The Greatest Commandment

34 Hearing that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, the Pharisees got together.

35 One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question:

36 “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”

37Jesus replied: “ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your
soul and with all your mind.’

38 This is the first and greatest commandment.

39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbour as yourself.’

40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
(Matthew 22:34-40)

2
 Matthew, Chapter 5

Now when Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His
disciples came to him, and he began to teach them.

He said:

1. “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

2. Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

3. Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.

4. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.

5. Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.

6. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.

7. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.

8. Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the
kingdom of heaven.

9. Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil
against you because of me.”
3
 Language limitations at the time of Jesus

“an illuminated person”: son of light, child of light

“righteous”: Righteousness is one of the chief attributes of God as portrayed in the

Hebrew Bible.

Its chief meaning concerns ethical conduct (for example, Leviticus 19:36;
Deuteronomy 25:1; Psalm 1:6; Proverbs 8:20). In the Book of Job the title
character is introduced to us as a person who is perfect in
righteousness.

Leviticus 19:36: Use honest scales and honest weights, an honest ephah
and an honest hin. I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt.

Deuteronomy 25:1: When people have a dispute, they are to take it to

court and the judges will decide the case, acquitting the innocent and
condemning the guilty.

Psalm 1:6: For the Lord watches over the way of the righteous, but the way
of the wicked leads to destruction.

Proverbs 8:20: I walk in the way of righteousness, along the paths of

justice
4
 The Spirits’ Book

Book Second: The Spirit World, or World of Spirits

Chapter I: Spirits

Second Order: Good Spirits

107. General Characteristics:

➢ Predominance of spirit over matter; desire of excellence.

➢ Not being yet completely dematerialised, they preserve the traces of their corporeal
existence, more or less strongly marked, according to their rank-traces ...

➢ They have acquired the comprehension of the idea of God and of infinity, and already
share the felicity of the higher spheres.

5
 The Spirits’ Book

Book Second: The Spirit World, or World of Spirits

Chapter I: Spirits

First Order: Pure Spirits

112. General Characteristics:

➢ The influence of matter null; a superiority, both intellectual and moral, so absolute as to constitute
what, in comparison with the spirits of all the other orders, may be termed perfection.

113. First and only Class:

➢ They have passed up through every degree of the scale of progress, and have freed themselves
from all the impurities of materiality.

➢ Being no longer subject to reincarnation in perishable bodies, they enter on the life of eternity in the
immediate presence of God

➢ They are in the enjoyment of a beatitude which is unalterable, because they are no longer subject
to the wants or vicissitudes of material life; but this beatitude is not the monotonous idleness of
perpetual contemplation.

➢ They are the messengers and ministers of God, the executors of His orders in the maintenance of
universal harmony.
6
 Heaven and Hell

Chapter VII: The Spiritist View of Future Punishment

Penal Code of Life to Come

2. Perfect happiness belongs, exclusively, to the state of perfection, that is to say, of the
spirit’s complete purification. Every imperfection is at once a source of suffering and the
privation of an enjoyment; and every acquisition of knowledge or of goodness brings with it
an increase of enjoyment and diminishes the sources of suffering.

7
 The Beatitudes

➢ Blessed → happy

➢ The poor in spirit → reward: theirs is the kingdom of heaven

➢ Those who mourn → reward: they will be comforted

➢ The meek → reward: they will inherit the earth

➢ Those who hunger and thirst for righteousness → reward: they will be filled

➢ The merciful → reward: they will be shown mercy

➢ The pure in heart → reward: they will see God

➢ The peacemakers → reward: they will be called children of God

➢ Who are persecuted because of righteousness → reward: theirs is the kingdom of heaven

➢ You when people insult you, persecute you

and falsely say all kinds of evil against you
because of me → reward: spiritual progress, purification

8
 Virtues

1. The poor in spirit → humility

2. Those who mourn → resignation

3. The meek, for they will inherit the earth → meekness, patience

4. Those who hunger and thirst for righteousness → faith

5. The merciful → forgiveness

6. The pure in heart → spontaneity

7. The peacemakers → altruism

8. Who are persecuted because of righteousness → benevolence

9. You when people insult you, persecute you and

falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me → spiritual progress,
purification

9
Dr Sérgio Luis da Silva Lopes
10
● The beatitudes are associated to virtues we can / should be developed:

8. Who are persecuted because of righteousness benevolence

7. The peacemakers altruism

6. The pure in heart spontaneity

5. The merciful forgiveness

4. Those who hunger and thirst for righteousness faith

3. The meek meekness,

patience
Blessed are...

