© 2019 Line St-Pierre, Robert Cadieux, Jean Sauvé, Claude Flibotte, Normand Laperle, Gilles Bertrand
© 2019 Urantia Association of Quebec
¶ Word from the President
Line St-Pierre
president@urantiaqc.org
Here is what a Divine Counselor presents to us:
“The religious challenge of this age is to those farseeing and forward-looking men and women of spiritual insight who will dare to construct a new and appealing philosophy of living out of the enlarged and exquisitely integrated modern concepts of cosmic truth, universe beauty, and divine goodness.” UB 2:7.10 …and when this gradually develops in us, what do we do with it?
We recognize that giving the Book is not usually the answer to an individual’s personal transformation, although its contents are vibrant with truth and filled with pearls of wisdom.
In order to demonstrate this personal philosophy, one aspect that I think about is that each of us must develop certain skills, certain methods to elevate, edify and increase the truth in conversations with those around us.
Listening respectfully, not contradicting or taking away what is said and offering another possibility, that is, increasing the part of truth held in what one hears as Jesus did leaves our interlocutor with a new thought in his mind that will make its way with the Spirit of Truth.
At my youngest son’s wedding last Saturday, I had the opportunity to meet and chat with the priest before the celebration as he spoke to me about the bride and groom and their beautiful openness about the responsibility of marriage in addition to being believers.
The opportunity was too good for me to augment this truth and I offered him this:
They are not only believers in God, they have living faith, they live in love for each other and for others and more, they know that after this life, something else awaits them. He answered me that many Catholics believe in God, but do not have faith.
During his homily, he used my words to exemplify faith in action in Mathieu and Marie-Joëlle.
We are all called to participate in the building of values and their deepening among our contemporaries; it is about being attentive to what surrounds us.
“Religion does need new leaders, spiritual men and women who will dare to depend solely on Jesus and his incomparable teachings.” (UB 195:9.4)
¶ Work for the
sowers
Robert Cadieux
Secretary-AUQ-2019
Montreal
Dear readers,
I’m taking a few lines to thank Normand, our editor, for what he does every month.
Soliciting and finding articles, editing them, doing the layout, printing and mailing them to those who receive it in paper version and also distributing this monthly newsletter via the internet; our RÉFLECTIVITÉ.
Normand and Gilles, you are among the sowers of the seeds that are germinating for an abundant harvest of sons and daughters of God through faith propagating the dynamic message of Jesus: the fatherhood of God and human fraternity.
To you, readers, participants in the Urantia movement of Quebec and in study groups, I say how fortunate we are to benefit from the work of Normand and Gilles who assists him.
Every month we receive articles that make us realize the importance of what we are experiencing: the vitality of the community of readers of The Urantia Book.
I recall the social importance of making the results of our involvement live around us by living for others, by striving to offer to those who can pick them, our fruits of the spirit through our ordinary actions dedicated to human fraternity.
I take up the message of the Revelators in the publication mandate as they tell us that thousands of study groups must be formed.
We must be active; active in a study group and also, silently and resolutely dedicated in our positive social action, religiously active without making noise radiating our inner peace which becomes delicately inspiring to those who observe us.
Jesus said to his ambassadors: “Go and spread what I have taught you. Go into the world and announce the good news: the fatherhood of God and human brotherhood.”
“You are the salt of the earth, a salt that has the taste of salvation.” UB 140:4.2. However, he commands us to be discerning: “Be wise as serpents, yet harmless as doves.” UB 163:1.3.
Each of us has seeds that we can sow. Let us sow; some of our seeds will fall on good soil.
My idea is to transform what I do in the present into an action dedicated to doing the will of God; a silent and conscious action.
“Henceforth, it is not a duty but rather your exalted privilege to cleanse yourselves from all evils of mind and body while you seek for perfection in the love of God.” (UB 143:2.6)
¶ My first UBIS experience!
Jean Sauve
Saint Lucia of the Laurentians
Last April, I signed up for the “Effective Prayer” course on UBIS, a spontaneous last-minute decision, to increase my ability to pray and also to experience it with my partner, who was already registered. I had no idea how the course would unfold. Would it be exchanges via Zoom? Or presentations by various speakers! I really didn’t know.
