© 2013 Gaétan G. Charland, Marcel Laporte
© 2013 Urantia Association of Quebec
¶ MEETING FOR MICHAEL’S PARTY
Bring your lunch and your good mood to Parc Angrignon in Ville Lasalle
Sunday August 18, from 11 a.m.
¶ You are the Sowers!
Part 2
Continuation of the speech presented at the 2012 International Congress in Colombia.
Billy didn’t have much to pick up. His plants didn’t have much soil around them, and at first they looked like they were going to grow, but when the warm days came, the poor plants couldn’t survive. They withered and died.
Unfortunately, Jill had no plants at the end of the season. You remember how she scattered her seeds on the ground. Yes, the birds came and made a nice meal of them. They didn’t leave any seeds that could grow into plants.
Let’s think!
What kind of Sowers are we?
What kind of Sowers do we want to be?
What must we do to become good Sowers?
So where should we start?
Perhaps by looking at the life of Jesus, as the Revelators have recommended we do, and see what we might discover. The Urantia Book papers on the life of Jesus are full of wonderful examples of how we might become very effective teachers. Why not explore and practice with the help of study groups what we might learn there? Even Jesus, in his day, trained the Apostles as teachers, so what are we waiting for? If we have been encouraged to form thousands of study groups, would this not be the ideal place in contemporary society and cultures to train teachers effectively? There are those among us who have special teaching skills and who could very well develop programs that could be used in study groups to train ourselves; In today’s world, self-training, with the help of a good program, can be very effective. I know this from being involved in a self-training program in the health field, administered in a group, that was very effective.
If we think about how Jesus taught, he always used natural training methods that can be easily replicated by anyone motivated by faith and a burning desire to share. He never resorted to mystical or obscure methods of teaching; he always used the positive approach.
“Always and everywhere did he say, “You shall do this—you ought to do that.” Never did he employ the negative mode of teaching derived from the ancient taboos. He refrained from placing emphasis on evil by forbidding it, while he exalted the good by commanding its performance.” (UB 127:4.2)
Not only do we need to become good intellectual educators, we need to become spiritual educators as well. We will need to be consistent with what we teach. In simpler terms, we will need to be and live what we teach if we are to become effective educators and disseminators. Improving ourselves is the hardest and most difficult part to do, because we rarely see ourselves objectively. We tend to see ourselves as very spiritual because of the intellectual and spiritual knowledge we possess, but spirituality is much more than just knowledge, it is a dynamic way of life that produces many fruits.
This is what Jesus taught his Apostles and disciples during the tour of Tyre and Sidon:
Spiritual living mightily increases true self-respect. But self-respect is not self-admiration. Self-respect is always co-ordinate with the love and service of one’s fellows. It is not possible to respect yourself more than you love your neighbor; the one is the measure of the capacity for the other. (UB 156:5.14)
As the days pass, every true believer becomes more skillful in alluring his fellows into the love of eternal truth. Are you more resourceful in revealing goodness to humanity today than you were yesterday? Are you a better righteousness recommender this year than you were last year? Are you becoming increasingly artistic in your technique of leading hungry souls into the spiritual kingdom? (UB 156:5.15)
Are your ideals sufficiently high to insure your eternal salvation while your ideas are so practical as to render you a useful citizen to function on earth in association with your mortal fellows? In the spirit, your citizenship is in heaven; in the flesh, you are still citizens of the earth kingdoms. Render to the Caesars the things which are material and to God those which are spiritual. (UB 156:5.16)
The measure of the spiritual capacity of the evolving soul is your faith in truth and your love for man, but the measure of your human strength of character is your ability to resist the holding of grudges and your capacity to withstand brooding in the face of deep sorrow. Defeat is the true mirror in which you may honestly view your real self. (UB 156:5.17)
As you grow older in years and more experienced in the affairs of the kingdom, are you becoming more tactful in dealing with troublesome mortals and more tolerant in living with stubborn associates? Tact is the fulcrum of social leverage, and tolerance is the earmark of a great soul. If you possess these rare and charming gifts, as the days pass you will become more alert and expert in your worthy efforts to avoid all unnecessary social misunderstandings. Such wise souls are able to avoid much of the trouble which is certain to be the portion of all who suffer from lack of emotional adjustment, those who refuse to grow up, and those who refuse to grow old gracefully. (UB 156:5.18)
Avoid dishonesty and unfairness in all your efforts to preach truth and proclaim the gospel. Seek no unearned recognition and crave no undeserved sympathy. Love, freely receive from both divine and human sources regardless of your deserts, and love freely in return. But in all other things related to honor and adulation seek only that which honestly belongs to you. (UB 156:5.19)
The God-conscious mortal is certain of salvation; he is unafraid of life; he is honest and consistent. He knows how bravely to endure unavoidable suffering; he is uncomplaining when faced by inescapable hardship. (UB 156:5.20)
The true believer does not grow weary in well-doing just because he is thwarted. Difficulty whets the ardor of the truth lover, while obstacles only challenge the exertions of the undaunted kingdom builder. (UB 156:5.21)
We can see from these teachings of the Master that there is much more to becoming a good educator than being intellectually knowledgeable. We have much work to do, not only as an organization, but also as individuals. Could it be that the Revelators knew what could be accomplished by organizing thousands of study groups? Could they help us achieve the personal growth we need to become good teachers and disseminators of this Revelation?
