Juliana Maria, the beggar
In the commune of Villate, near Nozai (Lower Loire) there was a poor woman called Juliana Maria, old, sick and living out of people’s charity. One day she fell on a swamp from where she was rescued by an inhabitant of the region, Mr. Aubert, who was used to help her. Once transported to her house she died soon after as a consequence of the accident. It was the general belief that she wanted to commit suicide. On the same day of her death Mr. Albert, Spiritist and medium, felt like a person surrounding him, without any explanation for that though. When he learned about Juliana Maria’s death he thought that perhaps her Spirit had come to visit him.
Following the advice of Mr. Cheminant, one of his friends and member of the Spiritist Society of Paris where he had reported the events, he evoked that woman with the objective of being useful to her. Before that, however, he requested the advice of his spiritual guides from whom he received the following answer:
You can and that will give you pleasure besides being useful to her the service that you intend to do. She is happy and entirely devoted to those that had pity on her. You are one of her good friends. She is always around you and frequently entertains with you unnoticeably. Sooner or later the work done shall be compensated either by the recipient or by those that were interested in the case, both before and after death. If the Spirit did not have time to recognize itself other sympathetic Spirits do that in its name, testifying the whole acknowledgement. That explains what you felt on the day of her death. Now she is the one helping you in the good you want to do. Remember Jesus’ words: …whoever humbles themselves will be exalted. You will have the measure of the services that she can do to you if, however, you only ask for her help to be useful to your neighbor.
Evocation:
-Good Juliana Maria, you are happy and that is all I wanted to know. That will not preclude me from thinking of you many times and never forget you in my prayers. A – Have trust in God; inspire a sincere faith on your patients and you will almost always succeed. Never think about the rewards that may come from that. It will go beyond your expectations. God always know how to compensate the merit of those that dedicate themselves to alleviate their fellow human beings and practice their actions with complete selflessness. Without that it is all delusion and fantasy. Before anything else one needs faith; on the contrary there is nothing. Remember this maxim and you shall be surprised by the results that will be obtained. The two mad persons that you healed are a proof of that. Given their circumstances the medicine alone would have failed. When you ask God to allow the good Spirits to cast upon you their good fluids, if that request does not make you feel an involuntary shiver it means that your prayer was not truthful enough to be heard; it will only be in the conditions I tell you. That is what you have experienced when you say from the bottom of your heart: Almighty God, Merciful God, God of infinite benevolence, hear my prayer and allow the good Spirits to assist me in the cure… have mercy on this person, my God, and give her health; without you I cannot do anything. Your will be done.
You did well by not neglecting the simple ones. The voice of the one that endured and suffered with resignation the miseries of this world is always heard and, as you see, a service done always receives its reward. Now a word about myself and that will confirm what was said above.
Spiritism explains to you my language as a Spirit. No need to enter into details about that. I also believe to be useless to give you details about my previous life. My situation on Earth when you met me must allow you to understand and appreciate my other existences which were not always irreproachable. Living a life of misery, sick and not being able to work I had to beg my entire life. I accumulated nothing and only had about one hundred francs that I kept for when my legs could no longer carry me. God judged my atonement and trial sufficient and put an end to that, freeing me without the suffering of earthly life, because I did not commit suicide as people initially thought. I fell thunderstruck by the border of the swamp at the time I addressed my last prayer to God. The slope in the terrain was the cause of having my body found in the water. I did not suffer; I am happy for having being able to accomplish my mission, without obstacles and with resignation. I became useful to the limits of my forces and means and avoided doing any harm to my neighbor. Today I receive the compensation for which I thank God, our divine Master that alleviates our bitterness in the very punishment imposed, allowing us to forget our previous existences in the present one and put on our way charitable souls to help and support the load of our previous errors. You also persevere and like myself, you will be compensated. I thank you for your good prayers on my behalf. I will never forget that. One day we will meet again and many things will be explained to you. At this point in time it would be superfluous. Know this that I am much devoted to you, I am many times by your side and whenever you need me to alleviate those in suffering.
The poor little woman Juliana Maria.
Being evoked at the Parisian Society on June 10th, 1864 by the medium Mrs. Patet, the Spirit Juliana Maria dictated the following communication:
“Thank you for the benevolence of admitting me in your session, dear President. You realized that my previous existences were in a more elevated social condition and if I returned to suffer the test of poverty it was to punish me from a hopeless pride that made me repeal whoever was poor and miserable. I then suffered the just penalty by the law of talion that turned me into the most horrible beggar of that region, and to demonstrate to me the benevolence of God, I was not rejected by anybody. That was my whole fear. I then withstood my trial without complaint, presenting a better life from where I would not have to return to this world of exile and calamity. What a joy the day in which our soul, still young, can enter the spiritual world to meet the loved ones again, because I also loved and I am happy for having met again those that preceded me. Thanks to this good Aubert. He opened to me the door of acknowledgement. Without his mediumship I could not have thanked him and demonstrated to him that the soul does not forget the happy influences upon the heart and recommend to him the propagation of this divine belief. He is called to redirect veered off souls. He rest assured of my help. Yes, I can help him a hundred times more than he helped me, instructing him on his good path. Praise the Lord for allowing the Spirits to give you instructions to give the poor encouragement in their punishments and stop the rich in their pride. Be aware of the shame that there is in repealing a miserable person. May I serve you as an example so as to avoid, like me, to have to atone such faults in these painful social positions in which you may be placed, turning you into the spoilage of society.”
Juliana Maria
OBSERVATION: This fact is full of teachings for anyone that gives some thought to the words of this Spirit in both messages. All great principles of Spiritism are gathered there. Since the first one the Spirit shows its superiority by the language; like a benevolent godmother she comes to protect the one that did not repeal her in her miserable rags. It is an application of this maxim from the Gospel: “the great will be humiliated and the simple exalted; blessed are the meek; blessed are the unfortunate because these will be consoled; do not neglect the little ones for one is little in this world may be greater than you think.” May those that deny reincarnation as contrary to God’s justice explain the position of that woman, destined to unhappiness since her birth by the diseases, if not through a previous life! After transmitting this communication to Mr. Aubert he, in turn, got the one that follows and that is confirmatory.
- Good Juliana Maria, considering that you really want to help me with your advices so as to make me advance on the path of our divine doctrine, kindly communicate with me. I will do my best to take the most out of your teachings.
- Remember the recommendation I am going to make to you and never stays away from that. Be always charitable to the limit of your possibilities; you understand charity enough such as the one that must be practiced in every position of the earthly life. Hence, there is no need for me to give you a teaching about it because you will be the judge of that following, however, the voice of your conscience that will never deceive you when heard with sincerity. Make no mistake about the missions that you have to accomplish on Earth; great and small have their own; mine was very painful but I deserved the punishment due to my preceding existences, as I came to confess to the President of the mother Society of Paris to whom you will all associate one day, and that day is not so far off as you think. Spiritism marches at gigantic strides despite everything that is done to stop it. March on, therefore, everyone without fear, eager believers in the doctrine, and your efforts will be crowned with success. Never mind what can be said about you. Stay above any insignificant criticism that will fall upon you from the adversaries of Spiritism. The proud! They believe to be strong and to abate you easily. You, good friends, remain calm and have no fear when facing them. They are easier to defeat than you think. Many among them are afraid and fear for the light to finally come and obfuscate their eyes. Wait. They will join in at the time of coronation of the edifice.
Juliana Maria
