In September 1864 we published an article with the above title in which it was demonstrated by authentic facts that there was no Pyrenees and that they even laughed at the “auto-de-fé”.
[1]Mr. Delanne’s letter published in our previous issue is a new proof of that. It shows the cure of an obsession obtained by the zeal and perseverance of some sincere and devout Spiritists from Barcelona. We got the detailed report of that cure that we thought to be our duty to have it published along with that letter that followed.
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Dear Sir and teacher,We were lucky to have among us our dear friend and brother in belief Mr. Delanne to whom we provided some news about our weak contributions as well as our efforts to bring relief to some poor patients that God brought to our hands. Among them there was a woman that was trapped by a terrible obsession for fifteen years and that God had her cured through us. We definitely did not want to mention her because we work quietly not attributing any merit to ourselves. Nonetheless, Mr. Delanne convinced us that the report of such a cure would certainly give encouragement to other believers that, like ourselves, are devoted to this work of charity and for that matter we had no hesitation in bringing that to your attention. Blessed be the hand of the Lord that allows us to taste the flavor of the fruit of our works, rewarding us still here on Earth. During the Easter Holidays several sermons were given against Spiritism from which there was one that stuck out for the absurd. The preacher asked the followers if they would be happy if they knew that the souls of their relatives were reborn in the bodies of a cow, a donkey, a pig or any other animal. That is Spiritism, he said, my dear brothers; it is perfect for the lighthearted spirit of the French but not to you, the Spanish, too serious to believe in such a thing.Yours sincerely,JMF ”
Rose N... married in 1850, was affected by spasmodic fits just after the wedding that repeated many times and more violently up until the time that she got pregnant. She felt nothing during pregnancy, but the fits returned after she gave birth. The episodes would sometimes last for three or four hours during which she would do all sorts of strange things, requiring three or four persons to control her. Some of the doctors invited to attend her said that it was a nervous disease; others that it was madness. The same phenomenon took place in every pregnancy, stopping during the period and starting again after delivery. It was all the same for years. The poor husband was tired of consulting with multiple people and applying all sorts of medicine that never worked. The courageous family was at the limit of their patience and resources for the poor woman would remain ill for months, not being able to attend her domestic chores. Sometimes she felt better giving the impression that she was cured but after a few weeks of break the illness would return even more painfully.Some people convinced them that such a terrible disease was the works of the devil, resourcing to exorcisms and taking her to a sanctuary place located twenty leagues[2] away, from where she returned apparently tranquil. A few days later, however, the problem returned with renewed intensity. She then went to a small church where she stayed for four months during which she felt so good that people considered her cured. She returned to her happy family that thought her to be free from the cruel disease. A few weeks later, however, their hopes vanished. The episodes returned with increased energy. Husband and wife were desperate.We heard about this case from one of our friends and brothers in faith in 1864, asking us to try to help alleviate or perhaps cure the poor woman since he believed it to be an obsession of the worst kind. The patient was undergoing a magnetic treatment that had given her some relief but the magnetizer, although Spiritist, had no means of evoking the obsessing Spirit due to the lack of mediums and, despite his wishes, he could not produce the desired effect. We gladly accepted the opportunity of doing a good deed, gathered a number of sincere followers and sent for the patient.Only a few minutes were enough to recognize the cause of Rosa’s illness. It was, in fact, one of the worst kind of obsession. It was very hard to have the obsessing Spirit attending our call. He was very violent, responded with some meaningless words and furiously attacked his victim, provoking a violent crisis that was soon appeased by the magnetizer.In the second session, a few days later, we were able to keep the obsessing Spirit longer that nonetheless was always relentless and cruel toward his victim. The third evocation was better; the Spirit talked to us in an amicable tone. We made him see all the harm he was causing to the poor woman, but he did not want to acknowledge his mistake, saying that he was forcing her to pay an old debt. In the fourth evocation we prayed with us and said he was sorry to have been brought to us against his will. He would rather have come on his own. That is what he did in the following session. Gradually and at each new evocation we developed an ascendency upon him, being then able to have him renouncing to his bad actions, something that was already happening since the fourth session. We were then glad to see that her episodes stopped at the ninth session. A magnetization process of about 12-15min used to totally appease Rose, making her thoroughly tranquil. For nine months now, since August, the patient has not presented any symptom and there was no interruption in her normal daily activity. From time to time, though, she was helplessly shaken as a result of some upsetting situations, but those were like lightning strikes without a storm; they demonstrated to her, in practice, that she should not move away from her commitments with God and her fellow human beings. It must also be said that she gave