© 2021 Line St-Pierre,
© 2021 Urantia Association of Quebec
¶ Word from the President 2021
Gaetan Charland
president@urantiaqc.org
Hello Urantia Book students and members of the association!
I want to continue what I discussed in my previous message in May, Education, with a capital “E.” In The Urantia Book, we find 103 matches for the word education and over 174 uses of the verb teach. I truly believe that one of the most important responsibilities of students of The Urantia Book is to give back to others what we have learned, and what better way to perform this essential service than through Education.
Most of us have received religious education either at school by religious people from different communities, by lay teachers, by priests during different religious services, or by our parents and grandparents, these different forms of religious education have prepared us for the search for a greater and liberating truth; these educational factors I like to call, the scaffolds of religious and spiritual life.
When I reflect on my religious and spiritual journey and look at today’s youth, I cannot help but notice this significant lack of religious and spiritual education. Faced with this comparison, I feel privileged to have benefited from a religious education provided first by my parents, grandparents, and then by my teachers. Notwithstanding the negative actions of the Church and the religious communities of our childhood, we must recognize the important contribution they made to education.
How many of us have taught our children or grandchildren the value of prayer, filiation and friendship with a heavenly father filled with love for them, the presence of a divine particle in them, the notion of fraternity with their playmates or schoolmates, the presence of guardian angels who watch over them? I leave you to meditate on your answer and I invite you to share your educational experiences that you have had with your children and grandchildren through this newsletter.
But education does not stop there, we must continue our own education. I would like to emphasize here the importance of taking courses and/or participating in a study group. These should be two of the essential elements in our life curriculum as a student of The Urantia Book. Urantia Foundation, Urantia University Institute and Ambassadors School all offer virtual courses of different levels and applications that can meet the needs of every reader and student of The Urantia Book. At the moment, only Urantia Foundation offers courses in French, but by the end of the year, Ambassadors School will offer its course, The Ministry of the Master.
In the coming years, education will be the priority of the association. Emphasis will be placed on the promotion of the various schools and study groups. These two sources form an excellent complement to the service and can facilitate spiritual progression in the Quebec population.
A new page on the association’s website has been created with the aim of informing readers about the different schools and the courses they offer. The Education page is currently under development and should be operational in the fall.
I wish you a spring filled with opportunities for service and above all, remember to share a text of your experiences of spiritual education that you have given to your children and grandchildren and send them to Réflectivité for the next newsletter.
To love is to serve
¶ Where could the soul of Jesus have gone?
Samuel Heine
Reunion Island
This is something extraordinary and mysterious!
Where did the soul of “Jesus / Joshua ben Joseph” go? Should we make a clear distinction between “Jesus / Joshua ben Joseph” and “Michael of Nebadon”?
Can this soul identity be integrated into the spirit of truth or into God the Supreme?
The Urantia Book tells us that: “The soul of man is an experiential acquisition. As a mortal creature chooses to ‘do the will of the Father in heaven,’ the indwelling spirit becomes the father of a new reality in human experience. The mortal, material mind is the mother of this same emerging reality. The substance of this new reality is neither material nor spiritual—it is morontia. It is the emerging, immortal soul destined to survive physical death and begin the Paradise ascent.” (UB 0:5.10)
When Jesus of Nazareth went down into the Jordan to be baptized, he was a mortal of the realm who had attained the pinnacle of human evolutionary ascension in all that pertained to the conquest of mind and self-identification with spirit. He stood that day in the Jordan as a consummate man of the evolutionary worlds of time and space. Perfect synchronism and full communication had been established between the human mind of Jesus and his indwelling spirit Adjuster, the divine gift of his Paradise Father. Since the ascension of Michael to universe sovereignty, an Adjuster of exactly the same order has indwelt every normal being living on Urantia, except that, in the case of Jesus, his Adjuster had previously been prepared for this special mission by similarly indwelling Machiventa Melchizedek, another superhuman incarnate in the likeness of mortal flesh.
