YOU CAN BE SURE

You can talk about kindness at every moment, but if you are not kind, it will be useless for your own happiness. 

Your hand can write beautiful pages under spiritual inspirations; however, if you do not stamp the beauty of those pages onto your spirit, you will not be more than a courier without intelligence. 

You can read marvelous books, with emotions and tears; still, if you do not apply what you have read, you will only be a bad recorder. 

You can cultivate sincere convictions in matters of faith; nevertheless, if these convictions do not serve to renew you for the good, your mind will be reduced to a mere hook whereon to hang religious maxims. 

Your capacity to offer guidance can discipline many people, so improving their personalities. Still, if you do not discipline yourself, the Law will face you with the same severity with which it is utilised you so as to perfect others. 

You may know the lessons of the pathway perfectly and may, in the mortal eyes, pass to the gallery of heroes and saints; but if you do not practise the good teachings you know, the Divine Laws will determine that you always have to begin your work over again, each time with greater difficulty. 

You may call Jesus: “Master” and “Lord”…; however, if you do not want to learn to serve with Him, your words will sound hollow, without any meaning.

Excerpted from Chapter 40 of "Christian Agenda" - Chico Xavier (by the Spirit André Luiz)

WITH JESUS

Renunciation will be a privilege for you. 

Suffering will glorify your life. 

Tests will expand your powers. 

Work will be as a mark of confidence along your pathway. 

Sacrifice will sublimate your impulses. 

Bodily illness will be a beneficial remedy for your soul. 

Slander will honour your task. 

Persecution will be a motive for you to bless many. 

Anguish will purify your hopes. 

Evil will summon your spirit to the practice of goodness. 

Hate will challenge your heart to manifestations of love. 

The Earth, with all its contrasts and unceasing renewals represents a blessed school of individual perfection in whose purifying lessons you will leave selfishness crushed forever.

Excerpted from Chapter 39 of "Christian Agenda" - Chico Xavier (by the Spirit André Luiz)

DO NOT RUIN YOUR DAY

Your irritation will not solve any problems.  

Your contrarieties will not alter the nature of things.  

Your disappointments will not do the work that only time will achieve. 

Your bad humor will not modify life. 

Your pain will not stop the sun from shining tomorrow over the good and the bad. 

Your sadness will not illuminate pathways. 

Your discouragement will not edify anyone. 

Your tears will not replace the sweat which you ought to employ for the benefit of your own happiness. 

Your complaints, even if affectionate construed, will never increase other’s sympathy for you by one ounce. 

Do not ruin your day. Learn, from Divine Wisdom to forgive endlessly, so constructing and reconstructing for the Infinite Good.

Excerpted from Chapter 38 of "Christian Agenda" - Chico Xavier (by the Spirit André Luiz)

FORGETFULNESS OF THE PAST

392. Why does the incarnated spirit lose the remembrance of his past?

"Man cannot, and may not, know everything; God, in His wisdom, has so ordained. Without the veil which hides certain things from his view, man would be dazzled, like one who passes suddenly from darkness to light. Through the forgetfulness of his past a man is more fully himself."

393. How can a man be responsible for deeds, and atone for faults, of which he has no remembrance? How can he profit by the experience acquired in existences which he has forgotten? We could understand that the tribulations of life might be a lesson for him if he remembered the wrong-doing which has brought them upon him; but if he forgets his former existences, each new existence is, for him, as though it were his first, and thus the work is always to be begun over again. How is this to be reconciled with the justice of God?

"With each new existence a spirit becomes more intelligent, and better able to distinguish between good and evil. Where would be his freedom if he remembered all his past ? When a spirit reenters his primitive life (the spirit-life), his whole past unrolls itself before him. He sees the faults which he has committed, and which are the cause of his suffering, and he also sees what would have prevented him from committing them; he comprehends the justice of the situation which is assigned to him, and he then seeks out the new existence that may serve to repair the mistakes of the one which has just passed away. He demands new trials analogous to those in which he has failed, or which he considers likely to aid his advancement; and he demands of the spirits who are his superiors to aid him in the new task he is about to undertake, for he knows that the spirit who will be appointed as his guide in that new existence will endeavour to make him cure himself of his faults by giving him a sort of intuition of those he has committed in the past. This intuition is the evil thought, the criminal desire, which often come to you, and which you instinctively resist, attributing your resistance to the principles you have received from your parents, while it is due in reality to the voice of your conscience; and that voice is the reminiscence of your past, warning you not to fall again into the faults you have already committed. He who, having entered upon a new existence, undergoes its trials with fortitude, and resists its temptations to wrong-doing, rises in the hierarchy of spirits, and takes a higher place when he returns into the normal life."

If we have not an exact remembrance, during our corporeal life, of what we have been, and of the good or evil we have done, in our preceding existences, we have the intuition of our past, of which we have a reminiscence in the instinctive tendencies that our conscience, which is the desire we have conceived to avoid committing our past faults in the future, warns us to resist. (Remark by Allan Kardec)

394. In worlds more advanced than ours, where the human race is not a prey to our physical wants and infirmities, do men understand that they are better off than we are? Happiness is usually relative; it is felt to be such by comparison with a state that is less happy. As some of those worlds, though better than ours, have not reached perfection, the men by whom they are inhabited must have their own troubles and annoyances. Among us, the rich man, although he has not to endure the physical privations that torture the poor, is none the less a prey to tribulations of other kinds that embitter his life. What I ask is, whether the inhabitants of those worlds do not consider themselves to be just as unhappy, according to their standard of happiness, as we consider ourselves to be according to ours; and whether they do not, like us, complain of their fate, not having the remembrance of an inferior existence to serve them as a standard of comparison ?

