© 2012 Line St-Pierre
© 2012 Urantia Association of Quebec
¶ How to do it?
FOR MANY MONTHS, even years, during themes, congresses, publications of articles in Tidings, Réflectivité and the UAI Journal, we have been enjoined to rally to what the revelators have left us as directives, that is to say to form thousands of study groups, to train leaders and teachers.
For a very specific reason, several times in his articles, Gaétan Charland has taken up the texts of booklet 140 chapter 4, “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and be led to glorify your Father who is in heaven.” UB 140:4.4 to make the reader aware of the responsibility he has for having found The Urantia Book. If we continue to read this book, it is because there must be something good in it! Have we started to spread the good news?
But how do we get to do this, where, when and with whom? Very legitimate questions to ask. Give back, even teach. Opportunities are all around us. We just need to practice. How do we become experienced? By experiencing. Is it necessary to give the source of our answers — inspirations or should we make an effort by humbly listening to the other and giving him only what he can grasp? Education is done without offending people’s beliefs and convictions.
There are as many ways to speak the Truth and share these truths as we are personalities from the same Source. Pray and ask for inspiration during meetings. It is always appropriate to increase a truth and speak of values to build a confidence within a conversation. It is enough to practice.
This month, I am very happy to present to you the very personal way of people who have been able to take truths contained in The Urantia Book and share them with a certain circle without revealing their origin.
In his text Éloge à la vie, composed for a funeral ceremony that I used last fall when my mother died, Maurice Migneault approaches life as being the passage here on Earth and not the end of the path.
The sensitivity of Hélène Boisvenue in her text during the baptism of her grandchildren, expresses the great movement of progress and growth, being part of them, governed by God and which will take them towards God in due time.
Normand Laperle wanted to teach from the point of view of the genesis of man. From where a human being begins his life and until the day he leaves it. He thus shared this with the audience at his mother’s funeral, by recounting Marie Paule’s life of service and love in a chronological and evolutionary way.
For all those parents who are still wondering what to do with their children and grandchildren, Jean-Simon Yelle, a young reader whom I have known for a short time, has agreed to share with us the gradual teaching he received from his father since his early childhood.
These texts speak to you, and you consider sharing your experience with other readers, write to me at line.stpierre@gmail.com
Line St-Pierre
Editor of Réflectivité
¶ PRAISE TO LIFE
DEAR FLORENCE, There is pain in our hearts to see you leave, even if it is for a better world. But let us think of the joy of those who are waiting to welcome you and accompany you to these other places of creation. Let us think of the joy of the Father who watches you take this first step towards His home.
There is pain in our hearts to see the body of someone we love pass away in pain. But let us think that this body has hosted a part of God, and accompanied a unique personality in the universe. Let us think that by the free will of his moral choices, he participated in the growth of his soul, thus offering him the potential for eternity. Dear Florence, you are not really leaving, you are simply going before us. We are all called like you, to live this obligatory transition in our journey. You have now completed the stage of the vehicle of the flesh. These are always the most difficult first steps. The one you leave behind is not in our hearts, but in the world. What you leave in our hearts is a deep furrow of love.
¶ For the coming of luminous children of God
I HAVE THE BLESSING OF BEING ALONG WITH AND CHERISHING MY TWO MAGNIFICENT GRANDCHILDREN AND OF WATCHING THE WORK OF GOD THAT IS MADE IN THEM. A GREAT GROWTH MOVEMENT IS ALREADY SET IN THEIR BEING AND IT PROVIDES FOR THEIR PHYSICAL AND INTELLECTUAL DEVELOPMENT. SOON IT WILL PROVIDE FOR THE ANCHORING OF LUMINOUS SPIRITUAL VALUES. AS A GRANDMOTHER, I WANT TO COLLABORATE IN THIS DIVINE PROGRAM OF GROWTH SO THAT ONE DAY A MAGNIFICENT SONS AND DAUGHTER OF GOD WILL COME TOGETHER.
On the occasion of my grandchildren’s baptism, my daughter and her partner asked me to give a short speech to the assembled parents and friends. I chose to address my granddaughter and grandson directly in the hope that my letters would be well preserved and that, later, my message would help to awaken in them a strong desire for God.
I often find it difficult to convey my belief in God’s goodness to my parents and friends. It was easy to do so through these two letters to my grandchildren. I am pleased to share my writings with you.