a powerful contribution to her own cure by her faith, eagerness and trust in God, and by restraining her naturally impulsive character. All that contributed to give the obsessing Spirit control upon himself, since he needed that in order to definitely change; he was afraid of the atonement that he would have to endure to deserve forgiveness. Thank God, however, and with the powerful support of the good spiritual guides, he is now in the good path and does whatever it takes to be forgiven. Today he gives good advices to the very one that he persecuted for such a long time, a person that today is robust and joyful, as if she had never suffered anything. Yet, every week she comes to a magnetization and from time to time we evoke her former persecutor, to reinforce his good resolutions. Here is his last communication given in April 1865: “I am here. I come to thank you for your perseverance in my case. Without you and without these good and benevolent Spirits present here I would have never found the happiness that I feel now; I would still be dragged by bad things, in my misery; yes, misery, since one cannot be more unfortunate than I was; always doing and willing to do harm! How many times have I told you that I was not suffering? It is only now that I can see how much I suffered. Even now I still suffer the consequences of all that, but not as before; today it is regret and not the need to do evil things. No, no! May the God of goodness keep me from that and that I have the strength to not fall in disgrace again. No more those tortures, the acidic feelings that provide no resting place to the soul. That is what hell is about, it is with the evil one, like I was. I did evil things out of resentment, vengeance and ambition. What did I take from that? Oh! I was repelled by the good Spirits that I could not understand when they approached me; I heard their voices, but I was not allowed to see them. Today, thank God, I can see and that is why I experience such good feelings that I had never had before, because even if I suffer a lot I can foresee the future and I withstand my sufferings with patience and resignation, begging for God’s forgiveness and the assistance of the good Spirits to the one that I chased for such a long time. May she forgive me. There will be a time, perhaps soon, that I will be able to useful to her. I finish by thanking your and asking you to persist on your prayers for me and on the good friendship that you showed, forgiving me for all the trouble. Thank you, thank you! I cannot thank you enough for my recognition and all the good you did to me. Pray to God to forgive me and to the good Spirits to stay with me, giving me strength.So long, Pedro.After that communication we received the following from our spiritual guides:The process of cure is over. Thank God for the honor of having your prayers heard and for using your service to convert a bloodthirsty enemy into a friend, because, rest assured, one day that Spirit will do everything in his power to help the poor family that he tormented for so long. But you, my children, do not abandon the persecutor or his prey. Both still need your assistance; one to remain in the good path that has been found and that will have his courage reinforced by the evocation; the other to completely dissipate the bad fluids that involved her for such a long time; from time to time have her going through magnetization sessions (John, it is about “magnetic pass”) without which she would still fall under the influence of other malevolent Spirits that are unfortunately abundant, as you know. Courage! Finish that and be prepared for the next ones that are still reserved to you. Be strong! Your task is hard, it is true, but if you work hard there will be great compensation to you!Your guides.-o-
Just the report of more or less interesting facts is not enough. We need to take a lesson from them otherwise they are useless. It is true the facts that Spiritism becomes a science and a doctrine; but if we had stopped at the observation and registration we would not be more advanced than we were on day one. In Spiritism, as with every science, there is always something to learn; it is then by the observation, by the study and deduction of the facts that one may learn. That is why, when there is a call, we follow the facts with some suggested reflections from our side that either may confirm a known principle or serve to support a new one. It is, in our opinion, a means of attracting the attention of serious persons.
A first observation to make about the letter above is that like in the case of those that understand the doctrine in its purity, its followers make abstraction of any self-love; they make no exhibition or do not seek celebrity; they do good without ostentation and without bragging about the cures that are obtained because they know that they do not come from their own talent or personal merit and that such a favor may be subtracted by God at will; it is not reputation or clientele that they are after. They find compensation in the satisfaction of having relieved a sufferer and not in the vanity of men’s approval. It is a means of reconciling the support of the good Spirits that leave pride to the proud ones.
The cases of cure like the ones here, like those of Marmande and others with no less merit, are undoubtedly an encouragement; they are also excellent practical lessons showing the kind of results that can be achieved by faith, perseverance and by a wise and intelligent direction. However, something that is not less of a teaching is the example of modesty, humility and total material and moral selflessness. Such wonderful results are found in centers that are governed by those feelings because there one is truly strong against bad Spirits. It is not less notable the fact that when proud finds room in those places and when good is not done exclusively for the good and when personal satisfaction of self-love is found there, then force declines.