“. . .you will become like the light of life to those who sit about you in darkness, showing all who so desire the way to reach the harbor of salvation in safety.” (UB 130:3.2)
Today, with the advent of computers and the Internet, we want to act quickly, we want to change the world in a single day, or at least, a part of it, in our lifetime. We often forget that we are the children of evolution and that it took us years to become who and what we are; it took us many more years to learn everything we know. We may have forgotten the long hours of reading many books on philosophy, religion and science; the meditations that followed and the prayers we made to find our way through this jungle of facts and nonsense.
While being the natural children of evolution, culture and education; we have been and are still influenced by the concepts of free will left to us by our misguided planetary Prince. These concepts have been embedded in the ancient cultures of our planet for over two hundred thousand years and it will take countless years and perhaps millennia to eradicate them from our society and education. A friend of mine refers to this as the Luciferian way of thinking.
I will not dwell on this, but only want to illustrate the immensity of the task at hand. We are the builders of a new garden, and if we remember how many years it took Van to prepare the first one (83 years), we should be patient in our task of building the next garden, for the new age to come, and probably for a new teacher. Cosmic consciousness involves the acquisition of the perspective of time when evolution is involved.
“You must study the time of Jesus on earth. You can take very good note of the manner in which the kingdom of heaven was inaugurated in the world. Did it evolve slowly and unfold naturally? Or did it come with a sudden display of force, accompanied by a spectacular exhibition of power? Was it evolutionary or revolutionary?” (Publication Mandate — 1955)
Looking at all that has happened and is happening on our planet, we might conclude that revolution is the vehicle for evolution, but is this the right way? If we are to share The Urantia Book and its teachings, do we want to revolutionize society or help individuals participate in the natural evolution of our world? Do we want to do things the way they were done in the days of Caligastia and Adam and Eve, or do we want to be a little wiser and heed the counsel of the revelators? As individuals, you are free to choose your own actions, but as an organization, we must be wise and patient in how we do things.
“You must encourage your souls to be patient. You are associated with a revelation of truth which is part of the natural evolution of religion in this world. Too rapid a growth would be suicidal” (Publication Mandate-1955)
After discovering an important truth, we may have realized that it was more than we could have imagined or hoped for. Later, we may have reflected that the truth we had discovered had always been there within us, but that scaffolding had been necessary to reach it, or as a famous sculptor once said, “To sculpt the body of a beautiful woman, I must remove from the block of stone everything that is not that woman.” We may have realized that the truth we had discovered contained within itself moral and spiritual responsibilities, even to the point of changing our lives to conform to the new meanings and values.
If we reflect on how we discovered what we were seeking, we will gain insight into how we can become a better disseminator or educator. We may discover that we had a strong desire to know more, that we were thirsty for truth and meaning. We may also discover that it took us years to discover what we were seeking. Was not the process of seeking as important as the result of our seeking? Did the process of seeking in some way assist our Adjuster in modulating our minds for the truth we were seeking? Could we have recognized the truth on the lower level of our scaffolding if someone had shown it to us?
So, it will be with as many people as possible that we meet during the rest of our lives that we seek to share with them what we know. Let us not deprive them of the immense satisfaction and pleasure of discovering the truth for themselves, let us be respectful of who they are; let us remember, Jesus taught the most to those to whom he said the least.
Dissemination is an art, and one that requires patience and respect for one another, an art that understands the nature of the human mind and the nature of the Thought Adjuster within it. We have found The Urantia Book, and in it is probably all we need to learn to become better disseminators, and as we study in groups we will certainly discover better ways of doing this. When three or more of you gather together in my name, I will be among you, said Jesus; that is another excellent reason for group study.
During the life of a planet it is not often given to its inhabitants to participate in the unfolding of a revelation. We have been given this privilege by virtue of our sincere desire to seek and find truth, but many of us do not fully realize it and, consequently, allow other means of communication and contact to take precedence over the responsibility attendant upon the discovery of the Revelation. Personal contact with others will ever remain the most effective form of dissemination because it involves partnership with God in the presence of the Thought Adjuster, the Spirit of Truth, and the Holy Spirit.