Sunday, May 16, 2010
Dear Emy-Rose
You are now nine months old and already you are strongly attached to your mother and father. You are quite right because they both love you tenderly and firmly. I myself, as a child, had parents who enveloped me with deep affection. We are both very lucky, aren’t we? We are heirs to a divine treasure.
Do you know that the experience of growing up in contact with loving parents is irreplaceable. This experience is a gentle light from which you will later draw to better grasp the tenderness of God. For He too experiences the benevolent feelings that are so deeply anchored in the hearts of parents.
Dear Emy-Rose, on the occasion of your baptism, I make this vow so that you may one day discover this God with a tender nature.
Your grandmother Helen
Sunday, September 18, 2011
Dear Samuel,
You are 3 months old and you are now a beautiful, plump baby whose already lively eyes and cuddly smile move us a lot. We are ecstatic about your development and rightly so.
Imagine if you were still, after three months of life, a poor little baby of 6 pounds with the almost inert look of a newborn child. We would all be very worried and saddened. We love your growth, we love this living force that carries you forward.
Thanks to the generosity of your mother who nourishes you with tenderness, you are now very skilled in assimilating the energies of the planet-earth that change and transform your biological being. You must also know that you use a mental energy that structures your intelligence.
So you recognize the presence of your mother and surely also that of your father. In order not to make anyone jealous in the family, you already extend your consciousness towards your brother Jasmin and your sisters Léanne and Emy-Rose. You are sensitive to the attention of people and your look and smiles indicate your desire for contact. A transformative evolution is already operating in your consciousness and pushing you forward. Isn’t it wonderful!
Later a third force will come to enlist you very strongly in the movement of life. It will make you seek the ideals of goodness, love and beauty. This spiritual movement also changes and transforms and it will carry you forward. It will make you know God.
Dear Samuel, you will have to quickly become aware of this growth towards the best that will show itself to you everywhere and in everything. This experience of growth is part of a colossal movement that, in its time, will push you towards God. This movement of growth is wanted by God and organized by Him. It is a mystery of exquisite beauty. What honor and happiness await you if you invest yourself in the experience of evolution and growth that transforms and guides towards God. Go forward Samue!!
For this, on this day of your baptism, I pray with passion.
Grandma Helen
¶ Tribute to Marie-Paule Laperle
HERE WE ARE ALL GATHERED here, on a small, insignificant planet, floating in the vastness of the universe. “The little blue planet.”
Billions of human beings live here, trying their luck in the adventure of life. This planet has existed for about 4.5 billion years. Humans, worthy of the name, have been here for about 1 million years.
Let us project ourselves into the year 1918 of the Christian era. Let us put ourselves in the context of this time. The First World War (14-18) has been raging in Europe for four years.
On January 9 of that same year, in Canada, more specifically in a country house in “Paquetteville” in the Eastern Townships of Quebec, a helpless and defenseless baby was born. It was a little girl. She would be called “Marie-Paule”. She was the second of a family of eight, four girls and four boys. (Five are still alive today.)
For this little being, it is the beginning of a life, the beginning of self-awareness, of her mind, of her personality, of a still embryonic identity. Marie-Paule will quietly insert herself into the human adventure. She has still unexploited potential. She will soon discover (and learn to use) her basic instincts, her reasoning capacity, her innate curiosity, her courage, her social impulses. Later, she will discover her capacity for contemplation and adoration. Even later, she will become aware of the existence of her soul and the means to make it grow. She will forge an identity of her own. Slowly but surely, she will become what she wants to be in life.
At the age of one, the family moved to a small country village in the state of Vermont in the United States. In this family, we are before electricity, before the telephone, before the automobile. His early childhood experience is spent on a dairy farm. The cows are milked by hand at 5 in the morning and 5 in the evening. During the day, the fields are plowed and cultivated.
The seasons follow one another. The years follow one another. She begins her primary school in the small schoolhouse where all the classes are in the same small room. Later, she will continue her primary studies in the newly built school in the village not far from there. It is here that she goes from little girl to teenager.
At the age of 19 (1937). Her attraction to spirituality and service to others pushed her towards religious life. She began her career in a convent of sisters. In her mind, the novitiate and eventually service in the community awaited her. Visits were rare. This is how she began her life as a woman.
But life had other plans for her. After two years of novitiate, she developed a mysterious illness that forced her to leave the convent. She returned to the village to rebuild her strength. She then spent a few years working in different places and eventually found a job as Postmaster of the small community of Beecher Falls in Vermont where she lived. At the age of 27 (1945), she met a man who would become the father of her 5 children: (the eldest) a girl and four boys (all still alive). She left her job as Postmaster and it was her husband who earned this envious position that he would occupy for the rest of his working life.
