Spiritist Society Towards the Light

The Spirit of Christmas

December 22, 2017

 

Today I would like to share three Christmas messages.

 

• The first is a message about Christmastime from a very high Spirit, Arnel, who spoke through Reverend George Vale Owen in 1919 on Christmas Eve.

 

• The second is a Christmas story written in 1949 by Bob Considine and published in Collier’s weekly at Christmastime.

 

• The third is a Christmas message from Divaldo Franco through the spirit Joanna de Anglis.

 

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First Christmas Message - Our Collective Forces Increase at Christmastime

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The first Christmas message for tonight was sent on Christmas Eve in 1919 in Orford, Warrington, England by the Spirit Arnel through Reverend George Vale Owen. Before we get to the message I would like to introduce you to Reverend Owen.  In the midst of my research for tonight’s topic this was the first time I had ever heard his name. He lived after Allan Kardec in the late 1800’s and before Chico Xavier in the 1930’s. But his messages and writing very much align with the messages received by Kardec and later Chico.

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Reverend Owen’s mother died in 1909.  Reverend Owen started receiving messages from his Mother in 1913, and a spirit named Astriel. The messages were about what the Spirit Life was like on the plane closest to Earth. The Reverend was a pastor of a Protestant Church in England. He would receive the messages through automatic writing between 6:30-8:00 PM every evening in the church.

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In 1914 the messages from his Mother stopped and he started receiving messages from another spirit named Zabdiel about Spirit life in higher realms of the spirit world. Then later he received messages from even higher realms through the spirit Arnel, an inhabitant of Sphere Ten of the Spirit world. Reverend George Vale Own produced collections of these messages in a book titled “Life Beyond the Veil”.

 

Rev. Owen took no money for his books and writings, even though he was quite poor on a Pastor’s salary. He said he could not take any money. He had been well paid by the publicity given him, and by being able to carry out the sacred duty of placing his revelations before the world.

 

His church quiet time for his automatic writing became not so quiet with so many people coming to see him all the time. He had to retreat to a back room to receive his message.

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In 1922 the Church authorities forced him out of his parish since he seemed to be becoming ½ Spiritualist and ½ Protestant. Upon leaving his Church position George’s financial resources became severely depleted. But George had an ardent admirer in the author of the Sherlock Holmes stories, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle who organized a collection for him. This resulted in a trust fund that provided financial support for Owen during the rest of his life.

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He later became the pastor of a Spiritualist Congregation in London. George was the most famous spiritualist of his day.

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On Christmas Eve in 1919 during one of George’s automatic writing sessions, the Spirit Arnel spoke about the tremendous forces that gather during the Christmas season between the earth-sphere and the spirit-life.

 

Throughout the rest of the year there is also interaction occurring, but in varying intensities at different times. The intensity depends on the amount of power and force that is generated through our directed prayers, meditations, devotions, sentiments, collective thoughts, shared wishes and desires that hover all around the earth.

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At Christmastime, our collective forces are very great and this enables the spirit world to respond in kind. There actually becomes a blending of forces from both worlds as the two streams meet with our thoughts and feelings radiating from our minds and streaming out their contents in all directions. These vibrations are picked up in the various levels of heaven’s spheres and by others around us on the earth plane. These forces penetrate the earth and fly to all corners of the galaxy. On earth these thoughts and feelings are usually not detected by most people, but the vibrations still influence our feelings.

 

During Christmas time, many ask Jesus, God, and spirits for specific favors and wishes for others. Additionally, during the holidays people generally feel happier. We enjoy giving that expresses our love and devotion to our family and friends.

 

All of this is swirling around the earth during this holiday season, passing through the delicate filters of our mind. We may not consciously detect it, but we feel a certain sense, a sentiment. As all of this invades our being, we respond and add to it creating a continuous loop between the earth-sphere and the spirit-world, generating even more goodwill, good cheer and happiness. Our prayers and goodwill are more than simple individual prayers, they become part of an atmosphere that is ever expanding and exploding with even more and more wonderfulness.

