Living Fountain

1

Before the Lesson

Consider what I say, and the Lord give thee understanding in all things.

Paul (2 Timothy 2:7)

Before the exposition of the truth, do not forget to meditate on the lights you receive.

Those who stare up at the sky at a glance, without contemplating it, do not see the stars; and those who hear a symphony, without enclosing with it the acoustics of their soul, cannot notice it divine notes.

In vain will you listen to the inspired words of enlightened preachers, if you do not open your heart, so your feeling plunges into the blessed light of such words.

Countless followers of the Gospel complain of their inability to retain the teachings of the Good News, alleging that they feel unable before the new revelations; but this happens because they do not pay much attention to the lesson they hear, spending a long time in the domains of distraction and levity.

When the room remains dark, we are the ones, who open the windows latch, for the sun to visit us. Let us devote some effort to the grace of the lesson, and the lesson will respond to us with its graces.

The Apostle of the Gentiles is clear in the remark:

Consider what I say, and the Lord give thee understanding in all things.

‘Considering’ means examining, attending, reflecting, and appreciating.

Therefore, let us be sure that if we pay attention to the notices on the Eternal Life Code, the Lord, in return for our goodwill, will give us an understanding of everything.

2

Way of Doing

Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus.

Paul (Philippians 2:5)

Everyone does something in human life; but rare are those who do not turn back to the flesh, to undo what they did.

Even the idle individual, who spent the time between uselessness and laziness, is constrained to revert to the fight, to disintegrate the network of inertia that he created around himself.

Man, only constructs something, without the need for repair or correction, if he inspires himself in the patterns of Jesus to promote the good of his brothers.

Doing something imbued with the spirit of Christ, is always the best for everyone, with:

No expectation of remuneration. No demands

No showing off.

No tributes of superiority.

No tributes in recognition of anything.

No disturbances.

In all the steps of the Divine Master, we see Him in incessant action, in benefit for the individual and the community, without getting entangled in any moment.

From the carpentry of Nazareth, to the cross of Jerusalem, He walks, doing the good, without another gratification beyond the joy of performing the Father's Will.

He exalts the widow's dime and praises the fortune of Zacchaeus, with the same serenity.

Jesus talks lovingly with some little children, and calmly He multiplies the bread for thousands of people.

He brings Lazarus back from the tomb, and walks into the prison, with the attention focused on the Celestial Designs.

Remember to act for the common well-being, in the infinite line of your days and hours. However, help everyone, without distinction; preserving, above all, the glory to be helpful, so that the illusion does not impose on you the gall of disenchantment or solitude, so:

Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus.

3

In the Great Pilgrimage

By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going.

Paul (Hebrews 11:8)

As in the case of Abraham, the apprentice of the Gospel is called by faith to the sublime inheritance, which is reserved for him.

The call reaches everyone.

The great Hebrew patriarch left, without knowing where he was going...

And we, in turn, should lift our hearts and depart equally.

We ignore the contact stations on the long journey, but we are aware that our aim is Jesus Christ.

How often shall we be constrained to tread upon the thorns of slander?

How often will we walk the rough path of incomprehension? How many rainfalls of tears will reach our spirits?

And how many clouds will be interposed, between our thoughts and the Heaven, in the broad stretches of the path?

Insoluble answer. However, one always needs to go, determinedly, through the inner way of redemption. Today, it is the intense sweating, tomorrow the responsibility, later on, the suffering, and then, loneliness...

Still, it is indispensable to go on, without discouragement.

When it is not possible to walk two steps a day, let us move ahead, at least a few millimeters...

The vanguard opens up in new horizons of understanding and goodness, spiritual enlightenment, and progress in virtue.

Let us go up, without rest, the rugged mountain: By overcoming deserts and difficulties...

Crossing fogs... Removing obstacles...

Abraham obeyed, ignoring where he was going to, and found the fulfillment of happiness.

Let us obey, in turn, conscious of our destination, and certain that the Lord awaits us, beyond our cross, in the resplendent summits of endless resurrection.

4

Each One

"There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them.

Paul (1 Corinthians 12:4)

In every place and position, each one can reveal divine qualities for the edification of those with whom they live together.