2. Those who mourn resignation

1. The poor in spirit humility

11
● The beatitudes are associated to virtues we can / should be developed:

8. Who are persecuted because of

righteousness (benevolence)

7. The peacemakers (altruism)

6. The pure in heart (spontaneity)

5. The merciful (forgiveness)

4. Those who hunger and thirst for

righteousness (faith)
3. The meek (meekness, patience)
Blessed are...

2. Those who mourn (resignation)

1. The poor in spirit (humility)

12
Matthew, 9:13: “But go and learn
what this means: ‘I desire mercy,
not sacrifice.’ For I have not come
to call the righteous, but sinners.."

13
 Matthew, 9:13: “But go and learn
what this means: ‘I desire mercy,
5. The merciful not sacrifice.’ For I have not come
to call the righteous, but sinners.."

6. The pure in heart

4. Those who
hunger and thirst
for righteousness 7. The peacemakers

3. The meek

8. Who are persecuted

because of righteousness
2. Those who mourn
➢ 9. Who will be
persecuted and falsely
said all kinds of evil
1. The poor in spirit against because of me

14
 9. Who will be persecuted and falsely said all kinds of evil
against because of me

8. Who are persecuted because of righteousness

7. The peacemakers

6. The pure in heart

5. The merciful

4. Those who hunger and thirst for righteousness

3. The meek
Blessed are...

2. Those who mourn

1. The poor in spirit

15
 The Gospel According to Spiritism

The Spirits of the Lord, who are the Virtues of Heaven, move as does an
immense army upon receiving orders from their commander spreading out over
the face of the Earth and, similar to the stars which fall one after another from
the skies, are come to illumine pathways and open the eyes of those who
cannot see.

In truth I say unto you the times are come when all things will be established in
their true light, when the darkness shall be dissipated, the prideful confounded
and the just glorified.

The great voices of Heaven reverberate like the sound of trumpets and the
choirs of angels assemble. Mankind, we are inviting you to this divine concert.
Take up the harp and lift up your voices in unison so that, in a sacred chorus, the
sound may extend and reecho from one extreme of the universe to the other.

Fellow beings, beloved brothers and sisters, we are here beside you. Love one
another and say from the bottom of your hearts: Lord! Lord! In so doing you fulfill
the wishes of the Father who is in Heaven; then you too may enter into the
Kingdom of Heaven.

The Spirit of Truth

The Prayer

17
 The Spirits’ Book

Book Third: Moral Laws

Chapter II: The Law of Adoration

Aim of Adoration

649. In what does adoration consist?

“In the elevation of the thought towards God. Through adoration the
soul draws nearer to Him.”

659. What is the general character of prayer?

“Prayer is an act of adoration. To pray to God is to think of Him, to
draw nearer to Him, to put one's self in communication with Him.
He who prays may propose to himself three things: to praise, to
ask, and to thank.”

18
 The Gospel According to Spiritism

Chapter XXVII: Ask and it shall be given

The quality of prayers

2. And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any: that
your Father also which is in Heaven may forgive you your trespasses
(Mark, 11:25 & 26)

5. Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray,
believe that ye receive them and ye shall have them (Mark 11: 24)

Instructions from the spirits: The way to pray

22. “... Your prayer should include a request for His blessings for all
those things you really need. Therefore it is useless to ask the Lord
to shorten your tests and trials, or to give you happiness and riches.

Preferably ask for more precious items, such as patience,

resignation and faith.” 19
Praise be to God, His infinite mercy and His infinite goodness.

Thanking the Divine Master Jesus, we ask Him to cuddle us in his

loving lap and to snuggle us, comforting our souls.

May the Love of God flood our hearts and we may overflow this
Love, radiating it in all directions, especially in our home, our sacred
refuge.

Three things: to praise, to ask, and to thank (Q. 659).

➢ Ask for patience, resignation and faith.

➢ Show humility and mercifulness.

20
 Conclusion

The Beatitudes are a recipe for spiritual development / progress

The Spirits’ Book

Book Third: Moral Laws

Chapter XI: The Law of Justice, of Love, and of Charity

First revelation: Moses Central idea: Justice

Second revelation: Jesus Central idea: Love

Third revelation: the Spiritism Central idea: Charity

21
That awkward, embarrassing moment of silence...

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