© 2024 Olga López
© 2024 Urantia Association of Spain
Urantia Association of Spain Newsletter
Luz y Vida — April 2024
¶ In this issue
- Editorial – April 2024 — M. José Sánchez Santamaría
- Jobs – our recommendations of the month
- History and teachings: Chronicle of the life of Jesus
- Urantia Book Children’s Guide: Jesus Takes James to Jerusalem
- Other books on spiritual growth
- Recommended audio
- Navigating through life: The world
- My favorite paragraph — Charles Perrotta
- Urantian Questionnaire — Ana Eguren
- The Madrid Study Group celebrates its 20th anniversary
¶ Editorial – April 2024 — M. José Sánchez Santamaría
Gratitude: the way of Jesus
It is very possible that today you were able to eat. That you enjoy shelter, clothing, access to medicine. It is possible that you have people in your life who love you and whom you love. Perhaps you have faith, which helps you in many moments of life.
Problems? I’m sure there will be some. Fears? Nostalgias? There will be some. Wounds? More than one, because we don’t live in a bubble.
So, you’re alive.
One of the great challenges of consumer society is to recognize that much of what we have is a privilege, to discover the enormous blessing of many of the things we can enjoy.
Today we talk about rights, we demand them. We aspire to so much and we ask for so much that we can lose consciousness of how lucky we are. There are so many things that could have been different in our lives… and yet, someone has put tenderness, trust, opportunities, forgiveness on our horizon.
¶ Jobs – our recommendations of the month
The Journey After Physical Death (Bill Sadler)
On the Urantia Foundation website we find this transcript of one of the talks that Bill Sadler gave to a study group, in which he explains what happens once we leave this world after death. In it, Bill Sadler answers the questions posed to him by the members of the study group in his usual conversational style and sense of humor, but without abandoning the rigor when it comes to explaining his interpretation of the content of the book on this particular topic.
The Urantia Book: Why, How, What (Olga López)
In this presentation, which was given at one of the Spanish readers’ meetings, a possible approach to disseminating the book’s teachings is indicated: instead of focusing on summarizing the book (and therefore focusing on the purely intellectual aspect), it is better to focus on why we believe that these teachings have the capacity to transform the world. In the words of the author: “If we begin our presentation by saying “why” we are making the book known, we are entering the area of values, a much deeper area of our mind, where the springs that motivate people to act as they do are activated, which make those who listen to us able to identify with us and therefore want to reach where we have reached.”
This brief article was originally published in French in the newsletter Le Lien Urantien of the AFFLU (Association of Francophone Readers of The Urantia Book). It emphasizes the importance of teamwork not only on this world but throughout the entire ascending career, as reflected in this quote at the head of the article: “One of the most important lessons you must learn during your career as mortals is teamwork. The spheres of perfection are manned by those who have mastered this art of working with other beings. There are few tasks in the universe for the solitary server. The higher you ascend, the lonelier you will feel when temporarily without the companionship of your fellows.” UB 28:5.14
A cry for hope (Eduardo Altuzarra)
This is a transcript of one of the presentations in the series “In Focus” sponsored by UBIS (Urantia Book International School). It highlights the book as a book of hope, as the author says: “I believe in this book because it is a book of hope, regardless of the fact that the existence of God is a demonstrable fact for some and an undemonstrable fact for others. There are so many things that assure me that there is a reality that is totally unknown to the majority of mortals that I cannot help but, at the very least, place trust and above all hope in each and every one of the teachings contained in it.”
¶ History and teachings: Chronicle of the life of Jesus
JOURNALISTIC ACCOUNT OF THE LIFE AND TEACHINGS OF JESUS ACCORDING TO THE URANTIA BOOK
We present to you the next installment of the chronicles of the life of Jesus, which this time contains what the revelators tell us in document 154 (The Last Days in Capernaum). Within the PDF you will see a button from which you can access the text of the document from the Urantia Foundation website.