 

The Spirit Arnel said that these combining forces reach even higher levels of the spirit realm around Christmas, and then these are reflected back to us with an even great passion, producing an even higher pitch of devotion and inspiring people everywhere to be of service to others.

 

The spirit realm is like any good teacher reinforcing the positive. So, when our collective mindset demonstrates positive and constructive feelings --- it becomes like a boomerang and gets sent back to us from the spirit world, an invisible force shining back upon us and flooding our earth environment with the gift of serenity and good cheer.

 

Many people wish the aura of Christmas could last throughout the entire year. Actually, it could. We just need to learn how to constantly and continually generate those feelings of love, charity, and kindness each and every day…..not just saving those feelings for special occasions.

 

Arnel explains how Christ chooses to reveal himself especially at Christmas: “At this holy time he comes as Christ the Child, and is in many spheres manifesting at the same time, all at once. He has that power.  When we come together for worship at Christmas time, on earth and in the spirit-life, Jesus becomes visible in such assemblies of people, on Christmas Eve, on Christmas Day, and throughout the whole Christmas season. May people will be wooed from the earth-life during their sleep, and a few while awake. People will be taken to the appropriate sphere of heaven that matches their degree of spirituality. Discarnate spirits will join the people from earth to worship Christ. All will ponder upon his magnificence, a spirit so powerful, but who at one time was simply a humble ignorant soul. But after eons of learning and training Christ became so noble, so loving, and so caring for all of us. We are truly blessed.”

 

 

Second Christmas Message -- Well, A Little More Time...

 

He had grown a bit older through the nearly through nearly 2,000 years. And He had been working too hard. The phones had been going night and day, for centuries, and there were millions of newcomers He hadn't been able to meet as yet.

 

His mother, of course, was the first to notice the few gray hairs around His temples. Quietly, but firmly, she suggested that He get away for a spell, and just before His birthday He decided it might be a pretty good suggestion, at that.

 

He went to the window of His study one clear night and looked things over, trying to pick a vacation spot. There were more than 30,000,000,000 worlds to tempt Him. All these, of the countless billions more, had passed through the trying years of war and want and had settled down to a point where peace had become an estate much more exciting to their peoples than war. He mulled over which of them He would visit, for He had not been to any of them for a time.

 

But then a distant memory stirred itself and, searching the enormous oval of the littered sky. He found a tiny, luminous cinder amid an obscure constellation. And after a bit He remembered its name: Earth. When He announced that He had chosen that forgotten place for His vacation. His mother was a bit vexed. "The hotel situation is bad there," she reminded him. "Don't you remember we had some trouble getting reservations?" He laughed a little, in His kindly way, and assured her that nearly 2,000 years can make a lot of changes in man's hostility to man.

 

She walked away, wondering, and pretty soon Michael, an enormous archangel, with a handsome face and the wingspread of a B-29, came up to Him and sat down. "I heard you're going on a trip," Michael the Archangel said. "I'll drive you down. And get you back in a jiffy." "No, thanks, Michael," He said. "I'll get down all right. And besides, I've been wanting to try some of the transportation down there. Primitive, isn't it?"

 

And so, on the morning before Christmas, He arrived in New York City, bought some new clothes, took a look around the town, then caught an air liner. He got off at a fashionable winter resort and applied for a room at a nice hotel. The man behind the desk looked Him over carefully and shook his head. All booked, the man said.

 

At the next hotel, the desk clerk said the same thing, and at the next and the next. But the doorman of the last place seemed to take a little pity on Him and suggested that He inquire at a place where a lot of young men, bachelors, mainly, seemed to stay. They were nice to Him there, especially the lady in charge. She said that the town's hostesses and host had just about emptied her place looking for extra men to fill in at the numerous holiday parties being held. And would He please tidy up in a hurry?

 

He did, and was happy when the lady in charge said He too had been invited to a party. It would give Him a chance, he felt, to get to know the descendants of those for whom He had undergone certain hardships.

 

It was a grand party, and He found it stimulating. Nobody caught His name, but He passed that off as one of the idiosyncrasies of this odd little planet. The talk was fine: certain political events had bestirred the men; certain fashion events, the women. He joined in and found it rather easy to hold His own, for people had talked much like that when He was around the last time.

