© 2019 Line St-Pierre, Robert Cadieux, Normand Laperle, Claude Flibotte
© 2019 Urantia Association of Quebec
¶ Word from the President
Line St-Pierre
president@urantiaqc.org
Every year since 2013, my three American friends and I meet at one or the other’s house to plan our service activities for the coming year and develop our workshops at Urantia conferences or develop the theme of our women’s retreats.
So in April we met at Katharina’s house in New Mexico, and in January during our monthly conference call we decided to offer a retreat in Santa Fe, after our planning week. The other two meetings will be in September at the Foundation in Chicago and a retreat in Michigan.
What is experienced during these four days of retreat is always focused on spiritual work, where we offer the small group of women, twelve in this case, a trusting environment where intimacy and kindness facilitate openness to liberating sharing.
From this experience, each person receives what they need and of course, each person participates in the enlargement of the other. At the end of the retreat, the transformation is remarkable in some, like a flower blossoming when the environment offers it the right conditions. It is always a great happiness to feel the joy of others when we give ourselves by sharing the God who lives in us.
After these ten days of travel, I returned home for one day and left the next day for the Foundation where I was invited to represent Canada at the Symposium on World Cultures. Twelve students of the Urantia Book from five continents had gathered information to talk about their culture, their religion, the politics of the country, the value of women, education, reception and the developments of the Urantia Book in their country. All the presentations were filmed by Gaétan Charland and offered live.
You will find them at the following address:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3z3tEociOK5VVU1DNLgW0Q
I have learned a lot from my new friends from Lebanon, Uganda, Indonesia and the Philippines, because I did not know that their people believe in so much deception and bizarre beliefs. I can tell you that those who think that the era of light and life is coming soon have never had to deal with these cultures that do not know God as The Urantia Book presents Him to us.
¶ AUQ 2019 Annual General Meeting (AGM)
Robert Cadieux
Secretary, AUQ
Our AGM was held at the Hotel “Le Dauphin” in Drummondville, Saturday, April 27 from 10:00 to noon. This meeting is part of the mandatory actions that a non-profit association and charity like ours must hold each year.
It took place in the usual manner as announced in the agenda contained in the “Convocation” that you received as a member of the AUQ.
This year’s election for the Board of Directors was for the positions of President and Treasurer.
There were 18 active members with voting rights. Of course we would like to see greater participation and this is a vision for the future because this core of members present must grow.
As you may have guessed, no new members have stepped forward to fill either of these two critical positions in our organization.
Line St-Pierre (president) and Marc Belleau (treasurer), who were respectively re-elected to these positions, are key figures in our organization.
The AUQ is the Quebec flame of the Urantian movement. We are those who keep alive, in Quebec, the human action that continues for now and for the future of what will be the global (worldwide) movement of the true religion of the humans of our planet, “the religion of personal religious experience” UB 155:6.8.
This was the theme of the discussions we had during the afternoon after a meal shared in good humor between people who are happy to see each other again and exchange our motivating ideas for the present and the future of this very stimulating human and spiritual adventure.
The afternoon passed quickly. The animation of our discussions took us from one person to another, exchanging our memorable memories and especially our ideas and projects on how to propagate and communicate our vision of our inner religion; the one that connects us to God, the divine spirit that lives in each of us.
“The religion of the spirit of the living God that dwells in the minds of men” UB 156:6.10
When you read in this “Réflectivité” that you are invited to come and participate in an event organized by the AUQ of which you are a part, the best thing is that we are numerous there to stimulate each other and charge ourselves with the stimulating spiritual energy to then go and transmit it to the people that life - and our seraphic guardians - will put on our path.
“You can psychologize evolutionary religion but not the personal-experience religion of spiritual origin.” (UB 102:5.3)
¶ Theme day Sunday May 26, 2019
Hello everyone,
There will be a theme day on May 26, 2019, 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. at the hotel “Le dauphin”, at 600 boul. St-Joseph, Drummondville, J2C 2C1.
The theme will be “Personal religious experience — practice”.
In the morning, we will have four presentations to whet your appetite. The afternoon will be dedicated to exchanges and discussions on the theme.
- How do you share your religious experience?
- Our efforts to transmit our religious feelings, our action. How do we put this into practice?
- Our approach to people?
- How to become more efficient, without talking about the Book?
We hope to see many of you for this moment of sharing.
“[Among all the prayers in the Hebrew Scriptures, it is on the following supplication of the psalmist that Jesus made the most approving comments.]
Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. Rid me of my secret sins and preserve your servant from every presumptuous transgression. ” UB 146:2.13
¶ Remembrance Dinner in Quebec
Normand Laperle
Lévis
In recent years, a new tradition—completely voluntary—has taken hold in Quebec and elsewhere in the world. This is what is called the “supper of remembrance” which refers to Jesus’ last supper on this world, on Easter Thursday in the year 30.
