Essential qualities
to the Mediums

We present in this issue the topic #107 from the Systematized Study of the Spiritist Doctrine, that is being presented weekly, according to the programme elaborated by the Brazilian Spiritist Federation (FEB), structured in 6 modules and 147 topics.

If the reader uses this program for a study group, we suggest that questions proposed be discussed freely before the reading of the text that follows. If you would like to study alone, we ask you to try to answer the questions at first and only then read the text that follows. The answer key can be found at the end of the lesson. 

Questions

1. What is, according to Emmanuel, the first need of the medium?

2. What are the qualities that bring closer to us the good Spirits?

3. And what are the faults that drive them away from us, incarnated? 

4. What is the meaning of the expression "ethical medium”?

5. What is the first enemy of the medium?

Text

The love for the neighbor and the simplicity of heart attract good Spirits

1. Mediums are the interpreters of the Spirits and supply to them their shortage of material organs through which they can transmit their instructions. This is why they are endowed with faculties for this effect.

2. Clarifying about the essential qualities for a good medium, Emmanuel says that the first need of the medium is evangelize oneself, before delivering to the major doctrinal work, because otherwise one can always bump into the ghost of personalism and cause damage to its mission. 

3. Spiritism teaches that the qualities that, ideally, attract the good Spirits are:

• the kindness

• the benevolence

• the simplicity of the heart

• love for the neighbour

• the shedding of material things.

4. The faults that drive them away from the individuals are: pride, egoism, envy, jealousy, hatred, cupidity, lust and all the passions that enslave men to the matter.  

Ethical medium has the protection of high Spirits

5. The effective medium will be, therefore, from the spiritual point of view, the employee who best aligns with the will of the Father, cultivating the cited qualities and be set apart by the sincere cultivation of humility and faith, of devotion and trust, goodwill and understanding.

6. The medium, from the point of view of the execution of the mediumistic faculty, is nothing more than a tool; however, exercises a very large influence on the mediumistic phenomena, under the moral aspect. Because, to communicate, the Spirit needs to identify with the soul of the medium, which requires the existence of sympathy and affinity between both.

7. As we know, the soul performs on the Spirits a kind of attraction or repulsion, depending on the degree of similarity between them. As the good have affinity with the good and the bad with the bad, it follows that the moral qualities of the medium exercises a capital influence on the nature of the Spirits that he is communicating.

8. If – from the point of view of the mechanism of the communication - the mediumship in itself does not depend on the moral factor, in terms of spiritual assistance, the moral factor becomes relevant. Ethical mediums have the support of high Spirits. And by "ethical medium" we refer to the medium who rule his life as a genuine “good man”, trying to be a humble person, sincere, patient, persistent, kind, studious, and a selfless worker. Patience, perseverance, good will, humility, sincerity, study and work are thus factors of extreme value in the mediumistic education.  

Pride has caused the lost of inumerous mediums

9. If the medium can transpose, brave, the zone of puerile hesitation and understands that what matters, above all, is the good to be done, he becomes subject of trust of disincarnated Benefactors, who make use of his capacity to support neighbours, within which he assimilates support for himself.

10. The more the improvement and abnegation are stressed, the culture and disinterest, more his thoughts will improve and more sharpened the mediumistic perceptions will become, which are raised to a greater demonstration of service, according to his individual dispositions.

11. Moral imperfections are, on the contrary, open doors to the access of evil Spirits. And the one they explore with more ability is the pride, that has caused the lost of many mediums endowed with the most beautiful faculties and that - was not for this moral imperfection - could have become notable and very useful tools, while prey of liars Spirits, their faculties, after having them been perverted, annihilated and imposed them bitter disappointments.

12. In conclusion, we can say that the first enemy of the medium lies within himself. Often, the personalism, ambition, ignorance or the rebellion in the unknowing of his duties under the light of the Gospel, that often leads him to the invigilance, to frivolity and to the confusion of unproductive fields.

Answer Key