 

Everybody at the party loved His fairness and easy wit. Everything would have gone nicely. He supposed later, if the talk had not turned to "Where are you from?" They were from an interesting variety of places, He found; places that had sprung up during the split second of the last two or three centuries. He was charmed by the pride they held in their home towns, their schools, their clubs, and the like. Then just before the party was to move on to an exclusive Club for dinner.

 

He realized that somebody was asking Him the question. "I was born in Bethlehem," He said. "It's a small place." "Bethlehem?" His host repeated. "Been there many times, when I was in steel. Fine town!" "Then we moved on to a town named Nazareth, and finally to Jerusalem."

 

He didn't notice, for a moment, that a heavy silence had fallen on the room. The host was the first to recover, boomed for another round of drinks for the other guests, and then took the Stranger by the arm and escorted Him to a quiet corner of the living room. "Don't mean to be personal, old man," he said "but you say you were born in Bethlehem... moved to Nazareth … then Jerusalem?"

 

"Yes," He said wonderingly. "What's your profession?" He thought a bit, then smiled. "I was a carpenter for a time. Then I sort of went on the road, as you say." "Salesman?" He thought that over for a time. "Yes, in a way." "We thought you were a writer, from the beard . . ." He shook His head. "No, I never got around to that. But I used to talk now and then."

 

The host thought things oyer for a long time. "Well," he said, finally, "I hope you won't be offended by this, but we've got to face facts here. Are you Jewish?" "Yes." He smiled. The host wheezed again. "Facts," he said, "have to be faced. We were counting on you being an extra man at the dinner at the Club we are going to. But, I'm sorry, it can't be done. There's a rule about not allowing any people of the Jewish faith in the club? Don't blame me, I didn't make it. It's just a rule. If I bring you, and they find it out that you are Jewish, I'll be asked to resign from the club. It's the oldest and best club around here, and we've got to live here, see? I hope you understand."

 

"Understand? Why, yes, I guess I do. You've already been quite kind to me .., "

 

"Not at all. Not at all. You're interesting. I like your manner. But this is one of those things I can't buck." The host's wife hovered behind them. "We're late, Horace," she reminded him. "You know how they are about holding tables, especially on Christmas Eve."

 

The guests crowded out on the curb in happy confusion and piled into their convertibles and the chauffeur-driven cars. The sweet sound of racing motors filled the soft night. The host stayed behind, momentarily, and put his arm around the Visitor's shoulders. "No hard feelings?" the man asked. "No hard feelings," He answered warmly. "Well... I got to get along. Nice of you to drop in."

 

The host stepped into his own convertible and roared off. The Stranger stood for a moment on the curb of the now-darkened street. The air was tender in the palms, and it reminded Him vaguely of the palms He had known as a Child, and the palms He had known for one brief Sunday as a Man.

 

He thought for a long time, reflectively. Well, a little more time . . . Then He chuckled a bit—or was it a sigh? —and clapped on His new hat. Then He looked up at the star-studded night and cupped His hands around His sensitive mouth. "Michael!" He shouted at the top of His lungs. "Oh, Michael!"

 

Third Christmas Message - Let's Remember

The third Christmas message tonight is from Divaldo Franco through the spirit Joanna de Angelis.

 

“Let’s remember and think about Jesus this Christmas as we gradually get near to Him. Let’s analyze how we are now and how we would like to be morally.

 

Let’s be aware of what we’ve done, and how much further we can get if we invest in ourselves, in our closest neighbors, at home, on the street, and in humanity.

 

Christmas means that we are in the constant presence of love and goodness everyday, all the time.

 

Remember that the birth of the Great Son of God among human beings is an invitation to allow him to be reborn within you. Let Jesus speak to you again in our hearts and in our minds.

 

So be It.

 

Credits:

 

"Well a Little More Time...." Written by Bob Considine, Published in Collier’s Weekly, December 24, 1949.

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Christmas at Present, adapted from Atualidade do Natal by Divaldo Pereira Franco by the Spirit Joanna de Angelis

 

Excerpts from Spiritual Forces are Intensified at Christmas by Brian Foster