I found the process very effective and very engaging. Everything was done through written exchanges, via the UBIS site. In short, one week was devoted to answering a minimum of 3 questions out of a choice of six and the following week all our answers were accessible for opportunities to share reactions, answers, questions, experiences and teachings. This process encouraged us to reflect, to internalize, to express our conceptions, our experiences and our practices of prayer. This subtle approach was truly andragogical.
I now find that my way of praying is much clearer, more determined and more rewarding. It requires faith, sincerity, an intense desire for interiority, the search to do the will of the Heavenly Father and the personal choice to maintain the assiduous rigor of prayer and adoring meditation. Such an experience brings a certain personal but also and above all spiritual growth.
Already, I am experiencing very encouraging effects. It goes without saying that the practice of effective prayer requires and will require continued determination, until the end of temporal life, to continue in morontia life. Isn’t that engaging? Ten weeks seemed rather long to me at first, but I admit that the richness of the exchanges made me feel a pang of nostalgia at the end of the session. Love had held on… between all of us, the 3 teacher-facilitators and the 14 participants and doubtless with many celestial Beings who accompanied us.
“This strong faith in the Lord’s immediate return had much to do with the tendency to omit from the record those references which portrayed the purely human experiences and attributes of the Master.” (UB 196:2.5)
¶ My Paradise
Claude Flibotte
Sainte-Julie
[This text follows a visualization exercise within a training given at the Urantia Book Internet School (UBIS) of what it would be like to experience a moment on Paradise Island.]
Hello dear readers,
Here I am! I who thought I had seen everything, my astonishment continues to grow! I am amazed by the physical beauty that emanates from the Eternal Island. All my senses, however numerous, are solicited to feel the perfection of the abode of the Gods. Here, life shines through everywhere and values of the spirit such as love and universal filiation are of a tangible reality. My transporting supernaphim, since I could not be here by my own means, seems to be amused by the sight of my astonishment and the pleasure that emerges from it.
I am approaching this island for the first time, and my status is that of a visitor only. When my adventure in the central universe is over, I may obtain the status of a Paradise resident for the purpose of enlistment in the primary Corps of the Finality. I am here from the fifth circuit of Havona to find the personality of the Infinite Spirit. I am at present on the periphery of Paradise, where we all land, on my way to the Most Holy Sphere with the mission of attaining the higher spiritual consciousness of recognizing the Conjoint Actor. During my journey in Havona, and thus far, I have recognized and fraternized with the seventh Master Spirit, the Spirit of my home universe. My mission, going forward, will be to recognize the personalities of the three Paradise Deities.
Here on the Paradise periphery I can witness the presence of the seventh Supreme Power Director marking the site of the seventh station from which Paradise energies issue forth like lightning toward my superuniverse. This seat and focus of force is directly connected with the seventh Master Spirit on one of the Spirit worlds, a worthy personal representative of power and authority of his superuniverse. Here are located the enormous areas of historical and prophetic displays of the Creator Sons. My guide directs me to the area reserved for Michael of Nebadon, where I can view not only his past and present history but appreciate the full extent of the glorious future that awaits his universe, my home universe. All that is therein is pure spirit creation, and the matter utilized is a very special form of space potency.
From there, we head toward the Holy Area, the residential region for all creatures from the outer universes and the Citizens of Paradise. The beauty is ever increasing as we approach the center of High Paradise. The spiritual luminosity that emanates from it invades me and incites in me an irresistible desire for worship. My guide understands the emotion that suddenly overwhelms me and urges me to reserve this mark of recognition for later. After a few formalities in the second residential area reserved for ascending mortals, we finally head toward the Most Holy Area where my test will take place.
Here is the realm of pure spirit. No material structure or purely intellectual creation can exist. My desire for worship returns with force and suddenly I am immersed in an incredible spiritual luminosity. How to express this impression in words, it is reassuring and loving. I feel throughout my entire being all the divine love that eternally motivates the Conjoint Actor, my universal mother, to provide her ministry and her so essential care to all her children. In this communion of spirit to spirit, I become aware while participating in her divine nature, her eternal purpose and her ultimate goals. All this constitutes an extraordinary and unusual experience. For a blessed time, I became one with the Father’s plan implemented by his Spirit. I come out of it grown and my faith, what am I saying since it is no longer really a question of faith, but of lived experience, incites me to desire to find the Son then the Father and incites me to an overflow of filial love for all the creatures who, like me, have found or will find the prodigal nature of the Deities. During this moment of eternity and communion with my mother who gives me life, a luminosity of pure spirit springs from the “heart” of this one and impregnates me in the depths of my being. I recognized being a constituent part of this reality and all the celestial pleasure invades me to the highest point.
