10. My friends, I have heard many of you say to yourselves: How can I practice charity? Often, I don’t  even have enough myself!

Charity, my friends, may be practiced in many ways. You can practice charity in thought, word and deed: in thought by praying for the forsaken poor who have died without having even seen the light; a prayer from the heart will console them; in words by providing your everyday companions some good advice, by saying to people embittered through desperation and deprivation, and who blaspheme the name of the Most High, “I was once as you are; I suffered and was unfortunate, but I believed in Spiritism, and as you can see, I am fortunate now.” To the elderly who say to you, “It’s useless; I’m at the end of my journey; I will die as I have lived,” you can say, “God holds out the same justice for all of us; remember the workers of the last hour.” To youths who are already corrupted by the company they keep and who wander along life’s pathways ready to yield to evil temptations, say, “God is watching you, my dear children.” And do not be afraid to repeat these gentle words to them often; they will end up germinating in their young minds, and instead of little thugs, you will have made men and women of them. This is also a form of charity.

Many among you say, “Nonsense! There are so many of us on the earth, God cannot possibly see all of us.” Listen well, my friends: When you are on the top of the mountain, don’t you see the billions of grains of sand covering that mountain? Well then! God sees you in the same way. He allows you your free will just as you let those grains of sand move about at the whim of the wind that scatters them, except that God, in his infinite mercy, has placed at the bottom of your heart a watchful sentinel  called conscience. Listen  to it; it will offer you only good counsel. Sometimes, you deaden it  by opposing it  with the spirit of evil, and then it falls silent. Nonetheless, you can be sure that your poor forsaken conscience will make itself heard as soon as you allow it to perceive the shadow of remorse. Listen to your conscience, question it and you will often find yourselves comforted by its counsels.

My friends, a general furnishes a new banner for each new regiment. I offer you this maxim of Christ: “Love one another.” Practice this maxim; gather around its standard and you will receive happiness and consolation.

A Protector Spirit (Lyons, 1860)