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Loving Is a Prayer

Prayer is not the refuge of cowards or of the idle. It uplifts us, while work fulfills us. The Pope prays, the Dalai Lama meditates, Chico Xavier (1910-2002) prayed, rabbis chant their supplications, protestants...

The Spiritual Origin of the Prophecies

In my book Os mortos não morrem [The Dead Do Not Die], I transcribe notable studies and very interesting accounts about the reality of life after the phenomenon called death . . . However, it is necessary to reflect on some...

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For decades we have established a ceremony involving a moment of silence before saying a prayer, which always begins the daily activities of the Institutions of Good Will (IBVs, in Portuguese), with the intention of strengthening the ties between...

Spirituality

Solidarity to the people of the Philippines

In happiness or sorrow, human beings are never alone. Whether they know it or not, whether they believe or not, they have God for themselves. In the desert or in the orchards, on the mountains or in the valleys, in the cities or in the fields, if they reverently contemplate on High, they will see a multitude of stars carrying in their immensity billions and billions of lives.

With the same Accomplishing Faith that led me to write these words that were later published in my book “How to overcome suffering” (1990), I would like to transmit our fraternal solidarity to the people of the Philippine archipelago in Asia. Our Brothers in Humanity are suffering terribly from the consequences of super typhoon Haiyan that struck last Friday, November 8. With winds reaching more than 300 km/h the storm, which is considered to be one of the strongest ever recorded on land, devastated some regions in the country. It is still not possible to say the exact number of victims. The authorities estimate the number of deaths and missing people in thousands.

Divulgação

   

CHARITY: A RECONSTRUCTION TOOL

Specialists in human behavior agree that in similar situations when pain surprises us in such a cruel way, overcoming it requires adopting a courageous attitude. Leaving aside feelings of anguish and rage is equally indispensable.

To those who believe in a superior power, in Eternity, this ordeal is more readily accepted and realized. However, even skeptics can find constructive energy for giving new meaning to their existence. We have, for example, charity, the provision of help to our fellow beings, which is an emblematic reconstruction tool (...).

In the hearts of those who remain, the sudden absence of those who have returned to the Great True Homeland is eased by the certainty that the Creator provides a renewed condition of life for their loved ones, because the dead do not die. Wherever they are they need the understanding of those who remain on Earth. Let us consider the possibility of active life in other dimensions. The Spiritual World is not an abstraction.

All of us, both human and spiritual beings, are always summoned to understand the most profound realities so we can endure and overcome the daily challenges we face.

José de Paiva Netto is a writer, journalist, radio broadcaster, composer, and poet. He is the President of the Legion of Good Will (LGW), effective member of the Brazilian Press Association (ABI) and of the Brazilian International Press Association (ABI-Inter). Affiliated to the National Federation of Journalists (FENAJ), the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), the Union of Professional Journalists of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the Union of Writers of Rio de Janeiro, the Union of Radio Broadcasters of Rio de Janeiro, and the Brazilian Union of Composers (UBC). He is also a member of the Academy of Letters of Central Brazil. He is an author of international reference in the concept and defense of the cause of Ecumenical Citizenship and Spirituality which, according to him, constitute “the cradle of the most generous values that are born of the Soul, the dwelling of the emotions and of the reasoning enlightened by intuition, the atmosphere that embraces everything that transcends the ordinary field of matter and comes from the elevated human sensitivity, such as Truth, Justice, Mercy, Ethics, Honesty, Generosity, and Fraternal Love.”