fr-Chapter 46 - The misguided, materialistic Human Being

Human Mental Sluggishness, Ignorance, and Arrogance

1. The ultimate purpose of the creation of this world is man; for his pleasure I have added the other beings and forces of nature, so that he may make use of them for his sustenance and refreshment.

2. If he had loved and recognized Me from the earliest times, since his spiritual childhood, he would today belong to a world of great spirits, in which neither ignorance nor differences would exist, where you would all be equal in knowledge and in the refinement of your feelings.

3. Yet how slowly does man develop! How many ages have passed since he has lived on Earth, and still he has not succeeded in comprehending his spiritual task and his true destiny. He has not been able to discover within himself his spiritual soul, which does not die because it possesses eternal life; he has not understood how to live in harmony with it, nor has he recognized its rights, and thus, deprived of its freedom, he has not developed its gifts and has remained stagnant. (15, 24)

4. When man turned away from the fulfillment of My Law, he created various ideas, theories, religions, and doctrines that divide and confuse humanity, bind the soul to matter, and prevent it from rising freely. Yet the light of my Holy Spirit enlightens all people and shows them the path of true life, on which there is only one guide, which is the conscience. (46, 44)

5. A materialist loves only human life. However, since he recognizes that everything in it is transitory, he is intent on living it intensely.

6. When his plans or desires do not come to fruition, or when pain afflicts him in any way, he despairs and blasphemes; he defies fate and blames it for not granting him the benefits he believes he is entitled to.

7. They are weak souls in indomitable bodies; they are morally immature beings who are tested in many ways to make them understand the false value they, in their materialism, attribute to works of little merit.

8. How gladly would the materialized change their fate! How much they long for everything to proceed according to their ideas and their will. (258, 48-50)

9. Now you can understand that when I have always revealed Myself to people in wisdom, it was to liberate the souls trapped by limited intellectual faculties.

10. Even today there are people with limited intellect and no inspiration. While people should already possess a clear mind, open through their development, many still think and live as they did in primitive times.

11. Others have made great progress in science and isolate themselves in their vanity and selfishness, believing they have reached the pinnacle of knowledge. Yet they have come to a standstill on the path to their spiritual progress. (180, 32-33)

12. If man were to live consciously with regard to the higher life that exists and vibrates above him, and if he knew how to consult his spirit—how many troubles would he spare himself, from how many abysses would he save himself. But throughout his life, he seeks advice from those who have no solution for his doubts and uncertainties: the scientists who have penetrated material nature but who do not know spiritual life, because the soul within them has fallen into lethargy.

13. The human soul must awaken to find itself, to discover all the abilities entrusted to it to support it in its struggle.

14. Today, man is like a small, withered leaf that has fallen from the tree of life and is at the mercy of the winds, subject to a thousand vicissitudes, weak before the forces of nature, frail and pitiful in the face of death, even though he should be lord of the earth as a prince sent by Me to perfect himself in the world. (278, 4-6)

15. The time of judgment has come, in which I will ask some: Why have you denied Me? And others: Why have you persecuted Me? Does he who has not been able to penetrate within himself have the right to deny the existence of My Kingdom? If you do not know My truth, if you do not know how to find it, this does not mean that it does not exist. If you believe that only what you can comprehend exists, then I tell you that there is much you do not yet know, and your pride is very great.

16. Truly, I tell you, whoever denies God and His Kingdom has denied himself. Whoever seeks strength from within himself, considers himself independent, and harbors the arrogant feeling that he can be great without needing God, will not get very far in this world, will soon go astray, and his sufferings will be very painful.

17. Where are the truly wise?

18. Knowledge means feeling My presence. Knowledge means allowing oneself to be guided by My light and doing My will. Knowledge is understanding the Law; knowledge is loving. (282,19-22)

19. Today your spiritual ignorance is so great that when you think of those who have passed into the beyond, you say: "Poor thing, he died and had to leave everything behind and is gone forever."

