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The Heart of Those Who Persevere in Jesus

  The Divine Solidarity São Paulo/SP, Brazil, South America. Thursday, October 15, 1987, 4:37 AM. My dear Legionary Brothers and Sisters of the Good Will of God, Christians of the New Commandment, Friends of Jesus,*1 ...

Valentine’s Day

To those who love each other—and also those who are in love with life—I dedicate an extract from an ecumenical prayer I improvised on the Super Good Will Radio Network: Oh Jesus, whose mercy sustains us. Our prayer today is on behalf of those who...

Bezerra, Love, and Planetary Coexistence

I dedicate this article to the noble spirit Dr. Bezerra de Menezes (1831-1900), a respected Brazilian public figure who is worthy of the title he was given of “Doctor of the Poor” and whose birthday we celebrate on August 29. He...

Spirituality

Turning Pain Into Victory

Source: A Reflection of Goodwill taken from “É Urgente Reeducar!” [It Is Urgent to Reeducate], 2010. | Updated in March 2020.
Reprodução BV

William James

As spiritual and human beings, we should not doubt our ability to achieve what today is seemingly impossible. We are more than capable of overcoming problems, however enormous we consider them to be, according to what the American physician, psychologist, philosopher, and writer William James (1842-1910) affirms: “Most people live, whether physically, intellectually or morally, in a very restricted circle of their potential being. They make use of a very small portion of their possible consciousness, and of their soul’s resources in general, much like a man who . . . should get into a habit of using and moving only his little finger. Great emergencies and crises show us how much greater our vital resources are than we had supposed.”

Daniel Reche - pixabay

If the struggles are bigger, our talents for overcoming them will be even greater. If it were not so, where would we be today if those who preceded us over the centuries had become discouraged? The worst tragedy is to give up because of the world’s adversities. This is failing those who trust us. Fueled by their Faith, those who came before us transformed pain into victory.

José de Paiva Netto (1941-2025), a writer, journalist, radio broadcaster, educator, composer, poet, the President Emeritus and Consolidator of the Legion of Good Will, and Spiritual Leader of the Religion of God, of the Christ, and of the Holy Spirit. He was an effective member of the Brazilian Press Association (ABI) and the Brazilian International Press Association (ABI-Inter), a member of the National Federation of Journalists (FENAJ), the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), the Union of Professional Journalists of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the Union of Writers of Rio de Janeiro, the Radio Broadcasters Union of Rio de Janeiro, the Brazilian Union of Composers (UBC), and the Academy of Letters of Central Brazil. He became an internationally recognized author in the defense of human rights and in his concepts of Ecumenical Citizenship and Ecumenical Spirituality, which, in his own words, represent “the cradle of the most generous values that are born of the Soul, the dwelling of emotions and of reasoning enlightened by intuition; the atmosphere that embraces everything that transcends the ordinary field of matter and comes from elevated human sensitivity, such as Truth, Justice, Mercy, Ethics, Honesty, Generosity, and Fraternal Love. In short, the mathematical constant that harmonizes the equation of spiritual, moral, mental, and human existence. Now, without the understanding that we exist on two planes―not only on the physical plane―it will be difficult to build a Society that is truly Ecumenical, Altruistic, and Solidary, since we would still be ignoring that the knowledge of Superior Spirituality elevates the character of creatures and, consequently, leads to the construction of the Planetary Citizenship.”