© 2012 Marc Belleau
© 2012 Urantia Association of Quebec
¶ Letter from a reader to his correspondent…
LETTER FROM A READER TO HIS CORRESPONDENT who spoke to him about Abbé Pierre (an individual known especially in France for his service to the most deprived) and who asked him this question: “When will you return to the Catholic Church which produces such men?”
I know she never wants to discuss philosophy, theology or topics that inevitably disturb the position of her personal values, but after reading my response (copy attached), she finally answered me that I had an excellent text to meditate on. Coming from her, this is quite an acceptance, because she is anchored in HER HOLY CATHOLIC CHURCH.
My primary goal in getting my text to this tough cookie was, as suggested in THE URANTIA BOOK, to be more able to place certain evolutionary ideas in the mind of my interlocutor without shocking her, which is also another challenge to my improvement.
“When will you return to the Catholic Church that produces such men?”
I think you opened a Pandora’s box by asking me such a question, or was it just a personal reflection out loud? In any case, I take advantage of it boldly before the door of the exchange suddenly closes. I show you very sincerely my side of the coin (holy coin that has been blessed by my Heavenly Father).
The Catholic Church was a stepping stone for me in the beginning of my spirituality. I learned some essential concepts there, such as the effective presence of an existential God, God the Father Almighty. His only Son comes afterward, and the Trinitarian sequence continues up to the Holy Spirit. Everything is placed in Paradise.
Certain celestial beings come to brighten and help material Creation and the revelation continues with the beginning of humanity enlightened by the prophets cited in the Bible and progresses towards a surprising outcome, the visit of Jesus, God descended from Heaven.
For me the program is launched. The adventure of Deity begins. The injunction to be perfect as our Heavenly Father is perfect is given.
My childhood was immersed in this movement of questioning, faith, fear, rituals, holiness, etc. The most satisfying and soothing answers to my questioning came in my personal moments of prayer. I call this my inner life. I gradually discover that the teaching given by this church on the Love of God, mercy, justice, duty, obligations, Beauty, Goodness etc., has a certain limit that I want to exceed. It is obvious that we cannot exhaust the true love that comes to us from God, because the Source is inexhaustible if we refer to the infinity of God, his eternity, his perfection and his universality.
You, as your grandson’s grandparents, do not lack true love, eh? This love does not come from humans, but from God Himself who is the source of all true beauty and goodness as well.
Your patience may vary, because it is human. Your tolerance too, but your goodness comes from God. Jesus said why call me a good Teacher. To me, that is the ultimate example of humility. And it is on this model of attitude towards God that I want to continue my personal quest for knowledge.
God has placed in our being effective mechanisms to communicate with Him. The personality makes choices, the mind gives the foundation of our good will and our entire attitude expresses our sincerity. The soul recognized by all beliefs emits and receives communication which often slips through a communion (commune-union).
This prayer that turns into oration (adoration) is the goal aimed at by all churches worthy of the name. The Catholic Church taught me to internalize myself and various contacts with the higher world have resulted spiritually.
But, no shell is needed when the chick has hatched. No cocoon is useful when the butterfly has awakened. These first steps in the Catholic Church made me bless the Lord’s day. But, as Jesus said, was the Sabbath made for Man or Man for the Sabbath? Is the prophet more important than the words of the prophet?
If God were not the Being of goodness would I still follow him?
… SIDIEU WAS NOT LIKE THIS… HE WOULD NOT BE AN HONEST MAN… (famous saying)
I think that he put a seed of love in our soul; it is a question of maintaining it well and by following the example of Jesus we will make our soul blossom for sure. To follow is to stand in the affirmation and manifestation of the great values taught by our Master Jesus. I like to meditate on his words, his parables and to take a look at his personal attitude as a human among humans. God became man.
I personally believe that the true Church of Jesus is the universal brotherhood of believing sons in this God of Love who is our Heavenly Father. However, I cannot deny my Christian origins, they are a first useful scaffolding to reach the perfection of my being. I am given eternity to reach it so step by step I peacefully taste all the ways that bring me closer to my origin and the origin of all creation.
So the first craftsman is the work of God, even the prophets and all other guardians of the truth fall into second place.
The experiences in the Church belong to me personally. All the graces received by the Divinity belong to me alone, they have been stimulated by its ministers in a specific framework. If from the outside my gestures or even my words seem incoherent, my interior knows it. I know that in his infinity God is not restricted in anything. I must resemble him… No… Yes…?