Ordinarily, when the personality of a mortal of the realm attains such high levels of perfection, there are seen to take place the preliminary phenomena of spiritual uplift which ultimately terminate in the final fusion of the matured mortal soul with its divine Adjuster associate. Such a change should apparently have occurred in the personality experience of Jesus of Nazareth on the very day he went down into the Jordan with his two brothers to be baptized by John. This ceremony was the final act of his purely human life on Urantia, and many superhuman observers expected to witness the fusion of the Adjuster with the mind which he indwelt, but they were all to be disappointed. Something new and still grander occurred. As John laid his hands upon Jesus in baptizing, the indwelling Adjuster took final leave of the perfected human soul of Joshua ben Joseph. A few moments later this divine entity returned from Divinington as a Personalized Adjuster and leader of his fellows throughout the local universe of Nebadon. Jesus was thus able to observe his own former divine spirit descending to him in personalized form, and he then heard this same spirit of Paradise origin speak and say: “This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased.” John and Jesus’ two brothers also heard these words. John’s disciples, standing by the water’s edge, did not hear these words, nor did they see the appearance of the Personalized Adjuster. Only the eyes of Jesus beheld him. UB 136:2.2-3
Here are two other passages from the book that caught my attention this morning (among others);
“We are not able fully to explain just what happened to Jesus of Nazareth during this period of a day and a half when he was supposed to be resting in Joseph’s new tomb. Apparently he died the same natural death on the cross as would any other mortal in the same circumstances. We heard him say, “Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.” We do not fully understand the meaning of such a statement inasmuch as his Thought Adjuster had long since been personalized and so maintained an existence apart from Jesus’ mortal being. The Master’s Personalized Adjuster could in no sense be affected by his physical death on the cross. That which Jesus put in the Father’s hands for the time being must have been the spirit counterpart of the Adjuster’s early work in spiritizing the mortal mind so as to provide for the transfer of the transcript of the human experience to the mansion worlds. There must have been some spiritual reality in the experience of Jesus which was analogous to the spirit nature, or soul, of the faith-growing mortals of the spheres. But this is merely our opinion—we do not really know what Jesus commended to his Father.” (UB 188:3.4)
“3. The acquired spirit identity of the man of Nazareth which was built up during his lifetime in the flesh, first, by the direct efforts of his Thought Adjuster, and later, by his own perfect adjustment between the physical necessities and the spiritual requirements of the ideal mortal existence, as it was effected by his never-ceasing choice of the Father’s will, must have been consigned to the custody of the Paradise Father. Whether or not this spirit reality returned to become a part of the resurrected personality, we do not know, but we believe it did. But there are those in the universe who hold that this soul-identity of Jesus now reposes in the “bosom of the Father,” to be subsequently released for leadership of the Nebadon Corps of the Finality in their undisclosed destiny in connection with the uncreated universes of the unorganized realms of outer space.” (UB 188:3.8)
https://bigbluebook.org/fr/188/3/
¶ An enemy to defeat
Claude Flibotte
Sainte-Julie
At the recommendation of a friend, I read the article by Chuck Thurston from the United States entitled “The Time Frame of the Judgment of the Lucifer Rebellion” which you will find in the publication of the “Journal” volume 19, number 4 of the month of December 2012 of the Urantia Association International. An excellent article that I recommend you to read on the consequences of the rebellion on our planet!
I don’t know about you, but personally the disastrous social situation that we maintain on Urantia saddens me to the highest degree. The avowed goal of Caligastia is to put spokes in the wheels of all persons or all divine plans to make our sphere enter into light and life. The reason is very simple, as long as we maintain in our hearts and our daily actions the attitude of false freedom advocated by Lucifer and endorsed by Caligastia, the latter will maintain its hold here below! Chuck Thurston explains very well the consequences of our choices in his text.
I regularly read La Presse + every morning and I note with amazement the consequences of the influence of the evil one on our lives, our happiness and our chance to progress towards the reality of a true spiritual life in the recognition of the paternity of God and the brotherhood of men. The vital game for Caligastia consists in maintaining the inharmony on our world, of creating all kinds of dissensions between us, of setting nations against each other, of engendering fear of the other, ignorance between races and cultures and above all of dividing us in our well-intentioned impulse of our Adjuster, the presence of the Father in us, of spiritualizing us. This same Father that the rebels have sought so much to deny by fighting the authority of his son, Michael of Nebadon.
Trump and his supporters, Putin and his dictatorship, Kim Jong-un or Bolsonaro are other dictators of this world to name a few, conspiracy theorists of all kinds, in short, the list could be long on everything that does not work on our planet according to the Father’s plan. I would even go so far as to mention our neighbors’ quarrels over an unwanted fence, our bickering between brothers and sisters, our contempt for those who are different from us, our political quarrels, our violence against the opposite sex, our ideas of revenge against a real or imagined injustice, all this and much more, contributes to maintaining in us selfishness, pride and all kinds of mental poisons that delight Caligastia and save his skin by temporarily keeping him out of reach of divine justice through the ministry of mercy.
