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Love Is the Found Link

Love is the supreme definition of Divinity. It is the missing link that creatures seek in the immensity of scientific study, which, in order to make faster progress in the social sphere, has to join with non-fanatical Faith to find this link. For...

A Word of Encouragement

Even though the world has been facing fierce struggles, let us trust in the future. Let us pave the way for the next generations and put our Hope in humanity, which insists on surviving some crazy and greedy people who have influenced the destiny of...

Spinoza, Lao Tzu, and the Divine Nature of Matter

In my article “Science and Faith on the Path to Equilibrium,” I mentioned Baruch Spinoza (1632-1677), the author of a wide-ranging metaphysical system that influenced and still influences great thinkers. “I do not know why it...

Spirituality

There Is No Messing Around With God

Source: Reflection of Goodwill taken from the book “Jesus, a Dor e a origem de Sua Autoridade — O Poder do Cristo em nós” [Jesus, the Pain and Origin of His Authority — The Power of Christ Within Us], November 2014. | Updated in May 2018.

When faced by adversity, some people say: “God does not exist because something bad happened to me!”

But what about the good things that happen to others every minute of the day and that once happened to you as well? What about the good things that will happen to you? People who complain sometimes selfishly forget that although they are suffering at that moment―but have already had lots of happy moments―many people at that very moment are joyfully rejoicing. Nevertheless, as I stated in my book Sabedoria de Vida [Wisdom of Life] (2001), God is the Divine Compassion that enlightens intransigent pessimists.

NASA, ESA, R. O'Connell, F. Paresce, E. Young, WFC3 Comitê

In fact, by this reasoning we do not wish to disdain the anguish of anyone who may be lamenting a lifetime of suffering. Instead, we work to alleviate the ordeal of these dear spiritual and human beings by presenting them with the supreme example of Christ, who, being the Heavenly Father’s  Beloved Son, suffered the martyrdom of a world that is, until today, savage. He made Light, Power, and Authority shine even brighter in this world, not for Himself, I repeat, but for His brothers and sisters.

However, a gigantic step towards personal fulfilment is being able to free ourselves from exaggerated selfishness, which does not allow us to recognize a strong impulse for sustaining our Soul in the contentment of others.

In Como Vencer o Sofrimento [How to Overcome Suffering] (1990) I advised: If you want to diminish your pain, help those who suffer.

Tela: James Tissot (1836-1902)

   

In my article “Calming the Storm,” which was published in 2013 in several newspapers and on many websites, I wrote: Faced with a wide variety of situations, in which pain and suffering afflict us, often without warning, a gesture of solidarity is essential when providing spiritual and material help for others. Alongside this immediate support, we need to nurture the strength of hope and of Accomplishing Faith, which drive human beings to remain under the protection of the Heavenly Father and encourage them to roll up their sleeves and turn their fair supplications into a reality.

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Emily Dickinson

These beautiful words by American poet Emily Dickinson (1830-1886) are very appropriate:

“If I can stop one heart from breaking,

I shall not live in vain;

If I can ease one life the aching,

Or cool one pain,

Or help one fainting robin

Unto his nest again,

I shall not live in vain.”

Therefore, it is time to stop blaming God—decisively—for our reckless and foolish behavior, among which is destroying our collective dwelling while we engage in a byzantine discussion as to “how many angels can dance on the head of a pin.”

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.”