"To this question two different answers must be given. Three are some worlds among those of which you speak the inhabitants of which have a very clear and exact remembrance of their past existences, and therefore can and do appreciate the happiness which God permits them to enjoy. But there are others, of which the inhabitants, though placed, as you say, in better conditions than yours, are, nevertheless, subject to great annoyances, and even to much unhappiness, and who do not appreciate the more favourable conditions of their life, because they have no remembrance of a state still more unhappy. But if they do not rightly appreciate those conditions as men, they appreciate them more justly on their return to the spirit-world."

Is there not, in the forgetfulness of our past existences, and especially when they have been painful, a striking proof of the wisdom and beneficence of Providential arrangements? It is only in worlds of higher advancement, and when the remembrance of our painful existences in the past Is nothing more to us than the shadowy remembrance of an unpleasant dream, that those existences are allowed to present themselves to our memory. Would not the painfulness of present suffering, in worlds of low degree, be greatly aggravated by the remembrance of all the miseries we may have had to undergo in the past? These considerations should lead us to conclude that whatever has been appointed by God is for the best, and that it is not our province to find fault with His works, nor to decide upon the way in which He ought to have regulated the universe. 
The remembrance of our former personality would be attended, in our present existence, with many very serious disadvantages. In some cases, it would cause us cruel humiliation in others, it might incite us to pride and vanity in all cases, it would be a hindrance to the action of our free-will. God gives us for our amelioration just what is necessary and sufficient to that end, viz., the voice of our conscience and our instinctive tendencies. He keeps from us what would be for us a source of injury. Moreover, if we retained the remembrance of our own former personalities and doings, we should also remember those of other people a kind of knowledge that would necessarily exercise a disastrous influence upon our social relations. Not always having reason to be proud of our past, it is evidently better for us that a veil should be thrown over it. And these considerations are in perfect accordance with the statements of spirits in regard to the existence of higher worlds than ours. In those worlds. in which moral excellence reigns, there is nothing painful in the remembrance of the past, and therefore the inhabitants of those happier worlds remember their preceding existence as we remember to-day what we did yesterday. As to the sojourns they may have made in worlds of lower degree, it is no more to them, as we have already said, than the remembrance of a disagreeable dream. (Remark by Allan Kardec)

Excerpted from Chapter VII of the Second Book of "The Spirit's Book" - Allan Kardec

LIBERATE YOUR SOUL

Do not become attached to the beauty of ephemeral forms. The flower lasts but briefly. 

Do not heap up precious things that weigh in the scale of the world. Golden chains can bind as much as bronze handcuffs. 

Do not become a slave to opinions of the frivolous or ignorant. Incitatus, Caligula’s horse, ate from a bucket adorned with pearls, still it did not stop him from being a horse.

Do not nourish the greed for possessions. The coin collector’s house is full of coins which served millions, but whose owners have disappeared. 

Do not give up your constructive freedom because of human opinions. The trap that punishes the ferocious animal is the same that surprises the negligent canary. 

Do not believe in the flattery which lends you imaginary qualities. Cruel wasps frequently hide themselves in the calyx of the lily. 

Do not worry afflicted over acquiring immediate benefits during the Earth experience. Museums remain crammed full of the cloaks of kings and of other “cadavers of dead advantages”.

Excerpted from Chapter 37 of "Christian Agenda" - Chico Xavier (by the Spirit André Luiz)

AIM OF INCARNATION

132. What is the aim of the incarnation of Spirits?

"It is a necessity imposed on them by God, as the means of attaining perfection. For some of them it is an expiation; for others, a mission. In order to attain perfection, it is necessary for them to undergo all the vicissitudes of corporeal existence. It is the experience acquired by expiation that constitutes its usefulness. Incarnation has also another aim, viz., that of fitting the spirit to perform his share in the work of the creation; for which purpose he is made to assume a corporeal apparatus in harmony with the material state of each world into which he is sent, and by means of which he is enabled to accomplish the special work, in connection with that world which has been appointed to him by the divine ordering. He is thus made to contribute his quota towards the general weal, while achieving his own advancement."

The action of corporeal beings is necessary to the carrying on of the work of the universe; but God in His wisdom has willed that this action should furnish them with the means of progress and of advancement towards Himself. And thus, through an admirable law of His providence, all things are linked together, and solidarity is established between all the realms of nature. (Remark by Allan Kardec)

133. Is incarnation necessary for the Spirits who, from the beginning, have followed the right road?

"All are created simple and ignorant; they gain instruction in the struggles and tribulations of corporeal life. God, being just, could not make some of them happy, without troubles and without exertion, and consequently without merit."

- But it so, what do spirits gain by having followed the right road, since they are not thereby exempted from the pains of corporeal life?

"They arrive more quickly at the goal. And besides, the sufferings of life are often a consequence of the imperfection of the spirit; therefore, the fewer his imperfections, the less will be his sufferings. He who is neither envious, jealous, avaricious, nor ambitious, will not have to undergo the torments which are a consequence of those defects."

Excerpted from Chapter II of the Second Book of "The Spirit's Book" - Allan Kardec

LOGICALLY

The person who feeds hatred pours fire into their own heart. 