As The Urantia Book mentions:
“You cannot reveal God to those who do not seek for him; you cannot lead unwilling souls into the joys of salvation. Man must become hungry for truth as a result of the experiences of living, or he must desire to know God as the result of contact with the lives of those who are acquainted with the divine Father before another human being can act as the means of leading such a fellow mortal to the Father in heaven.” (UB 132:7.2)
Remember that not only are we the Light and Salt on this earth, but we are also the Sowers of the seeds of truth that will help to spiritually uplift this world. Make the most of your time on this planet, join us in our efforts to train educators and become better disseminators. When man functions in partnership with God, great things happen.
Gaetan G. Charland
¶ The service
THIS TITLE HARMONIZES with: commitment, love, self-forgetfulness, giving one’s time. As my father often said, “you always reap what you sow…” and as Gaétan always says, “to love is to serve.”
After all these texts that have been brilliantly written by our Urantian brothers and sisters, such as Alcide P., Guy P., Pierre R., Isabelle D., Gaétan C., Maurice M., Line S.P., and many others…, what can I tell you that is different on this theme. To serve is the accomplishment of any autonomous personality who agrees to do the will of our Heavenly Father by Mrs. Isabelle Delisle, Réflectivité, December 2000.
The need for commitment: Since we have received much, we must take on a sacred responsibility, that of serving according to our talents and our means as citizens responsible for the propagation of the 5th revelation. Pierre Routhier, July/August 1998.
In his very first message in July/August 1999, as the new president of AUQ, Gaétan proclaimed his deep desire to serve. The least we can say is that his wish was fulfilled beyond his expectations. His motto stated: “Become a model by example and not by advertising.”
“We must become examples, inspiring figures, if we want to change the world of tomorrow.”
In the same “Réflectivité” Alcide Paradis titled his article Am I or am I not of service? “Religion is not a technique for attaining a static and blissful peace of mind; it is an impulse for organizing the soul for dynamic service. It is the enlistment of the totality of selfhood in the loyal service of loving God and serving man.” UB 100:3.1. “Religion leads to serving men and thus creating ethics and altruism.” UB 102:3.6
In April 2004, Guy Perron wrote understand to love and serve with wisdom in joy. The kingdom of heaven is within us and becomes accessible when we take the decision-action to consciously practice service-expression of love through our disinterested devotion, filled with unalterable goodness, lasting peace, indulgent tolerance, courageous fidelity and sincere fairness.
What more can be said after these eloquent words regarding “service”.
“Knowing how to say thank you” as Maurice Migneault wrote in May 2002 of Réflectivité. “Among the many civilities to develop, there is thankfulness, knowing how to show one’s recognition with an honest thank you without always asking for more, to highlight the imperfections of the service rendered.” “A service should not be something that one asks for, but something that one offers.”
Thank you all, dear Urantian brothers and sisters, to whom we owe these magnificent texts.
And you, you will tell me! Who are you?
Who is the one who tells you these magnificent mentions of past Reflectivities?
Well, I am your new treasurer, the one who replaced our dear Italian, Luciano, my accounting manager. Thank you for your availability and your valuable collaboration.
Maybe you would like to know a little more about me!
My first quests for truth began around the age of 18, in 1964. That year I joined the military air force. During basic training, the laws and rules that govern the military, I felt the need to withdraw from these noisy companions. The only place that met this isolation was the Catholic chapel of the base in St-Jean d’Iberville (QC). The calm and quiet of the place provided me with the atmosphere to meditate while questioning myself about our existence, our origins, antiquity, Egypt, Greece and their mythologies. (My parents had enrolled me in the Joliette Seminary. Being the 6th of a family of 8, due to lack of financial resources, my parents were unable to support the annual expenses of my brother and me after two years of classical training.) Hence my questions between myths, stories, legends and truth.
In short, I found myself very often alone, 4 to 5 times a week, in the chapel thinking. The chaplain, who was no longer very young, but very friendly, ended up noticing me and we often had conversations about the truths of the Catholic religion, the church, Rome, the infallibility of the Pope. We became more familiar to the point where he often invited me to go fishing on the Richelieu River, not far from the base.
After a 6 month period of training and education, the end was marked by a monthly military parade with parents and friends to mark the successful completion of the exams in the presence of senior officers. It was at this event that we received our affections among their many bases across Canada. Mine was Borden, Ontario for military police training and special training on one of the two bases in Canada equipped with the “Bomark” missiles equipped with nuclear warheads at the “La Macaza” base in Quebec. (The other being in North Bay, Ontario.)
