Bibliographic NewsAn angel from heavens on Earth
[1]Here the report given at the Parisian Society of Spiritist Studies by our lawyer colleague, Mr. Feyteau:
“With that title Mr. Benjamin Mossé wrote a book full of poetry in which charity is progressively taught by the most touching, from a doble point of view. The subject of this little poem in prose begins in heavens, develops on Earth and ends in heavens, where it started. The angels, the archangels, the seraphims, the ofanins and all sacred creatures, in Mr. Mossé’s expression, are together and sing praises to the Almighty that gathered them to assign them with the mission of walking among the earthly souls to lead them to good, incessantly deviating their earthly apetites and passions.
The purest of these angels was the only one to stay after all others left. It is Zadécia. Prostated before the feet of the throne of the Eternal she begs for the personal favor of one exception to the general rule imposed to the brothers. She said: - Lord, hear my prayer before I obey your voice! I shall descend to Earth, according to your will. I preclude myself from the happiness that inundates us, by your commandment; I will talk about it to the inhabitants of the inferior dwelling; I shall inspire in them hope to sustain them in their painful journey. But allow me the grace that I implore! Allow me, oh God, to never forget your pleasantries. Never allow the envelope that will cover me to be an obstacle to my elevations to you! May I always be in control of myself and that nothing impure may alter my nobility! Allow me, my Lord, not to be long away from my blessed dwelling! May I promptly accomplish my mission; warm up a generous heart with my own flame; captivate a heart already blessed by your hands; my love elevate, complement, and perfect his virtues so that he can receive my inspirations, accept my message and become a consolation and a light to humanity; may I be able to, oh my God, to return to my celestial home, proud for leaving on Earth an honorable continuator of my mission, driven by and worshiping my image, always coming to me to find the strength necessary to continue his work, always finding the encouragement of my love for its accomplishment, up until the time when your will brings him back to my arms, and by the feet of your throne receive your eternal blessings.”
- I receive your prayer, oh my daughter! Go to fearlessly deliver the treasures of your flame to mankind. The fire that drives you shall lose nothing of its holiness on Earth, where you stay shall be short, where a worthy soul has already taken the terrestrial envelope to accomplish the great mission that you wish to entrust him with. With enthusiasm and purity he shall find nobility in your love. He shall be sanctified by your presence and by the links that will bond him to your immortal destiny. In that union, which I bless in anticipation, that soul will find the mission that will be her recovery, like it will be yours as well. You will then return to these supreme regions from which you shall wake for your beloved husband on Earth that will become your beloved husband in heavens, when your mission is over.
Following these words Zadecia came down from the infinite dwellings to the heart of mankind; she kissed the head of the boy that later on she would attract to her in marriage; then, submitting herself to the necessary conditions of life on Earth, she was involved in a material form in which her beauty should shine, blossoming her virtues and charms.
It is in these particularly blessed conditions that Zadecia’s soul starts its mission whose first phase is the incarnation in a being painfully delivered by a young and generous mother. In the second phase of her mission she is an angel of innocence and her beauty, irradiating like a divine emanation, purifies everything around her. In her third phase Zadecia is an angel of resignation and patience through which she endures physical sufferings. In the fourth she is an angel of mercy through the examples of charity and abnegation that she gives. In the fifth she is an angel of love through the mutual feelings of sympathy that she develops with the young Azariel. In the sixth she is the angel of marital love with Azariel. In the seventh she is the angel of maternal love. The eight phase is finally her return to heavens, leaving behing her husband and her daughter to continue her work of sanctification.”
Those multiple images certainly contain honorable examples and constitute attractive reading but the very much foreseen victory of Zadecia over all trials of her life subtracts the actual character of teaching since it can only result from the struggles of the fight. The condition of Zadecia when she leaves heavens, keeping the purity and virtuousness of the angels, makes her almost unnatractive, only changed by the interest brought up by the author in the form and expression of thoughts during her journey on Earth. Hence, after having read this book and given it the fair tribute of praise deserved by the style and harmonious work about the subject, one is forced to regret the fact that the author seems to be alien to the real principles of the nature of the Spirits, never giving any thought to the influence that they exert upon the diverse conditions of humanity, through the progressive improvement allowed by multiple incarnations.
A serious person has a natural concern. May the author probe the multiple lights of philosophy, the multiple facets of human life; may the author probe with the torch of religion the profound mysteries of death! The concern is to find the conclusion that may bring enlightenment about one’s true destiny, showing the path to follow. The path is not always the true path but each person follows the groove of the will, in the field of thoughts, according to the bad or good principles that were developed.
To some, preconceived ideas take the place of truths; they turn them into law, feeding interminable discussions to have it imposed; others have the pretension of translating God himself, interpreting and commenting them in as many ways and painful debates as bloodthirsty, burying the sacred texts of the divine word under their disputes.
Although Mr. Mossé’s book does not reveal the concern that we would like to see about the nature of the Spirits, it does not show either any of those that deny or combat it. We even say that it is closer than farther away and that a single step forward they would march shoulder to shoulder, for they tend to a common end: the practice of charity as a condition to a blessed life. It is therefore a good book that Spiritism must welcome as an ally that can become a brother.”
Feyteau, Lawyer
[1] By Benjamin Mossé, Rabi in Avignon – 1 vol., in-12; 3.5 francs. In Avignon, Bonnet & Sons