The person who upholds vice becomes its prisoner. 

The person who cultivates idleness surrounds himself with a wall of ice. 

The person who becomes angry is the inquisitor of his own soul. 

The person who delights in criticism casts stones upon himself. 

The person who provokes difficult situations increases the number of obstacles they face. 

The person judges hastily is always analysed with haste. 

The person who specialises in identifying evil will find it difficult to see goodness. 

The person who does not desire to endure is incapable of serving. 

The person who lives collecting lamentations will walk under a shower of tears.


Excerpted from Chapter 36 of "Christian Agenda" - Chico Xavier (by the Spirit André Luiz)

IT DOES NOT BELONG TO ALL

"And pray that we may be delivered from wicked and evil men: for not everyone has faith." - Paul (II Thessalonians, 3:2)

 Directing his words to the Thessalonians, the Apostle of the gentiles begged them for their participation in evangelical tasks, so that the service of the Lord could be exempt from wicked and evil men, justifying the call with the declaration that faith does not belong to all.

Through Paul's words one can perceive his certainty that evil men would be nearing the nucleuses of Christian work, and that their malice could cause them harm, making it necessary to mobilize the resources of the spirit against such influences.

The great converted one, in a few words, engraved an infinitely valuable warning, because truthfully, even though the religious color will characterize the exterior dress of entire communities, but faith will belong only to those who strive without measuring the sacrifices needed to install it in the sanctuary of their own intimate world. The mark of Christianity will be exhibited by any person; nevertheless the Christian faith shall be revealed pure, unconditional and sublime in rare hearts.

Many people desire its acquisition as if it were a simple promissory note, while numerous apprentices of the Gospel utilize it precipitously, as if it were an errant butterfly. But they forget that if the necessities of the physical body demand daily personal effort, the essential necessities of the spirit shall never be resolved by idle expectation.

To admit the truth, to seek for it and to believe in it, are the requirements for all; however, to maintain a vivid faith constitutes the divine realization of those who worked, obstinately, and suffered to achieve it.

Excerpted from Chapter 23 of "Our Daily Bread" - Chico Xavier (by the Spirit Emmanuel)  

LEARN WITH NATURE

The sun shines from on high, in order to help everyone.  

The stars group themselves in order.  

The sky has its timetable for hours of light and of darkness. 

Although it continues to be linked to the soil, the vegetable abandons the dark hole in search of light so that it may produce. 

The bough that survived the storm yielded to its passage, nevertheless it continues to maintain its appropriate place. 

The rock guarantees the life of the valley, by resigning itself to solitude. 

The river reaches its objectives because it has learned to flow around obstacles. 

The bridge serves the public withoutmaking exceptions, by asserting itself against extremism. 

The vase is useful to the potter, after enduring the heat of the kiln. 

The gem shines, after submitting to the files of the stonecutter. 

The canal is able to fulfil its finalities, because it does not lose access to the reservoir. 

The harvest always yields in accordance with the purposes of the sower.

Excerpted from Chapter 35 of "Christian Agenda" - Chico Xavier (by the Spirit André Luiz)

BE PREPARED

Balance your sense of justice, subtracting from it any inclination towards vengeance. 

Be on guard against your fearlessness, lest it become an act of recklessness. 

Analyse your firmness, so that it will not be transformed into petrification.  

Illumine your directives, so they will not be converted into tyranny. 

Examine your cleverness, so avoiding your internment within villainy. 

Take care that suffering does not become revolt. 

Control your resentments, to avoid installing them in the sinister house of hatred. 

Keep watch over your frankness, so that your words will not distil poison. 

Watch over your enthusiasm, so that it will not constitute thoughtlessness. 

Cultivate your noble zeal, but do not turn it into a dark primer of violence.

Excerpted from Chapter 34 of "Christian Agenda" - Chico Xavier (by the Spirit André Luiz)

WITHOUT THESE RESOURCES

Without good manners you will be deprived of the confidence of others. 

Without fortitude, you will succumb to the first obstacles on your path. 

Without positive faith, you will wander aimlessly. 

Without devoting yourself to goodness, you will experience a terrible inner hardening. 

Without giving noble examples, you will pass uselessly through the world. 

Without dignified work, tedium will corrode your energies. 

Without personal effort, you will never reach the doors to Higher Planes. 

Without hope, your earthly nights will be even darker. 

Without comprehension, your journey through the shadows will be painful. 

Without a spirit of renunciation, you will not be able to educate anyone.

Excerpted from Chapter 33 of "Christian Agenda" - Chico Xavier (by the Spirit André Luiz)

FICKLENESS

"Because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea blown and tossed by wind." (James, 1:6)

Undeniably, there is a scientific and philosophical doubt in the world that, enmeshed within loyal hearts constitutes a precious stimulus toward the achievement of elevated convictions. Apostle James here refers to the fickleness in man, who, by seeking to receive divine benefits in the sphere of personal advantages, customarily pursues varying situations on Earth, in the area of intellectual investigation, without a firm goal of relying in the substantial values of life.

He, who tries to trespass several doors simultaneously, will be unable to cross any.

Frivolities jeopardize the people on every path, mainly, in work positions, in illness of the body and in affectionate relations.

In order for any one to be able to judge correctly regarding a particular experience, it is necessary to enumerate the years that he has spent living with its characteristics. 