Learning and teaching constitute tasks of every moment, so we can cooperate in the aggrandizement of the common treasury of wisdom and love.

He who manages, can more often express justice and magnanimity.

He who obeys has broader resources to demonstrate the well- performed duty.

The richer, more than the others, can multiply the work and share the blessings.

The poor, with more wideness, can ameliorate the fortune of hope and dignity.

The strong one can easily be more generous at any moment.

The weak can be humble on any occasion, with no embarrassment.

The sage, with a rich body of knowledge, can help everyone by renewing the general thought for the right.

The apprentice, with multiplied opportunities, can always distribute a wealth of goodwill.

The healthy, ordinarily, can project charity in all directions.

The sick, with more security, can bring the lessons of patience to the general environment.

The gifts differ; the intelligence is characterized by several degrees; the merit presents multiple values, and the capacity is the result of each one’s effort; but the Divine Spirit that sustains the creatures is substantially the same.

We are all capable of achieving much, in the sphere of work we find ourselves.

Observe the position you are now in, and meet the imperatives of the Infinite Good. Place the Divine Will above your desires, and the Divine Will shall count on your participation in Its designs.

5

Can You Go?

Come unto me…

Jesus (Matthew 11:28)

The believer listens to the Master's invitation, receiving blessed consolation. The one responsible for the indoctrination repeats it to convey vibrations of spiritual comfort to the listeners.

Everyone hears the words of Christ, which insist that the restless minds and tormented hearts seek His refreshing bosom...

Though, if it is easy to hear and repeat the Lord's Come unto Me, how difficult is to go to Him!

Here, the words of the Master pour forth as a vitalizing balm; nevertheless, the ties of immediate convenience are too strong; beyond, one can feel the divine invitation, amidst promises of renewal for the redemptive journey.

Still, the prison of discouragement isolates the spirit, through resistant bars; farther, the call of the Upper Father, softens the pain of a disillusioned soul, but the liberation from the impediments constituted by people and things, situations, and individual interests, apparently unavoidable, is almost impracticable.

Jesus, our Savior, extends His loving and compassionate arms to us. With Him, life will be enriched by imperishable values, and in the shadow of His celestial teachings, we will go, through      s      anctifying work, towards the Universal Homeland...

All believers register His comforting, calling, but rare are sufficiently valiant in faith, to seek His companionship. In short, it is very sweet to hear the Come to me.

Nevertheless, in truth, are you able to go?

6

Accept the Correction

No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.

Paul (Hebrews 12:11)

The earth, under the pressure of the plow, gets ripped and lacerated; yet, within a brief time, flowers and delicious fruits sprout from its rectified windrows.

The tree, in pruning time, loses vast reserves of sap, becoming undernourished and ugly; despite that, in a few weeks, it is covered with new robustness, empowered with beauty and abundance.

The humble water abandons the coziness of the fountain, suffers the setbacks of the movement, reaches the great river, and then shares the greatness of the sea.

Just like it happens in the simple dimension of Nature, it also happens in the complex realm of soul. The correction is always rude, unpleasant, and bitter; but in those who accept its light, it always results in blessed fruits of experience, knowledge, understanding, and justice.

The earth, the tree, and the water, tolerates it, through constraint; however, the Man, champion of intelligence on the Planet, is free to receive the correction and give shelter to it in his own heart.

For this very reason, the problem of personal happiness will never be solved with the escape from the repair process.

The heavenly correction is manifested in all the angles of the Earth.

Still, rare are those who accept its blessing, because such gift, most of the times, does not come involved in ermine, and when it is brought to the lips, it does not resemble a tasty candy. It is wrapped with spines or mixed with bile, in the manner of healing and salutary medication.

Do not miss, therefore, your precious opportunity for improvement.

Pain and obstacle, work and struggle, are resources of sublimation that we ought to employ in our favor.

7

By the Fruits

By their fruits, ye shall know them. Jesus (Matthew 7:16)

Not by the size,

Not by the configuration,

Not by the foliage, or the magnificence of the top,

Not by the green sprigs,

Not by the dry ends,

Not by the brighter appearance, the unpleasant presentation, the age of the tree

Not by the fragility of the leaves, the slender or thick bark,

Not by the fragrant or odorless flowers, the attractive scent,

Or the repugnant emanations.

