us, and we, grateful for His gifts, multiply them as much as possible. God charges us with our own betterment and that of others; we will fulfill our obligations and sanctify His sublime will.

Spiritists, it is to you that I address myself. We have prepared your field; now act in such a way that all who are in need may enjoy it amply. Remember that all hatreds, all rancors, all enmities must disappear before your duties: to instruct the ignorant, assist the weak, have compassion on the afflicted, defend the innocent, pity those who are in error, and forgive enemies. All these virtues must grow in abundance in your field, and you must implant them in those of your brothers. You will gather an ample harvest and will be blessed by your Father, who is in heaven!

My dear children, I wished to tell you all these things, in order to encourage you to bear with patience all those who, enemies of the new doctrine, seek to denigrate and afflict you. God is with you, do not doubt it. The word of our heavenly Father has descended to your globe, as on the day of creation. He sends you a new light, a light full of splendor and of truth.

Draw near, bind yourselves closely to Him, and follow courageously the path that opens before you.

Saint Augustine. n [1]

[see Saint Augustine.]