EDITORIAL

VI-th GEAE  BIRTHDAY
 

"Great things are being planned ahead. Let the workers of  thought  be prepared if they wish to take part in the mission that God has offered to those who love and serve the Truth."
Leon Denis

While looking for a opening quotation in  commemoration  of  the  GEAE birthday, the passage above came up to us.

Leon Denis' phrase reflects our impression on the ideas and news which have been debated by the  group.  It  is  hard  to  underestimate  the forecasting signals of the Great Things, the aspiration  for  renewal, the  weariness  of  the  current  world  model  that  is   essentially materialist.

We see the Pope claiming his followers for an alliance  between  Faith and  Reason.  We  see  companies  investing  in  "social"   works   of philanthropy and education.  We  contemplate  the  present  economical crisis as nothing more than the consequence of the way  nations  treat each other: as mere consuming markets.

We also see Spiritism to become firm in the  countries  where  it  has been developed since its inception, and conquering new lands. The last World Spiritist Congress in Lisbon, Portugal, lively  testified  these impressions.

Therefore, we thank God and our spirit friends for the opportunity  to study and take part in such a singular era, so full of transformations and challenges, by  helping, although humbly,  the Great Things  to become true.

We wish all the best in happiness and peace to our friends.  We  thank you for your support and, at same time, invite you to continue in  our group in the next year.

And let us all cooperate with the work of  the fighters of thought:  Allan  Kardec,  Léon  Denis, Camille   Flammarion,   Bezerra de Menezes, Amalia Domingos Soler ... to give a  complete  list  would  be impossible now in so limited space.

Best regards

The editors GEAE

THE SECOND WORLD SPIRITIST CONGRESS, LISBON,  PORTUGAL
Jorge Gomes

Over 3000 participants, coming from 28 countries, gathered at the Congress Center of the International  Fair  of  Lisbon,  Portugal  and constituted the largest Spiritist meeting ever occurred on Earth:  the Second World Spiritist Congress. The first  one,  a  couple  of  years before, was in Brasilia, Brazil, and assembled about 2600 people.

This second congress was  sponsored  by  the  International  Spiritist Counsel and organized  by  a  special  commission  of  the  Portuguese Spiritist Federation. The congress started on September 30th and  last until October 3rd under the slogan "O Espiritismo perante  o  terceiro milenio" (Spiritism before the third millennium). The opening  session in the main hall initiated with a  seminal  colloquia  by  Divaldo  P. Franco. First day activities ended about 6 p. m. During the four days, 6 auditories (and more 2 halls) were filled with expositions  on  free themes (about  a  hundred),  panels,  workshops,  cultural  activities (poetry, music etc) forming a lively environment to the participants.

Several consecrated names of the Spiritist movement were  present,  as well as unknown names to the  Portuguese  public  such  as  Dr.  Jorge Andrea who specially captivated many of them. The  biggest  delegation (formed by Brazilians) was composed of 1800 people,  followed  by  the Portuguese one with 1000. Several Spiritist bookstores met at the  8th pavilion: the Portuguese Spiritist Federation (Livresp Lta,  "Livraria Espirita"), the  Brazilian  Spiritist  Federation  (FEB),  Guatemala's Spiritist Federation and  several  others.  In  an  interview  to  the "Revista de Espiritismo", Dr. J. Andrea put forward his opinion on the meeting:

"I would like to tell our dear Portuguese fellows about our  happiness with being in this land, with  the meeting  of  consciousness  we  are making. This  is  the  great  aim  of  this  congress,  a  meeting  of consciousness for spiritual awareness. Because Portugal is the gate of Spiritism in Europe and I don't doubt it. You are  given  a  wonderful support. This is the beginning, the starting point to accept a science which is about to come."

This   and   others  opinions  are  found  on  the  home-page  of  the magazine "Revista de Espiritismo"

http://www.geocities.com/athens/parthenon/1631

which also contains extended notes. Strangely enough  was  the  little impact of the event on the media. In any way, we give  our  thanks  to the organizing commission of the Portuguese Spiritist Federation which worked well in favour of the participants.

The  next  congress  will  happen  in  Guatemala  in  the  year  2001.

OBEDIENCE AND RESIGNATION
Lazarus

The doctrine of Jesus constantly teaches obedience and resignation,  two virtues which are the companions of mildness and activity, although  Man wrongly confuses them with denial of sentiment and free-will.

- Obedience is the consent of reason; resignation is the consent  of  the heart. -

Both are active forces since they carry the burden which has fallen upon them due to foolish revolt. The coward cannot be resigned, any more than the prideful and selfish can be obedient. Jesus was the very incarnation of these virtues, which were despised by material antiquity.  He came to Earth at a time when  Roman  society  was perishing  in  the failings of corruption. He came so that, even in the  bosom of  depressed  humanity, the triumph of sacrifice and the renouncement of sensuality would  shine forth.

Thus, each epoch is marked with the stamp of the virtue or vice which it has  either  to  save  or  to  lose. The virtue of this  generation   is intellectuality, the vice is moral  indifference. We merely use the word 'activity' because a genius may suddenly rise up and discover for him or herself the horizons which will be seen by the multitude only at a later date. Whereas activity denotes the reunion of endeavours of everyone  in order  to  reach a somewhat less brilliant conclusion, but one which will confirm the intellectual elevation of an epoch.

Submit yourself then to the impulsion we have come to give your spirits. Obey the great law of progress which is the promise of your  generation. Woe to the lazy ones, woe  to  all  those  not  open  to  understanding! Woe unto them! Because we, who are the guides of humanity on the  march, shall apply the whip and subdue the  rebellion  by means  of the  double action of  brake and  spur.  All  prideful  resistance  will  have to be overcome sooner or later. However, blessed be all those who are mild for they will lend yielding ears to these teachings.

Lazarus (Paris, 1863)
In: "The Gospel According to Spiritism". Trans. by Janet Duncan.