The Spirits’ Teachings

To him who already has, more will be given

13. His disciples approached him and asked, “Why do you speak to them in parables?” He responded,  “Because to you it has been given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. For to him who already has, more will be given and he will have in abundance; but regarding him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away. That is why I speak to them in parables; for seeing, they see nothing,  and hearing, they neither hear nor understand. And the prophecy of Isaiah  is fulfilled in them when he said, ‘You will hear with your ears but will not understand;  you will see  with your  eyes but will not perceive anything.’” (Mt. 13:10-14)

14. Pay close attention regarding what you hear, for the same measure will be used on you that you have used to measure others, and you will be given even more; for to him who already has, more will be given and regarding him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away. (Mk. 4:24-25)

15. “It will be given to him who already has and it will be taken away from him who does not have.” Meditate on these great teachings, which have so often seemed paradoxical to you. Those who have received are those who understand the meaning of the divine word; they have received solely because they have tried to become worthy, and the Lord, in his merciful love, encourages efforts that lead to goodness. These firm and persevering efforts attract  the  Lord’s  blessings; they  are a  magnet  that  attracts progressive advancement  and the abundant blessings that render you strong enough to climb the holy mountain, where at the summit is repose after labor.

“From him who has nothing, or who has little, it shall be taken away.” This should be understood as a figurative opposite. God does not  take away from his creatures the good he has consented to give them. O blind and deaf humanity! Open your mind and your heart; see with your spirit; understand with your soul and do not interpret in such a coarsely unjust manner the words of him who has made God’s justice shine resplendently in your sight. It is not God who takes from those who have received little; it is their own spirit, which, wasteful and careless, does not know how to preserve what it has, and by nurturing it, increase the mite dropped in their heart.

Those who do not cultivate the field which their father’s efforts earned for them, and which they have inherited, see that field become covered with weeds. Is it their father who takes away the harvest that they did not want to prepare? If they allowed the seeds meant to grow in that field to wither from lack of care, should they accuse their  father if they produce nothing? No, of course not. Instead of accusing the one who had prepared everything for them of taking away his endowment, let them accuse the true author of their miseries, and let them then, repentant and industrious, courageously get to work; let them break the thankless soil with the effort of their will; let them plow deeply with the help of repentance and hope; let them confidently sow the seed that they have chosen as good from among the bad; and let them water it with their love and charity. Then God, the God of love and charity, will give to them who have already received. And then they will see their efforts crowned with success, and one grain will produce a hundred and another a thousand. Courage, O workers! Take up your hoes and your plows; till your hearts; pull up the weeds from it; sow there the good seed that the Lord has entrusted to you, and the dew of love will enable it to produce the fruits of charity.

A Spirit Friend (Bordeaux, 1862)