After almost two years, the work had become routine. My roommate and I decided to go back to school. He was in sports at university and I was in the electrical trade school (intensive program). Once completed, a friend suggested that I continue with him in the 3-year electrical engineering course. Following a disagreement with a chemistry teacher, I had to abstain from class so as not to deprive the other students of his teaching. After several meetings with the director of studies, who found no reason to criticize me, asked me to meet with him to negotiate and reached an agreement, and I was able to attend his classes. After five months working for Hydro-Québec in telecommunications, this same director was transferred to the new general and vocational training college in Joliette (Cégep).
With all the material resources services barely completed, this director needed an assistant for personnel management relating to the maintenance of the grounds and buildings. This is how I spent 33 years serving this clientele, composed of teachers, professionals, maintenance staff and students. Although paid, being at the service of a community of 1500 people (even college) took on a whole new meaning. It was during these years, while taking courses at Cégep and university, that I sought the truth through numerous readings. Among others Tibetan from a Lama doctor, others esoteric and Asian.
Someone once, while discussing the spiritual realm, recommended to me “The Lives of the Masters” by Baird T. Spalding. The revelations in this book exploded in my face. Finally I found a way to meet my expectations, although with some almost improbable statements, this author had taken several decades before daring to present his story, it was so fantastic. When I finished reading it, the French translator, Jacques Weiss, pointed out that he had also translated “The Urantia Book”. This was in the 1980s. Although my life was not extravagant, reading it initiated a subtle but certain transformation in me. For many years, I was an isolated reader, savoring these revelations. One day I received a phone call inviting me to form a study group. This young man was Eric Martel, our current secretary at the AUQ.
After a while, our group was a bit disparate, because of members who were clinging to other more esoteric readings, the group dissolved. Eric undertook studies in the evenings in addition to his work and I mine. During this period, I began to attend thematic meetings of the AUQ. My enthusiasm pushed me to communicate this revelation to some professors of philosophy and other related subjects. What a disappointment. Their interest in a new theory, outside their field of knowledge, did not interest them, some had heard of it, but without any more interest.
I also became interested in the Foundation as a volunteer at a Montreal book fair.
I am blessed to have an extraordinary companion, a reincarnated angel. I was not the only one to believe it. When she was born, her father cried out, “this is the angel I was given” and I call her “my angel”. She occasionally leafs through The Urantia Book here and there. What I see is that she applies the teachings daily. Always ready to offer and give her time, days, weeks, to help those who are sincere. Neighbors, friends, nieces. If service = expression of love, selfless devotion, courageous loyalty, she truly expresses love. When my mother died. She was even more present than us, her own children. Many live far away. Over the years, she has become her closest confidant. My mother was 96 years old at the time of her death. The day before she died, she hugged my partner so tightly for her condition that she thought her strength had suddenly been revitalized. Yes, this partner is special. One of her sisters was disabled. She knew very early on what the word service meant… In her weekly wood painting workshop meetings, she shines and quickly becomes the source of joy of living, confidante (family) and advisor. Oddly enough, as soon as she settles into her wood painting work, the two dogs and the cat come to lie down next to my angel, among 8 or 9 ladies present. My first marriage allowed me to be the father of 2 beautiful daughters, now aged 37 and 39, and 3 granddaughters and a grandson. This angel who was unable to have children, has become the person closest to my daughters, their husbands and the most popular grandmother with our grandchildren. She is truly my model of service and love on a daily basis. Heaven has blessed me with an angelic partner.
Coming back to the study group, it was Eric again who woke me up by inviting me to join his Uni-Terre study group. After two years, here we are together on the AUQ council with Gaétan and the team. Like all women in a household, Line is our lady, continually engaged.
There you have it, now you know me a little better and an improved version, humanly and spiritually. It is inevitable, living with an angel named Ghislaine L’Abbée. Together, our team is called l’Abbée / Laporte.
Well now you know enough, on the way to the next international congress in August 2015
N.B. Will volunteers, friends of volunteers of our brothers and sisters of Urantia be ready for these services…Thanks in advance.
Looking forward to meeting you,
Marcel Laporte
Treasurer.auq@gmail.com
¶ Leather Cases for The Urantia Book
A few months ago, the Foundation got rid of some 120 cases for the Little Urantia Books.
The AUQ only had to pay the shipping costs and therefore can sell them to you for $5 plus postage.
Let me know your interest, either by email at line.stpierre@gmail.com or by phone at 450-565-3323.
¶ STUDY GROUPS
THIS ACTIVITY ALLOWS MULTIPLE READERS OF DIFFERENT LEVELS OF UNDERSTANDING TO SHARE AND STUDY THE TEACHINGS OF The Urantia Book TOGETHER. It promotes spiritual progress by enabling its participants to find practical applications of 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.