So, what solutions do we have to foil the Machiavellian plans of this former fallen planetary prince and fight on equal terms against his perfidious influence that assails us all? Our surest weapon is our Thought Adjuster, our most effective shield is the Spirit of Truth, but all this would be useless if we do not learn to master our mind! In fact, the real enemy is us! All of us, and our warlike animal tendency, our desire for power, our need to be recognized and adulated, our indolence in the face of the effort required to progress, our fears of the unknown and the need to improve ourselves. We are far from the words of the song by the late Raymond Lévesque “When men live on love”!
Soldier of Christ, sons and daughters of the Universal Father, stand in the light of the truth of the spirit, fight in yourselves all inclinations contrary to spiritual virtues, annihilate from now on all traces of the beast, dare to live and progress according to the precepts of our Creator Son. This is the only way to do the will of the Father, to respond to the call of Jesus to be born and live in the spirit and in doing so, all together, to sound the death knell of this infamous mystifier, the artisan of all our misfortunes!
Truth, beauty and goodness!
¶ Reflecting on the Implications of the Fifth Epochal Revelation
Jean Sauve
St. Agathe of the Mountains
Did you attend the two Zoom presentations titled “Reflecting on the Personal and Planetary Implications of the Fifth Epochal Revelation”?
These presentations, given by an old hand at the Urantia Book, Mr. Conrad Lavallee, a great Urantian who has made an astonishing contribution to the understanding of these teachings. These two conferences of last February 28 and March 28 made me think a lot. The data presented, all taken from the Urantia Book, but arranged in such a way as to reflect, for me, new angles of this truth.
The statement “Revelation transmits to us truths that are up to our potential for evolutionary actualization. It helps us to overcome our individual and planetary limitations”. Is it not obvious that this revelation becomes an accelerator for those who strive to understand it and especially to live it?
Much of the data presented illustrates the grandeur of God’s creation, its complexity and magnificence.
How many billions of millions of worlds are there in the cosmos?
What are the various functions of the seraphim?
How many races make up the peoples of modern times? What does mortal man lack to understand his place in the universe?
You will find the answers in Mr. Lavallée’s presentations.
Have you ever thought about:
“The isolation of Urantia, due to rebellion, allows us to develop a more powerful faith.”
“God is the source and destiny of all that is beautiful, good and true.”
You will find Mr. Lavallée’s 2 presentations on the AUQ website/Publications/Video albums/Virtual conferences/Reflection on the personal and planetary implications of the fifth epochal revelation. Otherwise, here are the links to find the videos:
Presentation 1. https://www.urantia-quebec.ca/publications/albums-video/conferences-virtuelles
Presentation 2. https://www.urantia-quebec.ca/publications/albums-video/conferences-virtuelles -
¶ Study groups
This activity allows several readers of different levels of understanding to exchange 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 step 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: “Uni-Terre”
Region: Joliette
Sundays from 9:00 am to 11:00 am, (virtual Zoom)
Contact :
Eric Martel (450) 756-9387
Group: “At Maisonnia”
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 — Downtown
Thursdays, from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
Mrs. Diane Labrecque (514) 277-2308
Group : “Le Pont”
Region: Montérégie
(Sainte-Julie, south of Montreal)
Tuesdays, from 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.
Claude Flibotte (438) 404-6399
Virtual Study Group, French
Every Wednesday from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. Eastern Time (Montreal)
Via Zoom: https://www.zoom.us/j/9084766734
Responsible :
Guy Perron (438) 495-7747
Group: “Découverte”
Region: Laurentians — St-Jérôme
Mondays, from 7:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.
Gaétan Charland and Line St-Pierre Tel.: (450) 565-3323
Possibility to participate via Internet (Zoom)
Sherbrooke Group
Region: Sherbrooke
Every 2 weeks: Tuesday or Wednesday, (to be confirmed) from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.
Helene Boisvenue and Denis Gravelle
Tel.: (819) 569-6416
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: | Claude Flibotte |
| Assisted by: | Normand Laperle Gilles Bertrand |
(438) 404-6399 Claude Flibotte
(418) 835-1809 Normand Laperle
(418) 871-4564 Gilles Bertrand
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