¶ Urantia Book Children’s Guide: Jesus Takes James to Jerusalem
We continue our review of the secondary work A Child’s Guide to The Urantia Book, by Mary Livingston. This is the next chapter, which deals with Jesus taking his brother James to Jerusalem for the Passover, and it begins like this:
«Jesus tried to do all the things that Joseph would have done. Joseph had been a very good father. Jesus learned many things from him. Jesus took the children on long walks, as Joseph did. James had finished school. Jesus decided to take James to his first Passover in Jerusalem.»
Download the full chapter in PDF format
¶ Other books on spiritual growth
Ami, the boy from the stars (Enrique Barrios)
Pedro, a ten-year-old boy, spends his summer holidays in a coastal town. One night, on the beach, he makes friends with an extraterrestrial “child” called Ami. Together with his new friend, he will live a series of unusual and surprising experiences: he will receive some brief flying lessons, and then he and Ami will travel aboard a spaceship to various places on the planet and even visit other worlds. Ami will teach Pedro that Love is the fundamental law of the universe, that evolution is nothing other than getting closer to Love and that the ego is the barrier that holds us back and prevents our best feelings from manifesting.
¶ Recommended audio
Holy Week and others like it, by L. Coll (Radio Urantia’s «Light and Life» space)
In this audio the author’s reflections are presented on the drift of Christianity, regarding Holy Week and the meaning that has been given to it until now, focusing rather on the gruesome fact of the crucifixion than on the celebration of the life of Jesus and the message of love and hope that he brought to this world. John Zebedee, the apostle of Jesus, said: “For the darkness is passing away, and the true light is already shining” (1 John 1:8). However, Christianity seems to have remained stagnant in the darkness of the past. The author asks: What good are all the images, riches, temples, when the majority languishes and dies spiritually? And he adds that if Jesus were to come down again, he would be forced to drive out the religious hypocrites who claim to speak in his name. Jesus is not a character of anger and rage, and his invitation is: whoever wants to come to the Light, let him come.
¶ Navigating through life: The world
A man from the Neguá village, on the coast of Colombia, was able to ascend to the high heavens. On his return, he said that he had seen human life from above, and said that we are a sea of little fires.
—The world is that —he revealed—, a lot of people, a sea of little fires. Each person shines with his own light among all the others. There are no two fires alike. There are big fires and small fires and fires of all colors. There are people with calm fire, who don’t even notice the wind, and people with crazy fire that fills the air with sparks. Some fires, silly fires, don’t light up or burn; but others burn life with such passion that we can’t look at them without blinking, and whoever comes close is set alight.
(Eduardo Galeano)
¶ My favorite paragraph — Charles Perrotta
As they entered Sidon, Jesus and his associates passed over a bridge, the first many of them had ever seen. As they walked over it, among other things, Jesus said: “This world is but a bridge; you may cross it, but you should not think of building a dwelling place upon it.” UB 156:2.1
So simple and yet so difficult… But it is the concretization of faith, not settling in this world or in its material values; and I include in the latter also emotional values. Both what is gained and what is lost should be accepted as a result of the normal development of events. And yet the believer, in his animalistic but innocent search, finds or believes he finds answers, or glimpses of what is to come. If I manage to keep one foot in this world but my eyes on the next, I not only fulfill Jesus’ advice and increase my faith, but I also lighten the burdens of this world, making, mainly the losses, much more understandable and bearable, with their consequent spiritual lessons.
¶ Urantian Questionnaire — Ana Eguren
I am Ana Eguren. I live in Guadalajara, a small rural town in Spain. I work in the administrative area of a secondary school. I am married and have a daughter, a son and two dogs.
1. How did you come across The Urantia Book and why do you think you found it?
I have been aware of my search for God for as long as I can remember. Although it was easier for me to look for him outside, in sunsets, in the night sky, in a beautiful landscape, in a baby… I also experienced some light in my heart; even though I was living a satisfactory life, I felt the urge to look for more coherence in my reality. The answers to my concerns were not found in my religion, the Catholic religion. That is why years ago I decided to “speak directly”, to maintain a one-way dialogue with Jesus of Nazareth. I consider myself an avid reader and what I believe were his answers came to me in the form of the book Trojan Horse, and this led me to The Urantia Book. I have always been certain that the encounter was reciprocal; the Master appears when the student is ready. The Urantia Book appeared in my life at the right and appropriate moment, approximately 17 years ago.