We must, above all, confide sincerely in the Wisdom and in the Mercy of the Almighty, understanding that it is indispensable to persevere with someone or some cause, which will assist and edificate us.

Those unstable people remain figuratively represented "like a wave of the sea blown and tossed by wind".

When you are of service or when you are waiting for the blessings from on High, do not allow yourself to be affected by an obsessive anxiety. The Father disposes of innumerable instruments to administer goodness, and He is always the same Paternal Father through all of them. The blessing will reach you, but it depends on you, in the manner  that you proceed  in the constructive struggle, persisting or not, confidently, without which the Divine Power will encounter natural obstacles to manifest itself in your path.

Excerpted from Chapter 22 of "Our Daily Bread" - Chico Xavier (by the Spirit Emmanuel)

SIGNS

Your conversation indicates the directions you have chosen in life. 

Your decisions, taken in grave moments, identify the true position of your Spirit. 

Your attitudes, within the daily struggles, speak of your inner climate. 

Your impulses define the mental zone in which you prefer to operate. 

Your thoughts reveal the kind of spiritual companion you keep. 

Your reading habits define your sentiments. 

Your personal treatment of others demonstrates the point to which you have progressed. 

Your requests shed light upon your objectives. 

Your opinions reveal the true place which you occupy in the world. 

Your days are marks along the pathway of evolution. Do not forget that great assemblies of companions, both incarnate and discarnate, know your personality and follow you along your pathway by the signs you leave behind.

Excerpted from Chapter 32 of "Christian Agenda" - Chico Xavier (by the Spirit André Luiz)

REVEAL YOURSELF

In your daily struggles, do not demand politeness from your companion. Demonstrate yours. 

Referring to good deeds, do not await for collaboration. Before all else, be the first to collaborate. 

In trivial tasks, do not demand the effort of others. Show your own good-will. 

In jobs that require understanding, do not ask your neighbour to rise to your level. Learn to descend to his and help him. 

When performing Christian duties, do not wait for outside resources to fulfill them. The best thing that you can give to good works is your own heart. 

In the ordinary dealings of life, do not wait for your others to reveal their excellent qualities. Express the elevated gifts that you already possess.  

In every earthly creature there exists light and shadow. Allow your nobility to become conspicuous in order that the nobility of others may come to your encounter.

Excerpted from Chapter 31 of "Christian Agenda" - Chico Xavier (by the Spirit André Luiz)

DEEP WATER

"When He had finished speaking, He said to Simon: Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch." (Luke, 5:4)

This verse leads us to meditate over the companions in the battle who feel as though they had been abandoned in the human experience. 

A disquieting sensation of loneliness breaks their heart.

They cry from nostalgia, from pain, renewing their own bitterness.

They believe that destiny reserved the cup of infinite bitterness for them.

They recall with remorse the days of early infancy and youth, of the hopes destroyed in the conflicts of the world.

Intimately, they experience each minute the vague confusion of the reminiscences that increase their feeling of emptiness.

However, all mortals experience those bitter hours.

If someone has not as yet lived them at a particular place on the path, let him wait his turn, because generally, each Spirit leaves the flesh when the cold signs of winter multiply around him.

So, when your moment of difficulty arises, be convinced that it is to come to your soul the days of service in "deep waters", the time to search for true values, without the incentives of certain illusions from the earthly experience. If you feel that you are alone, that you are abandoned, remember that beyond the grave, there are companions who will assist you and wait for you lovingly.

The Father never leaves His children neglected; therefore, if you find yourself, at present, without domestic ties, without true friends in the transitory landscape of the Planet, it is because Jesus Christ has sent you into the deep waters of the experience in order to test your conquests in supreme lessons.

Excerpted from Chapter 21 of "Our Daily Bread" - Chico Xavier (by the Spirit Emmanuel)

REPLIES TO THOSE IN HASTE

Avoid impatience. You have already lived countless centuries and are now standing before endless millenniums. 

Keep calm. But flee from idleness as one who recognises the decisive value of each minute. 

Sow love. Think of the devotion of the One Who has loved us from the beginning. 

Keep your balance. Unbridled passions and desires are forces of destruction within the Divine Creation. 

Cultivate confidence. Tomorrow the sun will reappear on the horizon, and the landscape will be different. 

Intensify your own efforts. Your life will be what you make of it. 

Cherish solidarity. You would not be able to live without others, although, in the majority of cases others can live without you. 

Experience solitude, from time to time. Jesus was alone in the crucial moments of his passage on the Earth. 

Give constructive action to your hours. However, do not convert your existence into a tower of Babel. 

Render your faithful devotion to peace. But remember that you will never experience tranquillity without first giving peace to those who cross your path.

Excerpted from Chapter 30 of "Christian Agenda" - Chico Xavier (by the Spirit André Luiz)

THE MARCH

"In any case I must keep going today, and tomorrow, and the next day." - Jesus (Luke, 13:33)

It is always important to move ahead steadily in search of a definite spiritual edification. It is indispensable to march, overcoming obstacles and shadows, transforming all the pain and anguish into ascending steps.

Charting His goal, Jesus referred to the direction of the march to Jerusalem, where the final glorification through martyrdom awaited Him. But, we can apply these teachings to our personal incessant experiences, on the route to the Jerusalem of our own redeeming testimonials. 

Notwithstanding, it is imperative to clarify the character of the journey in the acquisition of eternal treasures.