The life of service that Marie-Paule wanted to live by giving herself to others was entirely devoted to her small family. She lived the experience of being a mother with a husband who would not leave her before her death 57 years later.
It’s the good old days. At the age of 29, she has her first child. Six years later, it’s the fifth and last. It’s the pivotal period of her life, as they say. It’s a construction site under continual construction. That’s when you manage the work of a lifetime. You don’t have time to think about anything else. Everything is rushing. You become responsible for the happiness of these little human lives. You pass on to them what you’ve learned about life. It’s the extension of our blood. It’s the progression of humans on earth. You add your weight to the turning wheel.
This is how the meaning of her life changes. We learn to harmonize ourselves with our husband and with all these little beings in perpetual change. We become intimate with the inner recesses of each one. We see them grow, transform physically and mentally. We are amazed by their successes. We encourage them in their defeats. We share the joys and sorrows of each one. And we discover ourselves through sharing, love, respect, forgiveness. Our Marie-Paule has grown up. She is forever marked by this life experience.
Then, another big change is coming. A change as important as the previous one. In the space of another 6 years, the pendulum returns to its starting point. The five children will leave home one by one to continue to turn the big social wheel, the big wheel of the game of life. It is then that we manage the end of a career. She will once again deserve the status of Postmaster, replacing her husband who is retiring. After 3 years, she finally finds herself alone with her husband.
Despite the appearance of slowness, everything is still happening. She shares with her husband the joy of being a grandparent. The blood of her blood that is spilled. It is time for retrospection and assessment. We must reposition ourselves in the human adventure. We must redefine our values in life. Love takes on new dimensions.
Time passes. We grow older. The body ages. A brother dies, and another. Friends also leave one after the other. At the age of 84 (March 13, 2002), she lost her husband, her life partner, her lover, the father of her children. Without him, all this would never have been possible. But she still has the fruit of her personal investment. She still has the bond of love with her children.
Two years later, after mourning the loss of her native land where she had lived for 86 years, she left Beecher Falls, Vermont, to live in Montreal, Canada, closer to her children.
She will eventually succumb to the charm of her new living environment. She will make new friends, new activities and she will adjust to this new life. She has gone from the countryside to the big city; from the United States to Canada; from an environment where English is predominantly spoken to an environment where French is predominantly spoken; from American culture to Quebec culture.
On the other hand, all these changes will be largely compensated by her closeness to her children. The love is palpable. It is a completely natural swing of the pendulum. We give her back today what she herself gave us. She will never stop thanking God for having given her such beautiful and good children. She carries them all in her heart and in her prayers. Marie-Paule has become a real mother.
There comes a day when we feel that our own body is leaving us. This is how she enters into the management of an end of life. Time is no longer measured in the same way. The disease tries to impose itself. Each time, it is pushed back. This is how we are forced once again to redefine life and its deep meaning.
To speak of Marie-Paule without speaking of her spiritual side would be to miss an important aspect of her inner life. At 19, Marie-Paule was ready to give her life to nourish herself with the love of God and to put herself at his service. Despite the detours she had to take, she never stopped dialoguing with the inner spirit. This presence that she felt internally was always there in each of her decisions.
The human soul is not the accumulation of our material possessions. Nor is it the result of what we have done in life. The human soul is what a being becomes… until now, and this soul is constantly evolving.
What emerges from Marie-Paule are precisely her qualities of soul: she expresses a gift of self without desire for anything in return. She shows great patience in the face of what is reprehensible. She forgives easily. She wants only good for everyone. She never hesitates to moderate her personal pleasures in order to leave some for others. She exudes great respect for human beings and all that lives. She does everything gently. She is goodness itself. She shows almost constant joy. She exudes great inner peace. In fact, she transmits the love she receives from the God she feels within her, the God who lives within her.
The purpose of this text is to pay tribute to Marie-Paule for what she has become… until now.
Wisdom accumulates with age. But wisdom is not given to everyone. It must be acquired.
Marie-Paule’s soul qualities did not appear there by themselves. The free will inherent in every human being ensures that none of these soul qualities are free.
One by one, she saw their potential, she desired them, she integrated them into her being, and she adjusted them. She was the one who chose what she wanted to become. She was the one who chose what she wanted to be.