20. If only you knew with what compassion those beings look upon you from the Spiritual World when they hear you speak thus. Compassion is what they feel for you in the face of your ignorance! For if you could see them, even for just a moment, you would be speechless and overwhelmed by the truth! (272, 46-47)

21. You have attached more importance to material values than they possess, while you want nothing to do with the spiritual; and your love for the world has grown so great that you even strive as much as possible to deny everything related to the spiritual, because you believe that this knowledge stands in contradiction to your progress on Earth.

22. I tell you that knowledge of the spiritual does not hinder human progress, neither in terms of morality nor in terms of science. On the contrary, that light reveals to humanity an infinite wealth of knowledge that is currently still unknown to science.

23. As long as human beings refuse to ascend the ladder of spiritualization, they will not be able to draw closer to the true glory that will bring them the highest happiness here in their Father's bosom—the joy of being a child of God—a worthy child of My Spirit, by virtue of their love, their elevation, and their knowledge. (331, 27–29)

The lack of willingness to make sacrifices, exert effort, and take responsibility

24. If humanity did not cling so stubbornly to its ignorance, its existence on earth would be different. Yet people resist My commandments, curse their destiny, and instead of cooperating with Me in My work, they seek a way to circumvent My laws in order to impose their will.

25. I also tell you: If people were to carefully observe each of their actions, they would realize how they rebel against Me at every turn.

26. When I let My blessings flow abundantly upon people, they become selfish; when I let them enjoy the joys of life, they become dissolute; when I test their strength to make their souls strong, they rebel; when I allow the cup of suffering to touch their lips to purify them, they curse life and feel their faith fading away; when I place the burden of a large family upon their shoulders, they despair, and when I take one of their loved ones from the earth, they accuse Me of injustice.

27. Never are you in agreement; never do I hear you bless My name in your trials, nor do I see you attempting to cooperate in My work of creation. (117, 55-57)

28. I have placed greatness within man, but not the kind he strives for on earth. The greatness of which I speak is self-sacrifice, love, humility, and mercy. Man constantly flees from these virtues, thereby turning away from his true greatness and the dignity that the Father has bestowed upon him as His child.

29. You flee from humility because you believe it signifies wretchedness. You flee from trials because misery terrifies you, without realizing that they liberate your soul. You also flee from the spiritual because you think it is a waste of time to delve into this knowledge, not realizing that you are despising a higher light than any human science.

30. That is why I have told you that there are many who, despite their claims to love Me, do not love Me, and though they claim to believe in Me, have no faith. They have gone so far as to tell Me that they are ready to follow Me, yet they wish to follow Me without a cross. But I have told them that whoever wishes to follow Me must take up his cross and follow Me. Everyone who embraces their cross with love will reach the summit of the mountain, where they will breathe their last breath on this earth to rise to eternal life. (80, 37-39)

31. Instead of eliminating the misery that surrounds them everywhere, people today are intent on deriving the greatest advantage for themselves from it.

32. Why have people not evolved upward in the pursuit of an ideal that instills in them purer feelings and aspirations more worthy of the spirit? Because they did not wish to look beyond what is visible to their mortal eyes—that is, beyond their hardships, their earthly pleasures, and their materialistic science.

33. They have used and spent the time allotted to them in the world to acquire as many riches and pleasures as possible—believing that when the body comes to an end, everything is over for them.

34. Instead of developing upward and regarding himself as a child of God, man, in his ignorant arrogance, sinks to the level of a lower being; and when his spirit speaks to him of the Deity and of spiritual life, he is seized by fear of God's justice, and he prefers to silence this inner voice and not "waste" a single thought on those warnings.

35. He has not reflected on his own existence, nor on his spiritual and physical condition. How could it be otherwise than that he is dust and misery as long as he lives and thinks in this way? (207, 18)

36. My teaching, which is the explanation of the Law in all ages, comes to you as a path to the light, as a sure opening for the spirit. Yet, in exercising the free will granted to them and in their desire to follow a path for their lives, people have always chosen the easy path of materialism. In doing so, some have completely ignored the calls of conscience, which always point toward the spiritual; and others have created cults and rites to believe that they are walking with firm steps on the spiritual path, while in truth they are just as selfish as those who have banished My name and My Word from their lives. (213, 51)

37. The path is paved and the door is open to everyone who wishes to come to Me.

38. The path is narrow; this has long been known to you. It is no secret to anyone that My Law and My teachings are supremely pure and unyielding, so that no one may think to alter them according to their own convenience or will.