It is equally remarkable the fact that the majority of serious followers are made in those really serious centers because the new comers are touched by the good impression that they have, whereas in the frivolous and lighthearted centers one is only attracted by a not always satisfied curiosity. The good done to the incarnate as well as the discarnate means the understanding of the true objective of the doctrine. It is not much fun to certain persons, we realize, but it is more meritorious to those that are devoted to that. We therefore gladly see the multiplication of centers that are dedicated to such useful works. There people learn while doing service and there is no lack of material for study. These are the strongest supports of the doctrine.
Isn’t that a characteristic fact when we see in both ends of Europe, Russia in the north and Spain in the south, Spiritist meetings animated by the same desire of doing good, and a charitable feeling towards their fellow human beings? Isn’t that an indication of the irresistible moral strength of the doctrine that overcomes every obstacle and knows no barrier? In fact one must really lack any real point to combat the doctrine in order to appeal to the kind of argument employed by the preacher of Barcelona mentioned above; it would be a lack of time to refute them; one can only feel sorry for those that are led by such aberrations that only demonstrate the blindest ignorance or the most remarkable bad faith. But that still calls for an important teaching. Suppose that Mrs. Rose had believed in the statements of the preacher and had repelled Spiritism. What would have happened? She would not have been cured; she would have fallen in misery since she could not have continued to work; she and her husband could have bad mouthed God whereas now they praise him, and the bad Spirit would not have converted to good. From a theological point of view Spiritism saved three souls that would otherwise have been allowed to go lost by the preacher.
From the initial symptoms is understandable that science could have gone wrong because it had all the features of a pathological case. However, it wasn’t any of that. It was only Spiritism that could have found the true cause and the proof of that is that science was powerless with its medication for many years whereas Spiritism was successful without medicine in a few days only through the moralization of the perverse creature that was behind it all.
The fact is out there together with thousands of similar other facts. What do the unbelievers say about it? It is chance, it is the force of nature; the patient was to be cured. How about certain preaches? We say “certain preaches” on purpose because not all of them share the same thoughts. The woman was cured by the devil, they would say, and it would have been better to her soul if she had remained sick. Mrs. Rose does not share that opinion. Since she thanks God for her salvation and not the devil, she prays and do good deeds, she absolutely does not believe that her salvation is compromised. Besides, she prefers to have been cured and been able to work to feed her children than seen them die of hunger. In our opinion God is the source of all good.
But if the devil is the true actor in all cases of obsession that how come exorcism is so powerless against it? It is a positive fact that not only exorcism has always failed in similar situations but also that there is a recrudescence of the problem after ceremonies of such a kind. Morzine offered memorable examples of that. Is then the devil more powerful than God since it overcomes God’s ministers with their offerings of sacred things? Who do the Spiritists invoke then? Whose support they request? God’s. But why do they succeed with the same assistance when the others fail? Here the reasons:
To begin with having the obsessing Spirit back to the good side, and consequently the cure of the patient, a material fact, demonstrates that it is not about the devil but a bad Spirit susceptible of improving. Second, in the exorcism they are only offered words and material signs believed to carry virtues by faith, but that are not taken into account by the Spirit. They irritate, curse and threaten the Spirit with the eternal flames of hell; they want to dominate the Spirit by force and since he is unreachable he laughs and wants to prove that he is stronger. Through Spiritism we reach out to the Spirit with kindness; we try to make the cord of feelings vibrate inside that soul; we offer the mercy of God; we help the Spirit to foresee hope and very kindly lead him to good. That is the whole secret.
The fact above presents a particular case, that is the suspension of the crises during pregnancy. Where does it come from? Have science explaining that, if possible. Here is the explanation given by Spiritism:
The disease was neither madness nor a nervous illness. The cure is a proof of that. It was an obsession, no doubt. The obsessing Spirit was acting out of vengeance. God allowed that to serve as an atonement and test to the mother, and also that later on her own cure would lead the Spirit to improve. But the crisis could harm the child during pregnancy. God wanted the mother to be punished for her wrong doing but not the innocent child that she was carrying. That is why any persecution was withdrawn during that time.
The things that Spiritism explains to those that want to observe and study! How many horizons to be opened to science when science takes into account the spiritual element! How far from understanding it are those that only see curious manifestations in that element!
[1] Ritual of public penance of condemned heretics and apostates by the inquisition in Europe (TN)
[2] About 60 miles (TN)