Following this unique experience, my guide took me back to the residential areas from where, a little later, I would head to the Peripheral Paradise for a return to Havona and the continuation of my new experiences in order to prepare me to find the Eternal Son.
Quiz — in the “Urantia Book”
Who am I?
I am a man of science.
Hint: I have a twin sister.
Answer: Thomas Didyme UB 139:8.6
¶ Goodbye Guy
Normand Laperle
Lévis
Guy Martin, 89 years old, has left quietly… towards the morontia worlds.
A very well-known figure here in the Quebec region. He and his wife Rolande, — still alive — were part of the very first study group still in operation here. He is considered a bit like the patriarch.
Together with his beloved, for several years, they read the “Urantia Book”.
When they reached the end of the book, they immediately started again at the beginning. They thus made 14 readings of “The Urantia Book.”
I remember coming to their house for readings - there were 10 of us, maybe 15, or more - afterwards he would always insist on having us over for dinner - sometimes for a meal, sometimes for a substantial snack.
Our thoughts are with his family and all who knew him.
Guy, I look forward to seeing you again on the morontia worlds.
¶ Special Spiritual Encounter
Gilles Bertrand
Quebec
Sunday, October 6, 2019 in St-Antoine de Tilly, Guy Leblanc and his life partner Pauline Chrétien, received at their home two groups of readers from the Quebec region. 10 women and 9 men gathered to study booklet 196.3 of The Urantia Book. Before starting these sharings, a remark led us to pay a special tribute to a reader who had left us for a better world. Indeed, Mr. Guy Martin had recently left us and the latter had taken up the habit of formulating a prayer before beginning our readings and we repeated his favorite practice to honor his memory.
Here is a preview of this short invocation:
O Master of the universe,
May the reign of divine love,
Of Truth and Wisdom,
Be established in me as in all beings.
Help me to understand and do Your Will.
So that all those around me,
Be helped by your power in me.
After this good mental disposition, our souls were ripe for exchanges of very high quality and only the clock sounded the end of this stimulating work.
A complicit fraternity continued around a well-stocked table and a guest played us a musical score entitled the ascension for dessert. Her musical instrument (called the crystal harp) divinely manipulated raised our consciousness and a discreet comment reminded us that the harp was Jesus’ favorite musical instrument.
Thank you all for having brightened this autumn afternoon with joy and love by bringing us together for the same purpose, that of moving towards our Heavenly Father and curiously the deceased voice of Guy Martin which seemed to still resonate in my head seemed to certify this proposal of unification and faith. Yes Guy, (Martin) you had these imperishable values in your being and we will come together one day, for the real, for these infinite and eternal considerations.
¶ 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 18 | Picnic for the Feast of Jesus — Mount Royal Park | 11:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m. |
| Wednesday, October 9 | Board of Directors by Zoom | 7:30 p.m. - 9:30 p.m. |
| Thursday, November 14 | Board of Directors by Zoom | 6:30 p.m. - 8:30 p.m. |
| Sunday, December 8 | Holiday gathering (lunch at the Best Western Hotel, St-Jérôme) | 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 gladly 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
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: “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
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
Group: “The United Family of Urantia”
Region : ** Montreal ** — City center
Wednesdays, from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
Mrs. Diane Labrecque (514) 277-2308
Group: “The Chapel”
Region : ** South Shore of Montreal **
Every 2 weeks: Sundays, from 1:15 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.
Normand Laperle (418) 835-1809
Virtual Study Group, French
Every Wednesday from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time (Montreal)
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
Group: (Name to be defined)
Region : ** Saint Julie **
Contact: Claude Flibotte (438) 404-6399
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: Normand Laperle
Assisted by: Gilles Bertrand.
(418) 835-1809 (Normand Laperle)
(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 the city .