She was able to unify her spiritual, mental and material sides in a balanced way and with great skill. I can say to Marie-Paule:
Congratulations on what you have become.
Congratulations on your qualities of soul.
By your example of life, you prove that the greatness of a being is not measured by the technology present in his living environment, nor by the knowledge of this same technology. You are the proof that the greatness of a being is measured above all by what he becomes as a person.
On behalf of all your children, thank you for blazing a trail before us. On behalf of all who know you: Thank you for who you are. Thank you for the influence you have on us. Thank you for passing on to us some of the gift of love and your secrets of life.
¶ Testimony of Jean-Simon
ONLY IN THE LAST FEW MONTHS, I have had the pleasure of opening myself to reading The Urantia Book and the teachings it contains in a direct way, by reading it.
What an excitement and experience it was for me to simply read The Urantia Book. Carried away by a felt enthusiasm, I did not understand how it was possible that the Urantia revelation is in fact known and studied only by a limited number (to a certain extent and without denigrating the acquired) of human beings. I could understand, but at the same time I told myself that the revelation is so interesting, well written, healthy, important, a source of inspiration, of such great renewal that it was a little beyond me. I immediately questioned myself as to how to make sure that the people with whom I am in contact also have access to these superior and so precious teachings.
I quickly realized that we don’t talk about the Urantia Book directly to everyone like we talk about the latest news that makes the headlines… I’ve done the test several times already and when I openly shared the teachings of the revelation, when I tried to make my interlocutors see what I perceived there, there was often the presence of doubts. These doubts were quickly expressed in questions aimed at knowing where these affirmations came from, who had written them. I could see that most of the time, my interlocutors were not having a real spiritual discussion, but quickly returned to the more reassuring bases (let’s say) spread more generally by society and tried instead to intellectualize the remarks. Often, when speaking about the teachings of the life of Jesus, we realized that my speech “clashed” with the more widespread teachings of Christianity (the Bible). Inevitably, whenever I have spoken directly about the teachings of the book, I have been questioned about the source of my assertions.
OOPS! In a dinner with friends where the atmosphere is more about talking about economics, finance, business or having discussions with scientific and rational bases, it made several people tick when we say that the book is written by beings who are not of our category, not visible in the flesh as we are. It made more than one person jump when we add that it is easily understandable if we know that our world was isolated following the Lucifer rebellion, but that in fact the authors of the Urantia Book have always been more connected to the channels of the Universe and are therefore more able to know its structure and its Source, God. OOPS AGAIN!! No one talks anymore around me… Suspicious glances fall on me… I have the impression of hearing them think: this guy has always been a little special, but is he okay? Is he in his right mind? 
In short, as for my strongly felt desire to share the teachings of the revelation, the first reality that I face (not without a little pang of regret) is that I cannot effectively share the teachings of The Urantia Book directly to any great extent in most cases. This has therefore sent me back to thinking about how I came to be open enough to start reading The Urantia Book and thus learning more directly.
I must tell you that it is first of all thanks to the service that my father rendered me in teaching me subtly, gently, over several years without, however, speaking to me about the Book.
From a young age, my father was a convinced reader of The Urantia Book. He knew how to combine in a beautiful way his responsibility as a reader of the revelation with his role as a caring father regarding my education. I attended an elementary school that was run by a congregation of Catholic religious sisters. There was therefore a strong emphasis on the Catholic religion and its traditions. I attended ceremonies like the others, such as first communion or confirmation. Sometimes on weekends I asked to go to mass with my grandparents…
My father must not have been without questioning seeing me follow a teaching that he could judge not to be the most adequate and that surrounded me greatly socially and academically. He never came to tell me openly that what I learned at school was not good or incomplete. He never wanted to erase or even stop what I thought I knew to replace it with new things. Besides, is it not Jesus himself who said something like that one should not try to remove beliefs or knowledge in the heart of a man to then substitute new ones, but that it was enough to sow the seeds of greater truth so that the latter would end up taking its place? I believe that my father armed himself with patience and courage and tried to do the same in his own way.