This year, our study group “À la Maisonnia” from the Quebec region met on this occasion, for the 3rd year in a row. There were 9 of us.
We chose to read the Fasc. 182 , section 3: “Alone in Gethsemane.” It tells the story of the moment when Jesus goes to meditate — before his arrest.
For me, this section could be called: “The Human Side of Jesus, Still Fully Present in Him.” He was influenced by it. He had to take it into account—even at that time in his life.
We have commented on the passage where Jesus expressed — three times — to the apostles who accompanied him, his desire to be morally supported by them. There is this phrase where he said to them: “Can you not see that my soul is experiencing extreme sadness, even mortal sadness, and that I ardently desire your company? ” UB 182:3.2
Shortly afterward, Jesus said to his Father: “Truly [he notes that], the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.” And adds “And now, O Father, if this cup cannot pass away, then I will drink it. Thy will be done, not mine.” UB 182:3.4
In this section of the UB, the following expressions are repeated 12 times, in turn: “the human Jesus”, “his humanity”, “his human nature”, “his human will”, “the human heart of Jesus”, “feelings common to all human experience” UB 182:3.1-11
And there is this sentence: “The human nature of Jesus was not insensible to this situation of personal loneliness, public opprobrium, and apparent failure of his cause. All these feelings weighed upon him with an indescribable heaviness. In this sadness his mind returned to…”.
And yet another sentence: “It was one of those terrible moments in a man’s life when everything seems to overwhelm him with crushing cruelty and awful anguish.”
And the triumph of the end: “The spirit had triumphed over the flesh; faith had asserted itself superior to all human tendencies to fear or entertain doubts.”
Jesus experienced this as a “human”…and he triumphed over it as a “human”—with his “human” will. There is nothing “supernatural” about what he experienced. He had to live—experience—this ordeal as a human.
For me, this section is the section where I discover that the “human side” of Jesus was still very much present in him at this time in his life. He still had to struggle internally to take control of it.
The human in us is strong…
I sympathize with this Jesus. I understand him, from my own experience of inner struggle.
It is this side of Jesus’ human experience — which he always had in the background and, just like each of us, which he could never completely get rid of — that makes him able to sympathize with us. That makes him know us … from the inside, from his own inner experience (and not from an external observation).
Is it possible for us to triumph over similar inner battles during our human life on Urantia?
Yes. Because Jesus always won his human battles “as human”, not as Divine.
He proved through his personal experience on Urantia, “as a human,” that we can overcome our inner difficulties just as he did—to attain the level of fusion. All this, despite the difficulties inherent in life in the flesh, in the material worlds.
¶ Mind and body
Claude Flibotte
Saint Julie
Hello dear readers.
Following the question I posed during a study group meeting on Zoom, namely that “it is the mind that shapes the body”, I did a little research.
Here are two quotes on which my hypothesis is based:
“Mind is always creative. The mind endowment of an individual animal, mortal, morontian, spirit ascender, or finality attainer is always competent to produce a suitable and serviceable body for the living creature identity. But the presence phenomenon of a personality or the pattern of an identity, as such, is not a manifestation of energy, either physical, mindal, or spiritual. The personality form is the pattern aspect of a living being; it connotes the arrangement of energies, and this, plus life and motion, is the mechanism of creature existence.” (UB 42:12.9)
“The liaison between the cosmic mind and the ministry of the adjutant mind spirits gives birth to a physical tabernacle suitable for the evolving human being. The morontia mind similarly individualizes morontia forms for all mortal survivors. As the mortal body is personal and characteristic to every human being, so the morontia form will be highly individual and duly characteristic of the creative mind which dominates it. No two morontia forms are more alike than two human bodies. The Morontia Power Supervisors sponsor the undifferentiated morontia materials with which the morontia life can begin to function, and the seraphim who assist them supply these materials. And after the morontia life, the spirit forms will be found to be equally diverse, personal, and characteristic of their respective mind-spirit inhabitants.” UB 42:12.11
Now, let us try to understand this by means of an analogy of my own! Let us imagine the universe of Nebadon in space. This universe exists by the spirit presence of the Divine Minister who delimits its dimensions. We know that it is the Divine Minister of Nebadon who distributes the mind in her universe to all living creatures. Imagine this mind as a light mist uniformly diffused throughout Nebadon. Now imagine that for each human individuality, a portion of this mist is concentrated into a luminous point. This focal point is the material mind of a human. When a new living being is conceived, the condensation of this mist forms the mind of the being in the making. The citation: Fasc. 483.11; p.42:12.11 tells us that it is the liaison between the cosmic mind (for us the seventh Master Spirit) and the adjutant mind spirits that gives birth to the physical body. The first five adjutants for animals and the seven for man. This core of mind seems to act on matter as the core of matter of a protoplanet in formation gravitates toward it the matter of the surrounding space to form itself. Imagine this as a small core of matter that grows larger with each meteorite crash on its surface to become a planet similar to Urantia. It would be the same for the formation of the material body attracted by the gravitation of this core of mind which would attract the constituent matter of this body.
