fr-Chapter 48 - Spiritual Gifts and Spiritualization

The Spiritual Abilities of Human Beings

1. Whenever this doubting, unbelieving, and materialistic humanity encounters a divine revelation or what it calls a miracle, it immediately seeks reasons or evidence to demonstrate that there is no supernatural work nor has such a miracle ever occurred.

2. When a person appears who displays a spiritual ability that is unusual, he is met with mockery, doubt, or indifference in an attempt to silence his voice. And when nature, as an instrument of My Divinity, directs its voice of justice and its warnings to humanity, people attribute it all to chance. But never has humanity been so insensitive, deaf, and blind to all that is divine, spiritual, and eternal as in these times.

3. Millions of people call themselves Christians, yet the majority do not know the teachings of Christ. They claim to love all the works I performed as a human being; yet in their way of believing, thinking, and viewing things, they prove that they do not know the essence of My teaching.

4. I taught you about the life of the soul and revealed to you the abilities that lie within it; that is why I came into the world.

5. I healed the sick without any medicine, spoke with the spirits, freed the possessed from foreign and supernatural influences, conversed with nature, transformed Myself as a human into a spiritual being and as a spiritual being back into a human, and each of these works always had the goal of showing you the path to the development of the soul. (114, 1-4)

6. You have true treasures within you, abilities and gifts that you do not even suspect, and because of your ignorance, you shed tears like the needy. What do you know of the power of prayer and the strength of thoughts? What do you know of the profound meaning of the dialogue from spirit to spirit? Nothing, you materialistic and earthbound humanity! (292, 14)

7. I expect spiritualization from the world. To Me, the names by which each church or sect distinguishes itself have no meaning whatsoever, nor does the greater or lesser splendor of their rites and outward forms of worship. This appeals only to the human senses, but not to My Spirit.

8. I expect spiritualization from people, for it signifies the elevation of life, the ideal of perfection, love for the good, turning toward the truth, the practice of loving action, harmony with oneself—which is harmony with others and therefore with God. (326, 21-22)

9. Spiritualization does not mean piousness, nor does it require the performance of any ritual, nor is it an external form of worship. Spiritualization means the development of all human capacities—both those belonging to the human part and those that lie beyond the physical senses and are the powers, qualities, abilities, and senses of the soul.

10. Spiritualization is the proper and good use of all the gifts that man possesses. Spiritualization is harmony with everything that surrounds you. (326, 63-66)

11. In the past, I taught you the greatest virtue, which is mercy; I inspired your hearts and made your feelings sensitive. Now I reveal to you the gifts with which your spiritual soul is endowed, so that you may develop them and use them to do good among your neighbors.

12. Knowledge of the spiritual life will enable you to perform works similar to those your Master did. Remember that I have told you that if you develop your abilities, you will perform true miracles. (85, 20-21)

13. You all possess the gifts of the Spirit, which are beginning to unfold in this "Third Era" through the development that souls have attained. Intuition, spiritual vision, revelation, prophecy, and inspiration are manifesting clearly among humanity, and this is the herald of a new era; it is the light of the Book of the Seven Seals, which has opened to its sixth chapter in this time.

14. But you who know the purpose of these manifestations and understand the time in which you live—direct your spiritual gifts toward the path of love. Always be prepared to offer your loving help, and you will be in harmony with My Law and will serve as an example to your fellow human beings. Then you will be My disciples and will be recognized as such. (95, 18)

15. When people come to love one another and know how to forgive, when humility exists in their hearts and they have achieved the triumph of the spirit over the body, neither the "flesh" nor the world nor the passions will any longer form that dense veil that prevents you from seeing the path behind or before you. On the contrary: the "flesh," spiritualized through the observance of My teaching, will be like a servant obedient to the dictates of conscience, in contrast to what it is today: an obstacle, a snare, a blindfold over the eyes of the spirit. (122, 32)

16. Intuition, which is spiritual vision, foresight, and prophecy, enlightens the mind and makes the heart beat faster at the messages and voices it receives from infinity. (136, 46)

17. Through the gift of intuition, which I have bestowed upon all people, you can discover many things hidden in the mystery of the heart—many tragedies that affect not only the earthly lives of your fellow human beings but also their souls.

18. How can one penetrate the intimacy of those hearts without hurting them and without desecrating their secrets? How can one discover those hidden sufferings that cast a shadow over the lives of your fellow human beings? I have already told you: Intuition, that ability which is part of the spiritual gift of vision and which is meant to reach its full development within you through prayer, shows you the way to alleviate the pain of each of your fellow human beings. (312, 73-74)

19. How many secrets still remain for humanity. It is surrounded by invisible and imperceptible beings that should already be visible and perceptible to it.

20. A life full of beauty and revelations pulsates over the existence of human beings, yet they, in their blindness, are not yet able to perceive it. (164, 56-57)

21. A person prepared by My teaching will be capable of accomplishing superhuman deeds. A light will radiate from his soul and body—a power and a strength that will enable him to realize what intelligence alone cannot accomplish. (252, 4-5)

22. This is the time when the Divine Light will shine fully upon my followers, who will reveal the gifts of the Spirit and prove that they need neither earthly goods nor worldly sciences to do good and perform miracles. They will heal in My name, restore the hopelessly sick, turn water into balm, and raise the dead from their beds. Their prayer will have the power to calm the storms, soothe the forces of nature, and combat epidemics and evil influences.

23. The possessed will be freed from their possessions, their persecutors, and their oppressors through the word, the prayer, and the authority of my new disciples. (160, 28-29)

24. Spiritualization means the refinement of feelings, purity in life, faith, love of neighbor, helping one's neighbor, humility before God, and deep respect for the gifts received. If you can attain any of these virtues, you will begin to penetrate with your spiritual gaze into the homeland of love and perfection. Likewise, when you attain spiritualization, you can already say on earth that you live in the Spiritual Homeland, even if only during the moments of your prayer. At the same time, you will receive the light that reveals to you events that lie in the future, for to the soul that is ascending, what is to come is no longer a mystery.