In my case, he encouraged the aspects of the Christian religion that were in harmony with the L.U. At night, when I was in bed, he would come to me and say: “Simon, you know the little Jesus they talk to you about at school, he is really there, him and his Father. They can hear you and help you if you talk to them in your heart. I am going to say good night to you and before you go to sleep I would like you to talk to them.” From a young age, he wanted to encourage a conscious inner dialogue. I remember asking him, but what should I talk to them about to do well? He would simply say to me: “Simon, tell them anything, tell them about your day, simple things as long as you talk to them.” He knew that the important thing was to encourage the inner dialogue, making room even in a humble measure for my Adjuster. Believe me, it worked its way along without my being aware of the L.U. He never encouraged me to repeat prayers like we did in school. He never spoke to me about the book directly until my questions became more specific and before my adolescence.
When we talked about prayer as such, he emphasized the fact that it is a dialogue that I have to find internally with God. If I came to question him about the formulaic prayers that were repeated like “brainwashed” he had an attitude and a speech that made me understand that it was not serious or very bad, but that at the same time it was not what he had best in relation to what we can really do: seek to develop a real spiritual dialogue. Each time he could, where the context was appropriate, he made a comment aimed at detaching me from the ways of doing things that could hinder my real learning and also to bring me closer to those that could promote it.
From the age of 10 to 15, I played classical guitar and did a few small competitions. He took the opportunity to come to me and tell me that he could help my concentration with a simple technique. He taught me a basic meditation, telling me that it would simply put me in a better state to play guitar. This resonated with me, because he was right about that. What he didn’t tell me right away was that I was making room for the piece of God that lived in me when I meditated. Even if I wasn’t aware of it, I was slowly learning certain concepts and realities. The Urantia Book was not yet openly discussed.
One thing that struck me was his refusal to come to church for midnight mass every Christmas. In doing so, he was being honest with himself, but he raised questions around him and in me. He then told me that Jesus and God preferred that I speak with them regularly in my inner self rather than go to midnight mass. This was very different from what I was told at school and what I saw socially. He was preparing the ground… We did not speak openly about the Book… He began to tell me gently that religions and more particularly Christianity had benefited from a real and good spiritual influence, but that where there was man there was manhood and that consequently we could not accept everything without questioning the content and the way of disclosing it by these religions.
When I was growing up I would tell him some of my worries, he always had the word to make me see that I was in fact learning, that I saw that I was struggling with a particular task, but that in fact it was part of a larger learning experience. He always had the word to arouse and cultivate in me the desire to learn by telling me that this is where our real work lies… He always ended up saying with a little smile… and we haven’t finished learning!!! He was referring to our career of ascension towards Paradise. Whenever he could, he would make little winks to the L.U., but just to the limit that would make sure to arouse my interest without provoking too direct questioning on the source whose answers would not have satisfied me anyway. Who knows, perhaps too much truth thrown at me at that moment would have been enough to have the opposite effect and to close me off from these same truths.
When we were looking at the stars he would say to me, Simon, don’t you think you have to be weird to think you’re the only one living in such a big Universe?!? He would stop there… He would prepare the ground… He would subtly open little doors one by one without me practically noticing.
It was only later, about 16 or 17 years old, when I was going through a low point in my adolescence and was looking for light and truth in life, that he gave me a little one-page document containing the pre-morontia quotes. I read the document and was very moved by it. What was there—in it—touched me right to the heart. But who had written it? It was true and I could not be made to believe otherwise. In simplicity, he communicated these principles to me at a time when he thought I could absorb more of them and also when I probably seemed to need them.
This led to open questions and discussions about the source and the L.U. I opened up more, but again he followed my questions, not going any faster than them, and he didn’t want to bury me under a ton of teachings that I wouldn’t have been able to assimilate at the same time anyway. He gave me a copy, but when I tried to read the L.U… OUFFF… HUH?!? WHAT’S THAT?!? It was “too much” for me. At that point, I told myself that what was in there was probably true, but I didn’t see how to reconcile these lessons in my life at that time. I still had reservations about the revelation technique… So I put it in the drawer… Later, I moved out of town for my studies. My father was sick and also moved to Western Canada. Our contacts were less regular, but I think that each time we saw each other I came to ask him questions about the L.U. and from time to time I was more and more open to hearing about the teachings of the L.U. in a direct way. Each time he was happy to answer all my questions even if we had to go to bed late. With him, there was never a bad time to talk about the L.U.
It was only a few months ago that a sudden thought crossed my mind. But where is my big blue book??? I have to read it! I was relaxing in front of a small fireplace and BANG there I was, moving all the cupboards and throwing old boxes upside down to finally find it. I started reading and there was no more doubt in my mind, there was no more barrier and I was now open to taking the source in my hands, downloading it on my IPHONE and on my IPAD and reading it for what it is, the revelation of God and the Universe for our world, made by beings of a different nature than us, celestial and more evolved aiming to help us.