You will say to me: “Yes, that is all well and good, but what do you do with parental heredity?” Precisely, it is necessary for the production of a body with a very particular identity. Otherwise, the mind would always reproduce the same model of life. It is as if the mind is the chief operator who triggers production according to the plans provided by the mold of parental heredity. If my hypothesis is valid, the Life Carriers originally provided the initial materials and models of life, the Divine Minister provided the spark of life. All forms of life that have appeared on earth result from the vital formulas implanted by the Life Carriers in the original plasma. Evolutionary adaptation contributed to the progressive developments of all these forms of life until the emergence of man. The conductor of all these life forms being mind, whether it be the cosmic mind, the Divine Minister or the adjutants, it is always the mind ultimately distributed by the Infinite Spirit of Paradise through its descending manifestations in the material universes.
Now, what will happen when I die? How do I build a morontia body since I will no longer have the adjutants or the material mind to do so? To this I would answer that I will have as my new mind a direct connection with the cosmic mind adapted in its Nebadon variant. My soul will provide the pattern, the mold after which the Morontia Power Supervisors will provide the morontia materials for its elaboration. Eventually, this new body reuniting my soul and the return of my Adjuster will constitute the awakening of my new consciousness and the reactivation of my personality.
What do you say?
Good thinking!
¶ Urantia-Association-of-Quebec — 2019 Calendar of Activities
| Sunday, January 13 | Board of Directors | 10:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m. |
| Sunday March 10 | Board of Directors | 10:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m. |
| Saturday, April 27 | Annual General Meeting (AGM) in Drummondville | 10:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m. |
| Sunday, May 5 | Board of Directors | 10:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m. |
| Sunday, May 26 | Theme Day | 10:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m. |
| Sunday, June 16 | Board of Directors | 6:30 p.m. - 8:30 p.m. |
| August 9, 10 and 11 | AUQ Regional Congress | |
| Sunday, August 25 | Picnic for the Feast of Jesus — Mount Royal Park | 11:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m. |
| Sunday, September 8 | Board of Directors | 10:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m. |
| **Sunday, September 29 | Presentation of The Urantia Book | |
| Thursday, November 14 | Board of Directors — (online with Zoom) | 6:30 p.m.-8:30 p.m. |
| Sunday, December 8th | Holiday Brunch | 10:00 a.m.-2:00 p.m. |
¶ Study groups
This activity allows several 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 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.
Outaouais Group
Region: Gatineau
Wednesday, from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.
Maurice Migneault (613) 789-6833
Group : “Le Pont”
Region: South Shore of Montreal — Brossard
Thursdays, from 7:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.
Guy Vachon (450) 465-7049
Group: “Uni-Terre”
Region: Joliette
Sundays at 10:00 am
Contact: Eric Martel (450) 756-9387
Group: “Découverte”
Region: Laurentides — St-Jérôme
Mondays, from 7:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.
Gaétan Charland and Line St-Pierre
Tel.: (450) 565-3323
Sherbrooke Group
Region: Sherbrooke
Every 2 weeks: Tuesday or Wednesday, (to be confirmed) from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.
Hélène Boisvenue and Denis Gravelle Tel.: (819) 569-6416
Group: “The United Family of Urantia”
Region: Montreal — Downtown
Wednesdays, from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
Mrs. Diane Labrecque (514) 277-2308
Group: “At Maisonia”
Region: Quebec
Every 2 weeks: Sundays, from 1:15 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.
Gilles Bertrand & Louise Renaud (418) 871-4564
Virtual Study Group, French
Every Monday from 2pm to 4pm Eastern Time
Via Zoom: https://www.zoom.us/j/9084766734
Responsible: Guy Perron (438) 495-7747
Potential Study Groups Seeking Participants
Group : “Le portail du bercail”
Region: Sorel
Mrs. Eva & Ernest Asselin
(450) 517-0136
Group: “Saguenay”
Region: Saguenay
Contact: Jean-Guillaume Tremblay (418) 693-2049
To see the official list of study groups, click directly on the following link: http://urantia-quebec.ca/activites_liste_des_groupes.php
¶ Réflectivité
Responsible: (418) 835-1809 (Normand Laperle)
Assistant: (418) 871-4564 (Gilles Bertrand)
Publication (monthly)
Last week of the previous month.
To submit your articles:
Send them to: reflectivite.auq@gmail.com
Add: Your name and city of residence.