25. Yes, disciples, it is only in human life that man does not know what will happen in the future, what tomorrow will bring. He does not know his destiny, does not know the path he must take, nor how his end will be.

26. Man could not bear the knowledge of all the trials he must endure in his existence. Therefore, in My merciful love for him, I have placed that veil of mystery between his present and his future, thus preventing his mind from being confused if he were to know all that he must yet experience and suffer through.

27. The soul, on the other hand—a being endowed with power and created for eternity—possesses within itself the ability to know the future: the gift to recognize its destiny, and the strength to understand and accept all the trials that await it. It knows that at the end of the path, if it has been traversed in obedience to the Law, it will reach the Promised Land, the Paradise of the soul, which is the state of exaltation, purity, and perfection that it will ultimately attain.

28. You cannot attain the level of spiritualization of your Master to know what your destiny holds for you, what the future brings; but because of your inner elevation, I will allow you to sense the approach of any event.

29. You will attain this ability to sense, this spiritual glimpse into the future, this knowledge of your destiny only to the extent that your being—composed of body and soul—gradually develops higher along the path of spiritualization, which is faith, sincerity, love for life, love and helpfulness toward your neighbors, humility, and love for your Lord. (160, 6-9, 13-14)

30. Be of alert mind, so that you may not fight against those who, like you, set out to fulfill missions entrusted to them by My Divinity—so that you may recognize the true prophets and the false ones, and confirm the works of the former and nullify the works of the latter.

31. For this is the time when all powers have risen to battle. Behold how good fights against evil, light against darkness, knowledge against ignorance, peace against war. (256, 66)

Prerequisites and Characteristics of True Spirituality

32. Know that a Judas dwells within every human being. Yes, disciples, for in your case, the body is the Judas of the soul; it is the body that resists the light of spiritualization, that lies in wait for the soul to plunge it into materialism and base passions.

33. Yet just because your body brings you to the edge of the abyss, you must not condemn it. No, for you need it for your progress and must overcome it through your spiritualization, just as I overcame Judas through My love. (150, 67-68)

34. Before you set out to teach My principles of life and expound their meaning, you must begin by following the teaching I have revealed to you, by loving your neighbors, leading a life oriented toward the spiritual, and sowing your path with acts of love and light. If you do not do this, I tell you now that you have not understood Spiritualism. It reveals your true nature to you; through it, you can form a clear image of your Father and come to know yourselves.

35. It is true that to attain spiritualization, you require a certain degree of self-denial, effort, and willingness to make sacrifices. But when the longing for a higher existence has awakened within you, when love begins to shine in your being, or when the desire for the spiritual has taken hold, it will be a joy for you—rather than a sacrifice or renunciation—to rid yourselves of all that is useless, harmful, or evil within you. (269, 46-47)

36. Always be aware that you are all equal before Me, that you all had the same origin and all have the same goal, even if outwardly each destiny appears different.

37. Never forget that you must all come to Me, which means that you must all—albeit in different ways—earn the necessary merits to reach the highest spiritual heights. Therefore, never regard anyone as inferior.

38. Vanity must never take root in the spiritualist. Instead, genuine humility should always be his companion; then his deeds, rather than dazzling with false light, will find resonance in the hearts of his fellow human beings. (322, 32–34)

39. The good sowers of Spiritualism will never distinguish themselves by anything external or material. They will have neither special attire nor insignia nor any particular manner of speaking. Everything about their conduct will bear witness to simplicity and humility. Nevertheless—if they distinguish themselves by anything, it will be their charity and their spiritualization.

40. The true preachers of Spiritualism will not attract attention through their eloquence, but through the wisdom and simplicity of their words, and above all through the sincerity of their deeds and the goodness of their lives. (194, 24–25)

41. Spirituality is clarity, is simplicity, is devotion to love, and is a struggle to attain the perfection of the soul. (159, 64)

The Beneficial Effects of Spirituality

42. Through spiritualization, one attains a degree of elevation that enables a person to receive ideas beyond what their mind can conceive and to have power over the material.

43. Consider this: If the spiritual elevation of the soul is applied to the study of the material creation that nature presents to you, or to any other human endeavor, then you can imagine the fruits you could reap if your discoveries were not merely the result of intellectual inquiry, but if they also involved the spiritual revelation that would be given to you by the One who created all things. (126, 26–27)

44. When people attain spiritualization, they will be beings superior to everything that surrounds them. For until now they have been merely weak beings, exposed to the forces, powers, and influences of nature, which should not be superior to man, because they do not stand above him. (280, 29)

45. Truly, I tell you, spiritualization, too, will be inherited; therefore, you should strive to instill in your children purity of heart and receptivity to the spiritual. They will thank you for it, because you have shown mercy by giving them a body free from passions, with a clear mind, a sensitive heart, and a soul alert to the call of their conscience. (289, 65)

46. The sole purpose of my work is the spiritualization of all people, for in spiritualization they will become one and understand one another. In spiritualization they will see the names and outward forms of their religions disappear, which have been the cause of their spiritual separation, since each has interpreted its God in a different way.

47. As soon as all draw near through their various paths of spiritualization, they will realize that the only thing they lacked was to free themselves from their materialism so that they might interpret spiritually what they had always understood in a material sense.

48. Spiritualization is all that I ask of people at this time; then, within the bounds of what is permitted, they will see their highest ideals fulfilled and their most difficult conflicts resolved. (321, 22–23, 29)