For a few months now I have the impression of learning and understanding more things (in my humble measure). In reality, the idea maintained and cultivated by my father, of the subtle, gentle and patient preparatory work in the face of my openness probably allows me to write this text. It is this preparatory work that gave me access to the book. One could even say a long-term work in our context of the flesh since it extended over several years. This is what opened me to a conscious learning of the teachings of the L.U. A person close to me who cherished the idea and the desire, to share with me what he understood and learned from the revelation of Urantia doing it with an iron fist in a velvet glove. There were no shocks. My father did a job quietly. (Smooth operator). He will not have seen from his time in the flesh, my more concrete opening to reading the L.U., because the work took a certain time to be done, but so what? I arrived at the book and it is thanks to him.
This is my little experience that I like to share with you. I imagine that every reader of L.U. wonders at one time or another about how to make the revelation known to those around them or even more broadly. This is a very good question and I imagine that we are only just beginning to find ways on this subject. In any case, I believe that we should not denigrate the work of preparation in gentleness and subtlety, the one that does not shock, that does not confront, even if we judge that we do not see the fruits quickly.
In my case, it worked and I hope it can encourage you in your efforts. I also hope that this testimony can encourage young parents (like me) to find a way to teach the truths contained in the L.U. to their children while preserving their good social development in harmony with our times.
¶ AUQ 2012 ACTIVITY CALENDAR
Thematic
Sunday March 18
From 9:30 a.m. we will welcome you to start the day
at 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. under the theme: Listening… Hôtel Le Dauphin in Drummondville
Morning presentations and afternoon roundtable discussions
Cost: $10
UAI International Congress in Colombia April 28-May 1. For details, visit www.urantiacolombia.com
Thematic
Sunday May 27
The theme and location will be communicated to you later.
Picnic, Michael’s Party
Sunday August 19
Angrignon Park in Ville La Salle
Thematic
Sunday October 21
The theme and location will be communicated to you later.
Holiday Brunch
Sunday December 2nd
Best Western Hotel St-Jérôme
¶ Testimony of Rolande L. Martin
THE ANSWERS THAT ADULTS GAVE ME DID NOT MEET MY DESIRE TO UNDERSTAND AND TO KNOW. THAT’S WHAT GAVE ME THE WANTED TO SEARCH.
As a child, as soon as I learned to read, I looked for answers to my questions. I devoured everything that came into the house even if I was told it wasn’t for me. When I had exhausted my reading sources, on Sunday afternoons I would read my mother’s missal, left on the living room table.
At that time there was The Word and the word was the word and the word was God. I wondered what that meant and I could not find answers to my questions. I did not question the adults present, because that did not satisfy me or they said to me, do you think we have time to have fun with questions like that?
I had good parents, but not very educated. At that time, I did not realize their condition. I already understood that there was a limit to what I could ask of them. Then life took away the presence of many brothers and sisters and with the daily routine I forgot a little.
However, I remained fond of reading. After my marriage when I had three children, I was very busy and I took advantage of my meals to read until the day I saw my two eldest arrive at the table with each book. They were very small and there I understood that if I forbade them that, I had to do the same and that is what I did, because the books would be damaged by the food.
I got myself several books on personal development and progression. The Power of the Subconscious by Joseph Murphy, Rampa and many others. My library was full of them.
Then one day someone told me about The Lives of the Masters which I read and at the end Spalding recommended to seekers, The Urantia Cosmogony. I told my sons about it and at Christmas that year we received it as a gift from my son Denis. I have not abandoned it since, except that being very busy I read it in periods and I found it rather difficult to understand. Very often exhausted, I fell asleep on my book.
So my husband and I decided to read it together, starting with what we knew the most about, namely the life and teachings of Jesus. I couldn’t sleep anymore; we went from discovery to discovery so much so that at Christmas, we asked ourselves the question, but what are we going to celebrate? The shepherds gone, the angels flown away, December 25th, damn that too. August 21st made more sense, because on the straw in his linen dress, the little Jesus was more likely to get pneumonia and the babies of that time were wrapped up like sausages with their little feet exposed.
I’m kidding; we still celebrated Christmas, because now there were grandchildren.
We read this book backwards. Then we reread it from beginning to end at intervals. Guy worked outside and was often away, and I took care of the large gardens, greenhouses and vegetable garden.