We talked about autodidact recently and I am sure that you made the connection with my stubbornness to pursue THE TRUTH by my own means. Point that I do not tolerate authority, I appreciate order and hierarchy, but as far as my soul is concerned, only its Creator knows it perfectly and can heal it of my fears, pride and laziness, these great obstacles to my survival. I recognize only one sin and it is a lack of faith, for the other imperfections they are evils to be corrected sharply.
The words of a wise man come precisely from within, that intimate place where the God of Love entrusts us with his secrets. Great men in the Catholic Church yes, but of course also great men in God. The great prophets (including Jesus), some philosophers and often unknown people devote their lives to God for the happiness of their fellow citizens.
Finally, for me being holy is a sincere attitude to resemble the greatest values projected by God. Love God with all your heart and your neighbor as yourself. That is a life of lifelong service. Let he who wants to be great be the servant of all.
God is at our service… (to meditate on)
Jesus is still at our service… (Spirit of Pentecost).
I don’t know if you want to ask me more questions… ah ah, I played a good trick on you.
Hello sister in God.
A spiritual brother
¶ Worship
2nd PART
Note: This text is the second part of an article on worship published in the October 2012 issue of Réflectivité.
¶ An inclusive definition of worship
The affectionate dedication of the human will to the doing of the Father’s will is man’s choicest gift to God; in fact, such a consecration of creature will constitutes man’s only possible gift of true value to the Paradise Father. In God, man lives, moves, and has his being; there is nothing which man can give to God except this choosing to abide by the Father’s will, and such decisions, effected by the intelligent will creatures of the universes, constitute the reality of that true worship which is so satisfying to the love-dominated nature of the Creator Father. (UB 1:1.2)
What then is this will of God for human beings? “Be ye perfect, even as I am perfect,” says the Father in heaven. Growth is therefore the watchword in the universe, and this requires the establishment of mechanisms conducive to this growth. Indeed, to respond to this injunction, we must, first of all, love our creator and recognize the excellence of his nature. Then, this love should prompt us to seek a better understanding of the directives of the Thought Adjuster in order to apply them in our daily lives through our daily service. Responding to the invitation of our Father in heaven constitutes the reality of true worship. The attitude of some admirers of show business stars can help us understand how worship is concretely manifested in the behaviors of everyday life. Indeed, it is often said of “fans,” especially the die-hard ones, that they worship their “stars.” I remember, when Michael Jackson died, these groups of individuals who spontaneously took to the streets with their portable radios to dance some of the choreographies inspired by the star. I was impressed by the complexity of these choreographies and by the number of hours that these Michael Jackson fans invested in learning and rehearsing them. Before devoting so much energy to this project, these people had to recognize, a priori, the artistic value of Jackson; definitely, they loved this artist enough to take the time to think about the choice of dance figures that were most representative of the artist’s style and understand the movements to be executed. Then, they had to invest several hours of rehearsal in order to execute the different dance figures, ensure the synchronization between all the participants as well as the cohesion of the whole. After having designed the choreography and rehearsed it, they shared with others the object of their adoration by dancing in the streets in front of crowds of onlookers; This is the purpose of all this investment of time and energy. This sharing allows fans to express to the world the attachment they feel for their star and thus pay tribute to the artist. I could have taken multiple examples from the history of music. Just think of the mobilization that artists like Elvis Presley or the Beatles could provoke. Although any comparison between the behavior of admirers of stars like Michael Jackson and the behavior of worshipers of the Heavenly Father is somewhat lame, the fact remains that they are similar in their main principles.
In light of the example we have just given, we can identify four manifestations of the worshiper’s behavior: veneration, understanding, action and expression.
Veration: the admirer recognizes the artistic qualities of his idol — the worshiper recognizes the divine qualities and his kinship with God, he sincerely loves the heavenly Father.
Understanding: the admirer seeks to know everything about his idol; in the example given above, he seeks to understand the artist’s style and the different figures of the choreography-the worshiper seeks to know the nature of the Heavenly Father and understand his will.
The action: the admirer puts into practice the artist’s style by repeating the sequence of the different figures of the choreography; the adorer applies, in his daily service, the decisions taken in the light of what he understands of the Father’s will.