39. The broad path and the wide-open gate are anything but what leads your soul to the light, to peace, and to immortality. The broad path is that of licentiousness, disobedience, pride, and materialism—a path that the majority of people follow in their effort to escape their spiritual responsibility and the inner judgment of their conscience.

40. This path cannot be infinite, for it is neither true nor perfect. Therefore, since this path, like all that is human, is limited, man will one day reach its end, where he will pause to peer in horror over the abyss that marks the end of the path. Then chaos will break out in the hearts of those who have long since strayed from the true path.

41. In some, remorse will arise, through which they will find enough light to save themselves; in others, dismay will set in at the sight of an end they will deem unjust and illogical; and still others will blaspheme against God and rebel. Yet truly, I tell you, this will be the beginning of the return to the light. (333, 64–68)

The Spiritual Misery of Man

42. I have not erred in what I have created; man, however, has strayed from the path and life that were laid out for him; but soon he will return to Me like the "Prodigal Son" who squandered his entire inheritance.

43. With his science, he has created a new world, a false kingdom. He has made laws, has erected a throne for himself, and has adorned himself with a scepter and a crown. Yet how fleeting and deceptive is his glory: a faint breath of My justice is enough, and his foundations tremble, and his entire kingdom crumbles. The kingdom of peace, justice, and love, however, which he was unable to attain, is far from the human heart.

44. The pleasures and satisfactions that the work of men brings them are only illusory. Pain, restlessness, and disappointment gnaw at their hearts, hidden behind the mask of a smile.

45. This is what has been made of human life, and as for the life of the soul and the laws that govern it, these have been distorted because people forgot that there are also forces and elements that enliven the soul and with which man must remain in contact in order to withstand trials and temptations and to overcome all obstacles and adversities on his path of ascent toward perfection.

46. The light that reaches every soul from infinity does not come from the Sun; the power the soul receives from the beyond is not an emanation of the Earth; the source of love, truth, and health that quenches the soul's thirst for knowledge is not the water of your seas or your springs; the atmosphere that surrounds you is not merely material; it is an emanation, a " " a breath, and an inspiration that the human soul receives directly from the Creator of all things, from Him who created life and governs it with His perfect and immutable laws.

47. If man were to apply a little good will to return to the path of truth, he would instantly feel the caress of peace as an incentive. But whenever the soul becomes materialized under the influence of matter, it succumbs to its clutches, and instead of being the master of this life, the helmsman steering his ship, it becomes a slave to human weaknesses and inclinations and is shipwrecked in the storms.

48. I have already told you that the soul comes before the body, just as the body comes before clothing. The body you possess is only a temporary garment of the soul. (80, 49–53)

49. Oh, if only all people would wish to behold the rising light of this era—how much hope there would be in their hearts! But they sleep. They do not even know how to receive the light that the royal star sends them daily—that light which is like a reflection of the light that radiates from the Creator.

50. It caresses you and awakens you to the daily struggle of existence, without those people, who are insensitive to the beauties of creation, pausing for a few moments to thank Me. The glory could pass them by without their noticing it, for they always awaken full of worries and forget to pray, to seek spiritual strength in Me.

51. Nor do they seek strength for the body in the sources of nature. They all rush about in a hurry and toil without knowing why, setting off without a clear goal in mind. It is precisely in this callous and senseless struggle for existence that they have materialized their souls and allowed them to become selfish.

52. When the laws of the Spirit—which are the light of life—are forgotten, people destroy one another, kill one another, and snatch bread from one another's hands, without heeding the voice of conscience, without consideration, without pausing to reflect. 53. Yet if someone were to ask them how they judge their present life, they would immediately answer that never in times past has so much light shone in human life as now, and that science has never revealed so many secrets to them. But they would have to say this with a mask of happiness on their faces, for in their hearts they would hide all their spiritual suffering and misery. (104, 33-34)

54. I sent the soul forth to incarnate on Earth and become a human being so that he might be prince and lord over all that exists upon it, and not so that he might be a slave and a victim, nor one in distress, as I indeed see him . Man is a slave to his needs, his passions, his vices, and his ignorance.