Then, when we retired, we came back to live in Lévis. We made contact with a reader to form a reading group and since then we have been reading very assiduously every day and going from discovery to discovery. It is a book of progression. We are on the ninth reading. I no longer wonder if everything that is written is true, I understand. However, it is not easy to interest other people; if we talk about it with too much enthusiasm, we scare them rather than interest them.
In my daily life, the teachings of The Urantia Book guide me and I apply all the wisdom I draw from it with all the sincerity I have. I still complain sometimes, I ask for help and I get it. This book has changed my life for the better… there are so many beings invisible to our eyes, but who are still there to help us.
And as my friend Gilles tells me, the gifts are there, you have to ask for them. It is a school of life, of progression and exchanges.
After a difficult moment, I said to myself, here is one more step to climb. We must not feel orphaned despite the quarantine of our planet, because one day I received a mysterious, unexpected gift, a word of comfort. “My beloved Rolande Lévesque.”
I believe I am on my way to a long, long journey full of surprises and discoveries, and my curiosity will be satisfied to the highest degree.
The goal for me is transparency that becomes attraction. My model is Jesus. They say he did good in passing. He spoke little and was convincing. It didn’t take much for these men to abandon everything, wife, family, fishing and work to follow him, because they were attracted by something greater than themselves.
If we had only an old surplus sackcloth robe, would we be ready to give it away? That, for me, is the lesson of this book.
¶ Report on the AUQ general meeting on February 5, 2012
HELLO, DEAR READERS. In the special edition of the monthly Réflectivité in February, I presented an article entitled “Election for the position of vice-president of the AUQ” I am back to present the details of this annual general meeting which took place on February 5 in Drummondville at the Hôtel Le Dauphin.
Good road conditions, as well as cold but sunny weather, allowed for an attendance of 23 people. A clear improvement on the previous year.
This annual meeting had two parts: the annual general meeting in the morning, and a sharing activity in the afternoon.
The agenda included items to be presented to the general meeting such as: reading and adoption of the minutes of last year’s meeting; reading of the activity report for 2011; reading of the resolutions ratified for 2011; and the financial report.
At the Urantia Association of Quebec, the members of the board of directors are elected by the general assembly. These positions have a limited duration of two years, but can be renewed for another term if there is no other candidate. This year, the positions of secretary held by Maurice Migneault, and vice-president held by Guy Laporte, expired.
The result of this exercise was the appointment of a new secretary in the person of Éric Martel and the reappointment of Guy Laporte to the position of vice-president. A very special BRAVO to Éric who represents the desired succession.
The board of directors of the Urantia Association of Quebec is composed as follows for the year 2012: as president, Gaétan Charland; as vice-president, Guy Laporte; as secretary, Éric Martel; as treasurer, Luciano Camellini; and for communications, Line St-Pierre.
As a thank you to Maurice Migneault, I have retained the words of Luciano Camellini which express well my thoughts and those of the board team. “I would like to thank Maurice for the titanic efforts he has made to the advancement and progression of the Urantia movement during his involvement in the board of directors. Personally, at each meeting, I was amazed to see his determination (and the good taste of Line’s cooking), it was an honor and an immense pleasure to work with you. I am certain that you will always be among us, even as a… simple archivist. Thank you with all my heart, my brother.”
After an excellent dinner at the Hotel Le Dauphin, we returned to the dining room in the afternoon, to begin an ultra-nourishing activity for the soul. Indeed, we had the privilege of hearing the testimony of what the encounter with the Urantia Book did in their lives from six readers of the Urantia Book. We listened in turn to: Rolande Martin, Guy Laporte, Luciano Camellini, Maurice Migneault, Guy Martin and Madeleine Boisvert.
This sharing exercise was a first as a complement to the day dedicated to the annual general meeting. Thank you to those who were willing to share.
To love, is to serve.
Guy Laporte
Vice-president of AUQ
¶ Dear readers
SO THAT I CAN UPDATE THE association’s database, many of you responded on the little green note and several took the opportunity to send their membership fee.
I will be pleased to continue to receive all your correspondence in the coming weeks.
Thank you for your cooperation.
Line St-Pierre
Membership Committee Manager
¶ Wisdom
“Be generous in times of prosperity,
and in adversity never ceases to give thanks
Earn your neighbor's trust
and only looks at him with a friendly, smiling face.
Be a treasure to the poor, exhort the rich,
answer the call of the needy
and preserve the sacredness of your promises.