Expression: The admirer performs the choreography in the street in order to make manifest the expression of his attachment to his idol-the worshipper expresses in a concrete way the divine values by all available means of expression. Now, let us explore these four manifestations of the worshipper’s behavior in more depth.
¶ WORSHIP
There can be no worship if, in the first place, one does not recognize the greatness, beauty and goodness of the Father. Seeking to know our heavenly Father and to resemble him implies that one passionately loves this divine being. Only the love that exists between the Father and us can make us pass from the animal state to that of perfected beings. Without this love, there can be no transformation. Love is, of course, the cement of relationships between personalities, but it is also the basis, the foundation on which the whole process of human and spiritual growth is elaborated, takes shape and becomes reality. This love is the nourishment of our growth. It is this love that determines the depth of our worship, that is to say: the impulse to seek God and to understand him, to put into practice the divine values that the search has made us discover and express our interior life. The more we love our heavenly Father, the more we will want to seek God, serve our brothers and sisters and share our interior life; If it is otherwise, I believe that we must seriously question the quality of the love that we have for our creator.
Reverence is an important component of worship, but worship is much more than that. It goes beyond acknowledging the greatness of God and our divine sonship; it encompasses seeking, acting, and expressing our spiritual life in the daily events of our material lives. Let us now turn to this second manifestation of worship: understanding.
¶ UNDERSTANDING The Adjuster, a guide, a teacher
The Adjusters come from Paradise with specific plans for the spiritual growth of each of us. They carry out these plans only with our consent and thus attempt to help us meet the challenges that material life imposes upon us. We are free to accept or reject the entire plan or parts of it. In other words, the Adjusters must evolve us from the level we are at and respect our rate of growth. We are predestined, but this predestination is conditional upon the choices we make.
Thus they begin work with a definite and predetermined plan for the intellectual and spiritual development of their human subjects, but it is not incumbent upon any human being to accept this plan. . . . It is their mission to effect such mind changes and to make such spiritual adjustments as you may willingly and intelligently authorize, (UB 110:2.1)
As we have just seen, Thought Adjusters work on the spiritual plane through the creation of our soul, but they also effect mental changes; they therefore work on the intellectual plane.
It is your thoughts, not your feelings, that lead you Godward. . . . All such inner and spiritual communion is termed spiritual insight. Such religious experiences result from the impress made upon the mind of man by the combined operations of the Adjuster and the Spirit of Truth as they function amid and upon the ideas, ideals, insights, and spirit strivings of the evolving sons of God. (UB 101:1.3)
What is an idea? It is a way of conceptualizing things. I will give you three examples that represent ideas: 1. God is love; 2. Human beings are all part of the great universal family of the Heavenly Father; 3. The administrative organization of the universe as presented to us by The Urantia Book.
What is an ideal? It is what one seeks to attain. To me, Jesus of Nazareth, as presented to us in The Urantia Book, is the example of a perfectly balanced personality; he is the embodiment of an ideal of personality that I am trying to attain.
What is a preview? A preview is a larger concept, much like a big picture. For example, The Urantia Book is a vast overview of the adventure that lies before us.
What is spiritual effort? Spiritual effort is always grounded in the reality of our material existence. It is the application of an intellectual concept to the actions of daily life. When I was younger, I read that our Adjusters are greatly handicapped by our impatience or anxiety. Being of an impulsive nature myself, I found this passage from The Urantia Book to be particularly relevant to me. So I decided at that time to work on controlling my impatience, fears, and anxiety in order to facilitate the work of my spirit companion. I can tell you that I am still working on these aspects of my behavior and will continue to work on them for a long time to come. The work of the Adjusters is therefore done on an intellectual basis.