55. He is a victim of suffering, missteps, and strokes of fate that his lack of spiritual elevation brings upon him on his journey across the earth. He is needy because, in ignorance of the inheritance that is his due in life, he does not know what he possesses and behaves as if he had nothing.

56. Humanity must first awaken so that it may begin to study the Book of Spiritual Life, and then soon, through the transmission of this world of ideas from generation to generation, that blessed seed will appear in which My Word is fulfilled.

57. I have told you that one day this humanity will attain spiritualization and learn to live in harmony with all creation, and that soul, mind, and heart will walk in unison. (305, 9-11)

Wrong Earthly Behaviors and Their Consequences

58. When I see people, entangled in wars, killing one another for possession of the world's treasures, I cannot help but compare them again and again to little children quarreling over things that have no value. People are still like children squabbling over a bit of power or a little gold. What do these possessions really mean compared to the virtues that other people embody?

59. The person who divides nations by sowing hatred in hearts cannot be compared to one who devotes his life to the task of sowing the seeds of universal brotherhood. He who causes suffering among his fellow human beings cannot be compared to one who dedicates his life to the task of alleviating the suffering of his neighbors.

60. Every person dreams of a throne on earth, even though humanity has known from the very beginning how little a throne is worth in this world.

61. I have promised you a place in my kingdom, but very few have claimed it, and this is because people refuse to understand that the humblest subject of the King of the heavenly realms is greater than the most powerful monarch on earth.

62. People are still little children; yet the great trial that is coming upon them will cause them to experience so much in such a short time that they will soon pass from this childhood to maturity, and then—enriched by the fruit of experience—they will exclaim: "Jesus, our Father, was right; let us go to Him." (111, 3-7)

63. People strive for immortality in the world and try to attain it through material works, because earthly glory—even if it is temporary—dazzles the eyes, and they forget the glory of the spirit because they doubt the existence of that life. It is the lack of faith and the absence of spiritualization that have cast a veil of skepticism over people's eyes. (128, 45)

64. Human development, progress, science, and civilization have never had as their goal the ascent of the spiritual soul, which is the highest and noblest thing within the human being. Human striving, ambition, desires, and concerns have always been directed toward this world. Here he has sought knowledge, here he has amassed treasures, here he has secured pleasures, honors, rewards, positions of power, and distinctions; here he has sought to find his glory.

65. Therefore, I say to you: While nature advances step by step, without pausing in its law of ceaseless development toward refinement and perfection, man has fallen behind, making no progress; and hence his misfortunes on earth, hence the trials, obstacles, and blows he encounters on his life's journey. (277, 42)

66. I do indeed want you to have aspirations, to be ambitious, to dream of being great, strong, and wise—but in the eternal goods of the spirit.

67. For to attain those goods, all virtues are required, such as mercy, humility, forgiveness, patience, generosity—in a word: love. And all virtues elevate, purify, and perfect the soul.

68. In this wretched world, in this temporary abode, man—in order to be great, powerful, rich, or learned—had to be selfish, deceitful, vengeful, cruel, indifferent, inhuman, and arrogant, and all this had to bring him into the most extreme opposition to what is truth, love, peace, true wisdom, and justice. (288, 32)

69. When man discovers himself spiritually, he feels within himself the presence of his Father. But if he knows neither who he is nor where he comes from, he feels Me as distant, alien, and unreachable, or he remains unmoved.

70. Only the awakened soul can enter the realm of truth. Man will not be able to recognize it through science alone.

71. I see that people strive for knowledge, fame, strength, wealth, and power, and I offer them the means to attain all of this—but in its true, essential qualities, in its spiritual truth, not in the outward and deceitful aspects of the world, not in the transitory and deceptive.

72. When man devotes himself to the material and confines himself within the small space of a world like yours, he becomes poor; he limits and suppresses his soul; for him, there is nothing left except what he possesses or what he knows. Then it becomes necessary for him to lose everything so that he may open his eyes to the truth, and, having recognized his error, turn his gaze once more toward the Eternal. (139, 40–43)