Many believe that to move forward is to take a stand of evidence in the world, acquiring transitory positions of greatness and bringing the wealthiest people into their personal circle.

However, it is not so.

In this regard, those so-called "routine gentlemen" perhaps have greater possibilities in their favor.

The dominant personality, in ephemeral situations, has the road filled with dangers, with complex responsibilities, and atrocious threats. The sensation of grandeur augments the feeling of the downfall.

It is imperative to walk constantly, but this journey compels the eternal Spirit toward the improvement of his inner conquests.

Very often, many persons who presume to be on the higher peaks of their trip, for the Divine Wisdom find themselves practically paralyzed in the contemplation of "will-o-the-wisp fires". 

Let no one be fooled by these false rest stops.    

It is important to work, to know, to illuminate ourselves and to attend to Jesus Christ daily. In order to fixate this lesson within us, we have been born on Earth, sharing its struggles, making use of the body, and on Earth we shall be reborn once again. 

Excerpted from Chapter 20 of "Our Daily Bread" - Chico Xavier (by the Spirit Emmanuel)

IT IS REASONABLE TO THINK ON THIS

Patience is not a colorful stained glass window for you to enjoy in leisure hours. It is added help when facing obstacles. 

Serenity is not a garden to be cultivated only for your cheerful days. It is a provision of peace for the deception along your pathway. 

Calmness is not merely harmonious violin to accompany your pleasant conversations. It is a substantial asset against misunderstandings. 

Tolerance is not a delicious wine to be enjoyed in your moments of fellowship. It is a valuable door through which you may demonstrate good-will toward less advanced companions. 

Real co-operation is not just the easy process of receiving assistance from others. It is a means of helping a friend in need. 

Confidence is not a nectar to sweeten your moonlit nights. It is a secure refuge for the tempestuous hours. 

Optimism does not constitute ease for your twilight hours. It is a source of power for difficult days. 

Fortitude is not a rhetorical ornament. It is a reinforcement to faith. 

Hope is not the act of kneeling for simple contemplation. It is energy for the lofty realisations that belong to your Spirit. 

Virtue is not a decorative flower. Itis the blessed fruit of your own effort which you should use and glorify at the appropriate moment.


Excerpted from Chapter 29 of "Christian Agenda" - Chico Xavier (by the Spirit André Luiz)

EFFECTIVELY

To be vigilant does not mean distrust. It means enlighten yourself by means of helping those who find themselves in the shadows. 

To defend is not a matter of shouting. It is to render more intense service to causes and to people. 

To help is not to impose. It is to give substantial support, without craving for personal recognition, so that the beneficiary may grow, become enlightened and find happiness of his own accord. 

To teach is not to hurt others. It is to lovingly guide them towards the kingdom of understanding and peace. 

To renovate is not to destroy. It is to respect the foundations, and so restore works for the general good. 

To enlighten is not to argue. It is to assist through the spirit of service and good-will the understanding of those who lack knowledge. 

To love is not to desire. It is to always be understanding, give of one's self, renounce one's whims, and to sacrifice ourselves so that the Divine Light of true love may shine forth.

Excerpted from Chapter 28 of "Christian Agenda" - Chico Xavier (by the Spirit André Luiz)

FALSE ALLEGATIONS

"What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg you, don't torture me." - (Luke, 8:28)

The case of the perturbed Spirit who felt the proximity of Jesus, and received His presence with furious questions, presents numerous aspects worthy of study.

The circumstance of begging the Divine Master to stop tormenting him demands the attention of the sincere disciples.

Who could possibly perceive Jesus Christ as capable of inflicting harm to anyone? This case involves an ignorant and perverse entity who in his inner delusions, had been suffering due to his own doing. But, the proximity of the Master, brought him sufficient clarity to analyze his torment, a conscience embroiled in a swamp of crime and shadowy defections. The light was punishing his interior darkness, revealing a tortured nakedness worthy of compassion and pity.

The picture is very significant for those who flee from religious truths of life, classifying its contexts in the distasteful elixir of anguish and suffering. Those Spirits, indifferent and playful, usually affirm that the service of faith submerge a tearful path thus obscuring the heart.

Such affirmations, nonetheless, denounce them. On a higher or lower scale, they are companions of the unhappy brother who accused Jesus Christ of being a minister of torments.

Excerpted from Chapter 19 of "Our Daily Bread" - Chico Xavier (by the Spirit Emmanuel) 

DIFFICULT EXPERIENCES

Physical beauty can bring about unforeseeable tragedies for the soul that lacks discernment. 

Excessive money is a door to pauperism, if the one who possess it cannot maintain his own balance. 

Too much comfort is a disadvantage, if one does not learn the art of detaching oneself from it. 

Prominence can be the introduction to a spectacular fall, if one does not mature ones reasoning. 

Too great an authority spoils the joy of living, if the mind does not cultivate a sense of proportion. 

Too heavy a responsibility can exterminate the existence of one who has, as yet, not risen above ordinary understanding.  

An enormous amount of knowledge in the midst of many ignorant, vulgar, or foolish people is a poisonous and bitter fruit, if the spirit still has not become resigned to solitude.

