Past Causes of Afflictions

6. Although there are misfortunes in this life caused by Man himself, there are also others
which seem to be completely strange to him and which touch him like fate. For example: the loss of
a loved one or the bread winner of a family; accidents which no amount of foresight could have
prevented; reverses in fortune which precautions and judicial counselling could not avoid; natural disasters; infirmities from birth, specially those which make work or the earning of a livelihood impossible, such as deformities, insanity, idiocy, etc.
Those who are born with restricting conditions like those mentioned, have done nothing in
their present life to deserve such a sad fate, which they could not avoid and are totally impotent to
change, which leaves them at the mercy of public commiseration. Why then are there these
unhappy beings, when beside them, under the same roof, in the same family, are others who have
been blessed in every way? In short, what can be said of children who die at a tender age and who,
during their short life, knew only suffering? These are problems which as yet no philosophy has
been able to find a solution for, anomalies which no religion has been able to justify and which
appear to be a contradiction of goodness, justice and God's Divine Providence. If the hypothesis of
the soul being created at the same time as the body and that of destiny being irrevocably determined
after but a few instants upon Earth were to be verified, this would indeed be the case. If these
creatures had just left the hands of the Creator, what had caused them to come into the world to
face such misery? How could they have received any recompense or punishment seeing that they
had been unable to practice either good or bad?
Nevertheless, by virtue of the axiom according to which every effect has a cause, these
miseries are effects which have to have a cause, and if we admit that God is just, then that cause
must also be just. Therefore as an effect is always preceded by a cause, and if that cause is not to
be found in the present life, then it follows it must come from before this life, that is to say from a
preceding life. On the other hand, God, being unable to punish goodness that has been done or
badness that has not been done, it follows that if we are being punished then wrong must have been
committed. If that wrong is not of the present life then it must come from a past existence. This is
an alternative that no one can avoid and where logic determines on which side God's justice lies.
Man is not always punished or completely punished in the present life, but he cannot escape
the consequences of his faults indefinitely. The prospering of badness or evil is but temporary, for
if he does not atone today then he will atone tomorrow. Likewise, he who suffers is atoning for his
past. Misfortunes which appear at first sight to be undeserved have their reason to be. Those who
find themselves in a state of suffering may always say: "Lord forgive me, for I have sinned."

7. Sufferings due to causes prior to the present existence, as well as those which originate
from present causes, are frequently the consequences of errors which have been committed. That is
to say through the action of a rigorously distributive justice, we come to suffer what we have made
others suffer. If we have been hard and inhumane we may be treated with harshness and
inhumanity; if we were too full of pride we may be born in humble circumstances; if we have been
miserly, selfish or made bad use of our riches
 

BLESSED ARE THE AFFLICTED

we may find ourselves deprived of the necessary means of survival; if we have been a bad son or
daughter we may suffer from the behaviour of our children.
It is only through the plurality of existences and the destiny of the planet as a world of
atonement, which it now is, that we can explain the abnormalities in the distribution of happiness or
unhappiness amongst good and bad alike. Nevertheless, these abnormalities exist only in
appearance, due to the fact that they are considered solely from the point of view of the present. If
we elevate ourselves, by means of thought, in such a way as to see a succession of existences, we
will perceive that to each one is given what is deserved, after taking into consideration that which
was gained in the spiritual world. Only then does it become apparent that God's justice is
uninterrupted.
Man must never forget that he finds himself in an inferior world to which he is confined,
due exclusively to his imperfections. Each time he suffers a vicissitude he must remember that if he
belonged to a more advanced world these things would not happen, and that it depends on himself
alone to see that he never returns to this world, by working harder to improve himself.
8. Tribulations may be imposed on Spirits who are ignorant or who have become hardened,
in order to induce them to make a choice with knowledge of what they are doing. Repentant Spirits
who wish to repay the evil they have committed and who desire to behave better, are free to make
their own choice. Such was the understanding of one Spirit who, after having failed to complete a
task, asked to be allowed to repeat it so as not to lose the benefit of his work. Therefore tribulations
are at the same time atonements for the past, for which we receive the deserved retribution, and
also tests relating to the future, which we are preparing. We offer thanks to God who, in His
goodness, helps Man to repay his debts and does not irrevocably condemn the first fault.
9. It is not to be thought, however, that all suffering in this world denotes the existence of a
determined shortcoming. Many times it is simply an ordeal requested by the Spirit, which will help
it towards purification and active progress. So atonement is always a test, but a test is not always an
atonement. Tests and atonements though, are always signs of a relative inferiority, as that which is
perfect needs no testing. Nevertheless, it is possible that a Spirit, having reached a certain degree of
elevation and being desirous of further progress, may request a mission or task to perform by
means of which he or she will be more or less compensated, depending on whether or not they are
victorious, and according to the difficulty of the requested test. These then are those people who
have naturally good instincts, whose souls are elevated and who possess inborn sentiments. They
apparently bring nothing from their past existences and who despite great torments, suffer with true
Christian resignation, asking only that God help them to support their trials without complaining.
On the other hand, we may consider as atonements those afflictions which provoke complaint and
which cause revolt against God. Beyond doubt the suffering which does not provoke complaint can also be considered as atonement. But this indicates it was voluntarily sought rather than imposed. This constitutes a test of our strength of resolution, which in itself is a sign of progress.

10. Spirits cannot aspire to complete happiness till they have become pure. Any kind of
stain prohibits entrance into the blissful worlds. It is like the passengers on a plagued ship who find
themselves prohibited from entering port until they have undergone a cleansing. The imperfections
of Spirits are slowly overcome by means of various corporeal lives. The tribulations of life, when
well supported, help them towards progress. They erase faults and find purification by means of
atonement, which is the remedy which cleanses the sores and heals the sick. The more grave the
illness, the more energetic must be the remedy. Therefore, those who suffer greatly must realise
that they have most to atone for, and should rejoice in the proximity of the cure. It will depend on
each one to take every advantage from suffering, by being resigned and not spoiling things with
impatience, seeing that, if that be the case, they will then have to begin all over again.

 

(The Gospel According Spiritism, Chapter 5, 6-10)

Balance

Remains balanced at all costs, for do not be needed pay the price of guilt
Do not turn on the one who will be the evil example
Be discreet and learn to overcome
Step over small problems and mishaps with dignity

To surpass the great challenges of life with honesty
You can do what you want
Resolve yourself once for all, as a Christian

Do not allow on you what you criticizes on others  

Without excuses or using unhappy measures

Whereby you wait from your brother what you can not be yet. 

 Joanna de Ângelis

God

I spent so much time looking for you
I did not know where you were, looking at the infinity,
I could not see you
And I thought to myself, do you really exist?
I was not satisfied and I continued the search
I tried to find you in religions and temples
You also were not there
I searched between the priests and pastors
and I also didn't find you
I felt lonely, empty, desperate I lost my faith
And I offended you in my disbelief

And on the offence I stumbled
And with the fall I felt weak
In my weakness I looked for help
In my distress I found friends
On my friends I found kindness

On the kindness I saw the born of love
With love I saw a new world
And in the new world I decided to live
What I received I decided to donate
Donating something I received back much more
And for receive I found myself happy
And being happy I found peace
And having peace was that I saw
That was inside of me that you were
And without looking for you
I found you

(Chico Xavier)