No tree shall be known or loved by outer appearances, but by its fruits, utility, and production. So it is also with our spirit on the journey...

No one, who truly consecrates himself to the truth, will bear witness to us for our manners, for the superficiality of our life, the epidermis of our attitudes or individual expressions, quickly perceived or appreciated, but rather for our cooperation in the common progress, and the importance of our participation in the general welfare.

By their fruits, you shall know them, said Jesus.

By our actions, we shall be known, we repeat.

8

Attentive Workers

But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it-not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do.

James 1:25

The disciple of the Good News, who communes with the Master, above all, understands the obligations assigned to him and sincerely worships the law of freedom, aware that he will reap in the windrows of the world what he has sown. He knows that the judge will respond in court; that the administrator will answer for the stewardship, and the servant will be held accountable for the work that was up to him.

And respecting each work of progress and order, of light and good, in his proper place, one should persevere in taking advantage of the possibilities that he received from Divine Providence, attentive to the lessons of truth, and devoted to the good works, of which he feels in charge, by the Superior Powers of the Earth.

Characterized by such attitude, the server of Christ, whether a statesman or a street cleaner, he is integrated with his duty, in the position of acting and serving, as naturally as he communes with the oxygen, in the act of breathing.

If he is a director, he does not expect others to remind him of the accomplishments that fall to him. If he obeys, he does not need reiterated instructions, regarding his attributions in the regimen of works of any kind.

He does not require that the government of his district has his vegetable garden composted; nor does he await decrees to educate or improve himself.

And respecting each worker of progress and order, of light and good, in its proper place, it perseveres in taking advantage of the possibilities that received from Divine Providence, attentive to the lessons of truth and applied to the good works, of which he feels in charge of the Higher Powers of the Earth.

Strengthening his freedom to learn, to ameliorate himself, and help everyone, through total consecration to the noble tasks that the world brought to him, he is blessed in all his actions, which begin to produce substantial advantages in the prosperity and elevation of the common life.

Such a follower of the Gospel, from an apprentice of the Master, he reaches the category of the attentive workers, entering in glorious silence, the sublime reserves of the Celestial Apostleship.

9

Let Us Be Joyful

But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that.

Paul (1Timothy 6:8)

The monopolizer of wheat will feed himself on only a few slices of bread, to satisfy the demands of his appetite on the table.

The textile fabric owner should not spend more than a few meters vestment, for the confection of a garment, intended for his use.

No one should feed, or dress, by the standards of gluttony and vanity, but rather by the principles that govern life in its natural foundations.

Why do you wait for the banquet, to offer some crumbs to the starving brother?

Why do you ask for a treasure trove of coins, in the rearguard, to be useful to the needy?

Charity does not depend on the wallet. It is a fountain born in the heart.

It is always respectable the desire to have something in the money box to help the neighbor, or oneself, on the days of storm and insecurity; yet, it is deplorable the subordination of the good works’ practice to the safes crammed with money.

First, open the doors of your soul, and let your feelings warm …

The rain, pouring out in drops, fertilizes the soil and sustains billions of lives.

Let us share the least, and the insignificance of goodwill, supported by love, over time, will become common prosperity...

Some seeds, cared for in the years, may dominate vast lands.

Let us be joyful, and help all those who share the march with us, for, following the wise word of the apostle, if we have the grace to count on the bread and clothes for each day, it falls to us the obligation to live and serve in peace and contentment.

10

Surely

Surely I am coming soon.

Apocalypse 22:20

Very often, as the human creature breathes in the young flesh, the attitude that characterizes their heart towards life is that of a child who does not know the value of time.

Days and nights are short for diving in fanciful joys and adventures. A thousand deceits of ephemeral illusion obscure their view, and the hours fade into a whirlwind of useless yearnings. Rare are those who escape such a loss.

Though, in general, when maturity comes, and the soul already counts on a relative degree of education, the man readjusts, hastily, the conceptualization of the day.

The week is short for what falls to him to do.

He understands that the same tasks, in