Excerpted from Chapter 27 of "Christian Agenda" - Chico Xavier (by the Spirit André Luiz)

IF YOU SO DESIRE

If you desire to become in effect a Christian, then: 

by losing, you will win in the human battle; 

by yielding, you will obtain the resources you need; 

by working, you will attain your own happiness; 

by forgiving, you will edify those around you; 

by liberating, you will conquest others; 

by enduring, you will withstand the storm; 

by renouncing, you will gain immortal treasures; 

by blessing, you will save many; 

by suffering, you will receive more light; 

by sacrificing yourself, you will find peace; 

by hard work, you will purify yourself; 

by loving, you will always illuminate.

Excerpted from Chapter 26 of "Christian Agenda" - Chico Xavier (by the Spirit André Luiz)

CHICO XAVIER - THE MOVIE (SUBTITLED)

A movie about the life of Chico Xavier (1910-2002), the great Brazilian spiritist medium, who psycographed 468 books, having sold over 50 million copies, with all copyrights and profits chanelled into charity. In 1981 and 1982, he was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. On October 3, 2012, the SBT television TV show "O Maior Brasileiro de Todos os Tempos" named Chico Xavier "The Greatest Brazilian of All Time", based on a viewer-supported survey. Chico always said that he would discarnate when the Brazilians would be very happy and the country would be celebrating, so that its discarnation would not cause sadness. He discarnated on June 30, 2002, exactly on the day that Brazil was celebrating the conquest of the Soccer World Cup 2002. An example of a true Christian; a model of love, humility and abnegation; a sincere disciple of Jesus, who brought the Gospel of the Master recorded in the book of the heart.

ASCEND HIGHER

Do not be hurt by slander. Live in such a way that no one will believe the slanderer. 

Do not be set back by perturbations. Follow your path attending to the superior purposes of life, because the makers of confusion will be many. 

Do not be concerned with unwarranted accusations. You can realize many valuable plans to counteract the unjust accusers.  

Do not be troubled by untoward mistrust. You can employ your clear conscience in honest service anywhere. 

Do not become discouraged by criticism. Censure is something within everyone's reach, but elevated achievements are the work of only a few. 

Do not become disheartened by unfavourable opinions. If you remain devoted to goodness, the approval of your own conscience will prevail over any other opinion, no matter how respectable.

Excerpted from Chapter 25 of "Christian Agenda" - Chico Xavier (by the Spirit André Luiz)

APPEARANCES

Do not incriminate the brother who appears to be wealthier. Perhaps they are merely a slave to obligations. 

Do not condemn the companion who was raised to a position of authority. He is probably a mere debtor to the multitude. 

Do not envy the one who administers while you obey. Frequently they are suffering a painful process. 

Do not disdain the colleague who is conducted to greater prominence. The responsibility that weighs on his shoulders can be an incessant torment. 

Do not censure the woman who dresses luxuriously. For her, luxury is probably a bitter trial. 

Do not criticise the polite in manner who seem insincere at first sight. Possibly they are avoiding serious crimes or great discouragements. 

Do not fret over the ill-humored friend. You do not know all of his inner difficulties. 

Do not become displeased with the person whose conversation is futile. You were also like that when you lacked experience. 

Do not mutter against the inconsiderate young. Help them whenever you can, remembering that you were once considered to be irresponsible by many people. 

Do not be intolerant in any situation. The clock ticks incessantly, and you will likewise face numerous difficult problems along your own path as well as on the paths of those you love.

Excerpted from Chapter 24 of "Christian Agenda" - Chico Xavier (by the Spirit André Luiz)

TRIALS OF FIRE

"And the fire will test the quality of each man's work." - Paul (I Corinthians, 3:13)

In modern mechanized industry they make reference to the use of trials in order to prove the resistance of its product, and upon mulling over the fact, let us be reminded that in the Gospel these trials were equally reported at least twenty centuries ago with regard to spiritual attainments.

In writing to the Corinthians, Paul perceives the human laborers constructing upon one single foundation, that of Jesus Christ; each individual, thereby, preparing his own realization in conformity with evolved resources.

Each student, however, shall complete the task of his choice, fully convinced that the era of strife will be acknowledged in each and every one's eyes, so that a just trial will ascertain his merits.

The evolvement of the world, in its material aspect, can supply the idea of the importance of the achievements of such great nature. The Earth is replete of fortune, positions, values and intelligence that cannot withstand the trials. As soon as the purifying movements come close, they precipitously descend the steps to misery, to ruin, and to decadence. In the service of Jesus Christ, it is also justified that the student awaits the moment of verification of his own personal possibilities. Character, love, faith, patience, and hope, represent achievements for an eternal life, attained by the student with the saintly assistance of the Master. However, all disciples should rely on the required experiences that, at the opportune moment, shall ascertain their spiritual qualities.

Excerpted from Chapter 18 of "Our Daily Bread" - Chico Xavier (by the Spirit Emmanuel)

REALITIES

The clown that you mock is frequently a brave soldier of good cheer.  

The extremely adorned woman of whom you usually disapprove, in many occasions is dressing like that in order to help a great number of working hands. 

The singer who performs smilingly from whom you often turn away in boredom, in the belief that you are preserving your own virtue, is usually trying to earn bread for many needy relatives, and thus deserves consideration and respect.  

The well-to-do person who appears to be lazy and unproductive is, perhaps involved in projects that you would never find the animation to tackle. 

Do not judge others by their appearance. The truth, like the Kingdom of God, is never displayed in outward appearances.

Excerpted from Chapter 23 of "Christian Agenda" - Chico Xavier (by the Spirit André Luiz)

EVEN FURTHER

To have a mouth that is perfumed is not enough. It is imperative that it be incapable of hurting others. 