What is the nature of the work done by the Thought Adjusters and the Spirit of Truth upon our ideas, ideals, insights, and spiritual efforts? I believe that from the fruit of our reflections and efforts, they suggest to us an improved, more accurate version of what our human mind has constructed. These improvements or adjustments are changes made gradually. I would like to draw a parallel with the teaching I give to my students. I am a voice teacher and when a student comes to my class with a piece that he has chosen to work on, I listen to him and make a list of what needs to be corrected. I make sure that the student is singing the right notes, the right rhythms, that the intonation is right, and that the student understands the meaning of the text to be performed. Then I suggest the adjustments that need to be made, taking into account his personal abilities. If the student is not singing the right notes, I have him sing the piece again until all the notes are corrected. I do the same with rhythms, then with intonation and interpretation. Over time, I have learned to correct only one thing at a time, otherwise I risk overwhelming the student with information and confusing him. So I gradually adjust his singing style by making the necessary corrections. The accumulation of these multiple corrections or adjustments leads the student to sing better the piece he has chosen. I believe that the Adjuster is also a teacher, a guide, and that he must act according to similar rules, but he does so with our ideas, ideals, insights, and spiritual efforts. However, there is a communication problem between the Adjuster and his partner. The Adjuster cannot present these adjustments to the human mind, because he has no means of expressing himself personally:
The Thought Adjuster has no special mechanism through which to gain self-expression; (UB 101:1.2)
If the Adjuster has no special mechanism for expressing himself, it means that he has no voice and cannot use words to convey his directives to us. It becomes difficult for him to communicate with us in the way that personal beings understand him (remember, the Adjuster is not a personality). How, then, does he manage to present these adjusted versions of our ideas, ideals, concepts, and efforts to our human minds?
“While their mortal hosts are asleep, the Adjusters try to register their creations in the higher levels of the material mind,” (UB 110:5.4)
I believe that these creations are the corrected versions of our own ideas, ideals, insights, and efforts spoken of in the preceding paragraph. The higher levels of the material mind are that area of superconsciousness referred to in the diagram of human consciousness at the beginning of this text (see diagram figure ). As already mentioned, we are relatively unconscious of this area; therefore, there is an effort required to access it. How we can appropriate these creations which the Adjuster impresses upon the superconscious area will be seen in the third part of this article.
Marc Belleau
¶ Progress of the study group at La Maisonia
ON AUGUST 26, 2012, A study meeting of the Urantia Book of the group “LA MAISONIA” was held in Quebec City. The basic criteria and parameters of the group were stated and a copy of the said document inspired by the UAI manual for study groups was given to each participant.
Another document on the nature and grace of personality was also distributed to the members present and as promised, following a previous reading on mota, from the hosts Louise Renaud and Gilles Bertrand. Then, we had a very enriching and lively reading on booklet no. 103. We also discussed specific topics on leadership (true definition for the Urantia movement) and on the meaning of the word “technique” which initially put off one of our members. All participated actively in this very fraternal meeting. On September 9, there will be continuity in our initial approach where our goals, objectives and strategies for the study group “À LA MAISONIA” will be further defined.
September 9, 2012
- A prayer was sung by a female participant and another said by a male participant, followed by the study of booklet 103.
Interesting notes:
- Feelings = UB 103:3.4 Remember that in religion of all ages the most important experience is feeling about moral values and social meanings, not thinking about theological dogmas or philosophical theories. — Social gathering vs. religious gathering (communion atmosphere)
The characteristic difference between a social occasion and a religious gathering is that in contrast with the secular the religious is pervaded by the atmosphere of communion. In this way human association generates a feeling of fellowship with the divine, and this is the beginning of group worship. Partaking of a common meal was the earliest type of social communion,. . . (UB 103:4.1)
… Beautiful universal brotherhood that made us affirm that this said meeting was indeed one of spiritual communion. Where two or three people gather in YOUR NAME… YOU (Michael) are there in our midst.
Sunday, September 23, 2012
- Song and prayer by two participants
- Reading by Louise Psalm 22.2 and 15.6
In sharing, before and after the introduction, general vision on this very specific subject that is MEDITATION! The importance of living personally each one’s moment of grace… the acts are ours, but the consequences remain with God.
Reading on booklet 103.5 and .06
Louise and Gilles, voluntary servants
at the Maisonia of Quebec
¶ AUQ 2012 ACTIVITY CALENDAR
Holiday Brunch
Sunday, December 2 at 11 a.m.
Best Western Hotel St-Jérôme
Please confirm your attendance before November 30 at association.urantia.quebec@gmail.com or by calling 450-565-3323.
¶ 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
Group: from Outaouais
Sunday from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Ottawa Region
Maurice Migneault
Tel: 613-789-6833
Group: The Alphée Brothers
Sunday
Thetford Mines region
Sylvère Marcoux
Tel: 418-332-3560
Group: The South Shore Lighthouse
Every Monday from 7:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.
South Shore region of Montreal
Luciano Camellini and Dominique Marchessault
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.