Judge fairly and be circumspect in your speech.
Don't be unfair to anyone
and shows complete humility towards everyone.
Be a lamp to him who walks in darkness,
a source of joy for the sad,
be a sea to the thirsty and a refuge to the afflicted,
be a support and a defender
for the one who is a victim of oppression.
Let honesty and integrity characterize all your actions.
Be a home to the stranger,
a balm for the suffering
and constant support for the fugitive.
Lend your eyes to the blind
and be a guide to him who goes astray.
Be an ornament on the face of truth,
a crown encircling the brow of fidelity,
a pillar of the temple of righteousness,
a breath of life into the body of humanity,
a standard for the armies of justice,
a star on the horizon of virtue,
a dew on the soil of the human heart,
an ark on the ocean of knowledge.
a sun in the sky of generosity,
a gem on the diadem of wisdom,
a bright light in the firmament of your generation,
a fruit in the tree of humility"
Bahá'u'lláh
¶ STUDY GROUPS
THIS ACTIVITY ALLOWS MULTIPLE READERS OF DIFFERENT LEVELS OF UNDERSTANDING to share and study together the teachings of The Urantia Book. It promotes spiritual progress by allowing its participants to find practical applications to the teachings of The Urantia Book in their daily lives. This important practice helps to maintain a broad perspective on concepts of truth.
You wish to participate or form a study group; we will be happy to assist you. If you wish to have your study group appear in this list, contact the person in charge, via email association.urantia.quebec@gmail.com or at 450-565-3323.
Group: Découverte
Every Monday from 7:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.
Laurentians Region Gaétan Charland and Line St-Pierre
Tel.: 450-565-3323
Group: Étoile du Soir
Every Wednesday from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.
Laurentides region
Carmen Charland
Tel.: 450-553-3601
Group: Le Pont
Every Thursday from 7:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.
South Shore of Montreal
Guy Vachon
Tel.: 450-465-7049
Group: Mauricie Readers
Every Monday from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.
Three Rivers Region
Madeleine Boisvert and
Tel: 819-376-8850
Roger Perigny
819-379-5768
Group: Veritas
Every Tuesday from 7:00 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.
Montreal area, near the Church metro station
Lise and Pierre Routhier
Tel.: 514-761-2378
Sherbrooke Group
Every two weeks, Tuesday or Wednesday (to be confirmed)
From 7:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.
Helene Boisvenue or Denis Gravelle
Tel.: 819 569-6416
Group: The Ascendants
Every two weeks on Sunday from 13 h 00 to 3:30 p.m.
South Shore of Quebec
Guy LeBlanc
Tel: 418-835-1809
Group: The Agondontarians
Every two weeks on Sunday from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. North Shore of Quebec
Guy & Rolande L. Martin
Tel: 418-651-3851
Group: Les Débonnaires
Wednesdays from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.
Montreal region
Julien Audet
Tel: 514-315-9871
Group: Urantia Fraternity
Wednesdays from 7:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.
Lanaudière region
Richard Landry & Gisèle Boisjoly
Tel: 450-589-6922
Group: Vers les Sommets
Friday from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.
Regions Ormstown & Valleyfield
Louise Sauve
Tel: 450-829-3631
Group: The United Urantia Family
Monday from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.
Montreal region
Mrs. Diane Labrecque
Tel: 514-277-2308
The Partners of the Supreme
Monday from 7:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.
Quebec region
Richard Lachance
Tel: (418) 614-2520 or (418) 933-0244 (cell)
At Maisonia
Every two weeks on Monday from 7:15 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.
Quebec region
Gilles Bertrand & Louise Renaud
Tel: 418-871-4564
Group: Uni-Terre
Every Sunday from 9:00 a.m.
Lanaudière region
Eric Martel
Tel: 450-756-9387
Group: Laurantia
Every Sunday from 9:00 a.m.
Petite Nation region in Outaouais
Denise Charron & Jean-Claude Lafreniere
Tel: 819-983-2113
Group: The Precursors of Divine Reality
Every two weeks on Tuesday from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
Laurentides region
Mrs. Johanne Séguin
Tel: 819-327-3237
Group: Sans Frontiére
Sunday from 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 a.m.
Hawkesbury region
Yvon and Irene Belle-Isle
Tel: 613-632-5706
Disclaimer: Any interpretations, opinions, conclusions or artistic representations, stated or implied, are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions and views of Urantia Association International or local and national level associations.