The cleanliness of your hands is important. However, it is essential to verify what they do.  

Good ears are certainly a treasure. However, Divine Justice, will want to know what you are listening to. 

Excellent vision is a laudable quality. Nevertheless, it is of interest to note how you look at life. 

To have physical health is to possess a valuable gift. But it is necessary to consider what you do with your healthy body. 

Clear reasoning is a virtue. Still, it is essential to observe in what mental zone you are reasoning. 

A beautiful imagination is like a marvellous castle. It is well to note with what images you furnish your inner palace. 

Strong emotions characterise of internal richness. Nevertheless, it is necessary to verify how you spend your emotions.  

The ability to be intensely productive is a precious resource. But it is essential that you know the substance of that which you produce. 

The capacity to proceed joyfully through life is a blessing. Nevertheless, remember to watch the direction that your feet are taking along the way.

Excerpted from Chapter 22 of "Christian Agenda" - Chico Xavier (by the Spirit André Luiz)

SOWING

Your generosity will call the goodness of others to your aid. 

Your simplicity will solve problems for many people. 

Your complexity will give rise much insincerity in others. 

Your indifference will produce visible coldness in others. 

Your sincere desire for peace will guarantee tranquillity along your path. 

Your belligerency will bring forth fruits of anxiety. 

Your blunt frankness will provoke rude responses. 

Your refinement will inspire correct manners in those who follow you. 

Your superior spirituality will motivate sublime spiritual achievements. 

We sow and we reap daily. Life is also a soil which receives and produces eternally.

Excerpted from Chapter 21 of "Christian Agenda" - Chico Xavier (by the Spirit André Luiz)

INTERCESSION

"Brothers, pray for us." - Paul (I Thessalonians, 5:25)

Many human beings smile ironically when we speak of the assistance received from intercessory prayers.

Mankind has become so habituated to automatic theatrics that he has difficulty in understanding the sincerity if profound spiritual manifestation. The intercessory prayer, meanwhile, continues to provide benefits of inalterable value. It would be unjustifiable to believe that this type of prayer would be a flattering praise intended for an earthly monarch in order to obtain certain favors.

A prayer soliciting an intercession is surely one of the most beautiful fraternal acts, and can trigger the emission of benefical and illuminating forces. Such forces, when originating from a sincere spirit, go straight to the proposed objective as a blessing of comfort and energy. The results, do not occur as a gift, but rather, as a consequence of just laws. It is difficult for man to believe in the existence and influence of invisible thought waves, but he is in the midst of sounds which his material ears do not register. He solely understands tangible assistance; however, in Nature one can observe venerable trees that protect and preserve grass and shrubs receiving life's blessing without ever touching their roots or their trunks. 

Do not overlook the blessings of an intercession.

Jesus prayed for His disciples and followers in the culminating hours.

Excerpted from Chapter 17 of "Our Daily Bread" - Chico Xavier (by the Spirit Emmanuel)  

NATURAL CONCLUSIONS

The patient person never despairs. 

The anxious sooner or later complain 

The brave endures difficulties, overcoming them. 

The reckless confront dangers without ponderation. 

The enlightened person stands out. 

The theorist talks excessively. 

The friend studies ways to help. 

The adversary watches for means to hurt. 

The common man helps according to his inclinations. 

The Christian always help.

Excerpted from Chapter 20 of "Christian Agenda" - Chico Xavier (by the Spirit André Luiz)

A MATTER OF CHOICE

Look for a delinquent and you will find many offenders. It is necessary, then, for you to possess an immense reserve of love in order to reform them without becoming criminal yourself. 

Seek to identify a fault and you will find innumerable ones. Faced with that situation, it is essential that you be sufficiently enlightened so as not add your error to the errors of others. 

Try to locate one thorn and you will encounter various thorn bushes. In such case, it is necessary that you remain very well balanced in order not to hurt yourself. 

Place too much attention upon a stone in the road and, shortly, the ground will become very stony to your eyes. After that, you will need a great deal of resistance not to succumb to the roughness of the journey.  

Approach goodness, look for it with determination, and kindness will illuminate your path. Only then will you be perfectly equipped to win the war against evil.

Excerpted from Chapter 19 of "Christian Agenda" - Chico Xavier (by the Spirit André Luiz)

WHO DO YOU OBEY?

"And once made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him." - Paul (Hebrews, 5:9)

Every human being is obedient to someone or to something.

Nobody remains without an objective.

Even rebellion submits itself to the correcting forces of life.

Man is obedient at all times. However, if he has not been able to define his own submission as a constructive virtue, it is generally due to being influenced by impulses of a lower nature, resisting the opportunity for his inner elevation.

He usually transforms the obedience that could save him into slavery that will condemn him. The Lord delineated the graduation of the path; He established the Law of personal effort, in the acquisition of the supreme values in Life, and determined that man must accept this design in order to be truly free. However, man preferred to go along with his inferior condition and created his own imprisonment. The disciple must carefully examine the field in which he is to realize his own task.

Who do you obey? Do you perhaps first attend to your human vanities or to the opinions of others, prior to observing the recommendations of the Divine Master?

It is always advisable to reflect in this regard, because only when we follow the living teaching of Jesus in every sense, can we liberate the enslavement of the world in favor of eternal salvation.