¶ The Madrid Study Group celebrates its 20th anniversary
In April 2004, 20 years ago, the first study group in Madrid began its journey. It was thanks to the personal push of Victor Garcia Bory, after his visit to Madrid, together with Richard Keeler, to discuss, among other things, a new Spanish translation, which was pending at that time.
After gathering information here and there from all the possible readers in Madrid, I got down to work and, through email, by phone and even through regular mail, I contacted all the readers I could and set a date for a meeting at my house that April. Since then we continue to meet once a month, on Saturday or Sunday.
I still remember the excitement and anticipation I felt when I managed to gather around a dozen people interested in sharing the content of The Urantia Book. I knew it was the beginning of something important, something useful in our lives and that it would last over time.
¶ New courses from the Urantia Book International School (UBIS)
A new term of courses at Urantia Book International School (UBIS) begins in April. Registration begins on Monday, April 22 and ends on Sunday, May 5. Courses begin on Monday, April 29 with orientation week.
These are the courses that will be offered in April (all are short, 6-week courses):
- In the great circuit of love. Facilitated by: Luis Alfonso Rojas Rosillo. Level: basic.
- Life after life: what comes next? Facilitated by: Gabriela Westphal. Level: intermediate.
- The religious life of Jesus. Facilitated by: Irma E. Aguilar. Level: basic.
- Introduction to prayer and worship. Facilitated by: Darío Franco Cuartas. Level: basic.
If you are interested in applying for a course, you must first create an account on the school’s website, http://ubis.urantia.org. This can be done before registration begins.
Places are limited, so sign up as soon as possible!
For more information about the courses, you can visit this page: https://www.urantia.org/en/education/course-programming
¶ UBIS “In the Spotlight” Presentation Series
The Uran_tia Book International School (UBIS) offers a series of “In Focus” webinars related to topics from The Urantia Book or the community of readers.
In Spanish, sessions last between 60 and 90 minutes and are held one Saturday a month at 6 pm (Madrid, Paris, Rome time). The presenter gives an introductory presentation on the topic in question, after which there is an opportunity for the participants to participate in a debate.
This is the presentation scheduled for April:
Day: Saturday, April 6th
Time: 18:00 hours CET (Madrid, Paris, Rome)
Title: Why does the Father require us to raise children?
Presented by: Sebastián Nozzi
Zoom Room: https://urantia-org.zoom.us/j/5136302555
You can watch the video of the previous session at this link
https://youtu.be/Fxvl5qM6qv0?si=0XITDdF1p7JuckyO
¶ April Urantia Talk
The Urantia Association of Spain organizes and sponsors the so-called “Urantian talks”, Zoom sessions in which a presenter offers a starting topic, followed by a moderated debate among the attendees.
This is the talk scheduled for the month of April:
Friday 19th: The seraphic planetary government (Francisco J. Santos Castilla)
Location: Association Zoom room
Time: 19:00 hours (Spanish peninsular time)
¶ About the Light and Life Newsletter
Luz y Vida is the newsletter of the Urantia Association of Spain. From 2005 to 2016 it was published in PDF format and distributed by post and email to the association’s reader list, but is currently distributed in newsletter format from HTML content.
If you would like to receive the newsletter in your email, please contact the association to be added to the recipient list.
All work and news from readers and study groups are welcome, so if you wish to share any secondary work, writing, outline, image, etc., you can send it to the association and we will publish it after evaluating its suitability. Likewise, the Communications Committee of the board of directors of the Urantia Association of Spain reserves the right to edit it to ensure it meets minimum spelling quality standards.
¶ References
- Index of the magazine “Luz y Vida” of the Association of Spain
- This article from the magazine “Luz y Vida Online”
- Index of the magazine “Luz y Vida Online”