Excerpted from Chapter 16 of "Our Daily Bread" - Chico Xavier (by the Spirit Emmanuel)

USEFUL REMINDERS

Do not continually ask for spiritual guidance. If you already have tuppence worth of Christian concepts, then you understand enough to know what to do. 

Do not waste your energy trying to straighten out others by imposition. When we straighten ourselves out we realise that the world is administered by Divine Wisdom and that the obligation to cooperate continuously toward goodness is our fundamental duty. 

Do not blame the discarnate spirits for your failures in life's struggles. Note the rhythm of your own life, examine your income and expenditures, your actions and reactions, your manners and attitudes, your obligations and decisions, and you will recognise that you have the situation you sought and that you reap exactly what you sown. 

Do not appeal systematically to your spiritual friends with regard to petty everyday tasks. They are equally busy and confront problems greater than yours and their responsibilities are more grave and immediate. Within the common struggles on Earth, you would not have the courage to ask a generous and kind professor to perform the functions of a baby sitter. 

Do not wait for death to solve the problems of life, nor claim sickness or old age as an excuse to stop learning, because we are still very far from Heaven. The grave does not bring a miraculous transformation, but opens a wider door to our own conscience.

Excerpted from Chapter 18 of "Christian Agenda" - Chico Xavier (by the Spirit André Luiz)

IN TRUTH

The saint does not condemn the sinner. He helps him without being presumptuous. 

The wise person does not ridicule one who is ignorant. He instructs him in a brotherly manner. 

The enlightened person does not insult those walking in darkness. He illuminates their path. 

The instructor does not blame the stumbling apprentice. It is the insecure sheep which most needs the shepherd. 

The good person does not persecute the one who is bad. They assist them to better themselves. 

The strong person does not malign the weak. They help them to raise themselves up. 

The humble person does not avoid one who is proud. They cooperate silently in their favour. 

The sincere person does not disturb others. They bring harmony to all. 

The unpretentious do not criticise the vain. Whenever necessary they help without ostentation. 

The Christian does not hate or hurt. He follows Christ, serving the world. 

Otherwise, titles of virtues would only be external coverings which time would destroy.

Excerpted from Chapter 17 of "Christian Agenda" - Chico Xavier (by the Spirit André Luiz)

THOUGHTS

"Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable; if anything is excellent or praiseworthly, think about such things." - Paul (Philippians, 4:8)

All of the accomplishments of mankind constitute the result of thoughts on the part of human beings. Evil and righteousness, the ugly and the beautiful lived, prior to anything, in the mental thought of he who produced them, in the incessant movement of life.

The Gospel projects a generous route so that the mind of man may be renewed on the path to the superior spirituality, proclaiming the necessity of such a transformation towards higher spheres. It will not be by acquiring a higher intellectual level in Philosophy that the disciple will initiate his efforts toward achievements of this nature. To renovate thoughts is not as simple as it may appear at first glance. It requires a great deal of renunciation and profound control of one's inner self. Those qualities are not easy for one to achieve without hard work and heartfelt sacrifice. It is for this reason that many workers modify verbal expressions, judging that they have reformed their thoughts. However, at the moment of recapitulation, due to the repetition of the circumstances, the redeeming experiences, once again, encounter analogous disturbances because the obstacles and the shadows persist in the mind, as occult phantoms. 

To think is to create. The reality if this creation may not come to the surface at once, in the field of transitory effects, but the object formulated by the mental forces live in the inner world, requiring special attention in the attempt at continuation or extinction.

The message from Paul to the Philippians is of a sublime content.

The disciples that were able to comprehend the profound essence in an effort to seek whatever things are true, honest, just, and pure, cultivating them each day, shall have discovered the divine equation.

Excerpted from Chapter 15 of "Our Daily Bread" - Chico Xavier (by the Spirit Emmanuel)

SOME DEFINITIONS

A benefactor is one who helps and goes on his way. 

A friend is one who aids in silence. 

A companion is one who cooperates without making us feel uneasy. 

A reformer is one who restores himself to the ways of goodness. 

A strong person is one who knows how to wait within the task of peaceful work. 

An enlightened person is one who knows himself. 

Brave person is one who fears nothing in himself. 

A defender is one who cooperates without causing confusion. 

An efficient person is one who acts for the benefit of all. 

A winner is one who conquers himself.

Excerpted from Chapter 16 of "Christian Agenda" - Chico Xavier (by the Spirit André Luiz)

IN DOING SO YOU WILL PROFIT

Comfort the despairing. You yourself will not escape the temptations of discouragement within the circles of struggle. 

 

Lift the fallen. You do not know where your own feet will stumble. 

 

Extend your hand to those who in need of support. Your day for receiving cooperation will arrive. 

 

Help the sick. Your own soul is not using an invulnerable body. 

 

Make an effort to understand the less enlightened companion. Know that you do not always have the necessary means for understanding as could be desired. 

 

Be sympathetic towards the unfortunate. The sky will not always be sunny for you. 

 

Be tolerant and patiently help the ignorant. Remember that there are Sublime Spirits that tolerate us and help us with heroic kindness. 

 

Console the downhearted. You cannot foresee the surprises of your own destiny. 

 

Help the offender with your good thoughts. He teaches us how hostile and disagreeable we are when we hurt someone else. 

Be kind to those dependent upon you. Do not forget that Christ himself was compelled to obey.

Excerpted from Chapter 15 of "Christian Agenda" - Chico Xavier (by the Spirit André Luiz)