The experience of keeping faith as she battled cancer is the main lesson we take from this conversation with Marileda Manica (photo), an experienced director at the Spiritist Society Auxílio Fraternidade, in the city of Ijuí. In this interview, she also talks about her experience ahead of the Spiritist Group and the dissemination of Spiritism:

My search for Spiritism happened in a period of my life where I was struggling to understand why I could not have children in this incarnation. After going through many treatments to try to get pregnant, I decided to look for an answer at a Spiritist Centre. I joined the study group and tried to understand the Law of Action and Reaction as well as other divine laws. And I eventually found in the teaching the consolation and was able to understand a number of other inner issues I had. 

What are the challenges and opportunities for Spiritist Centres in the third millennium? 

As I was in charge of our group for many years, I know that challenges are many. You need to keep a motivated team, united by the same ideal and pushing on with the dissemination of Spiritism. And we can only achieve that with much love, care, trust, true friendship and training for everyone. Spiritist Centres have the sublime opportunity of carry on disseminating the Teachings, through lectures, public meetings, books and using all the media to spread the information and help create the conditions for the establishment of the Kingdom of Good on Earth. 

You have just opened a new, revamped bookshop. What advice would you give to Spiritist Centres that are still planning to open their bookshops? 

I must emphasize that having a bookshop is crucial for a Spiritist Centre. The book is a very important tool in the dissemination of the Teachings and we need to make them available. It also helps raising funds and paying for the running costs of the Centre. We also have our book club. It was an amazing experience, very rewarding, especially for someone like me who has worked in the bookshop for 10 years. People come and ask if the book of the month has already arrived… We run our book club in partnership with other Spiritist Centres in Rio Grande do Sul state. It encourages reading and again help the Centres boost their income in a legitimate manner.  

You survived a very serious illness. What can you tell us about that experience? 

Spiritism has taught me that healing comes if we have faith, if we have Spiritual credit or deserve it and according to what each person is seeking in life. I used to pray deeply, asking to be healed if I had credit, if that was what was meant to happen. I used to pray for the Spiritual Benefactors to assist me and inspire the doctors to give me the best treatment. I never disregarded conventional medicine. It is legitimate to look for treatment with conventional, earthly medicine, as it can alleviate our pain and heal us up to the limits established by the Spiritual World. 

What has changed after your illness? Has your approach to life changed? 

After battling to beat my illness, I felt a lot stronger. I am hugely grateful to the Spiritual Benefactors who helped me through those difficult moments. I have since tried to given even more of myself to Spiritism, fully aware that we are helped when we help others and that our Spiritual development is achieved through the assistance provided to others. And, encouraged by fellow Spiritist friends, I have prepared a lecture looking into cancer through a Spiritist prism. That is available on our website, www.auxiliofraternidade.com.br on the item “palestra multimedia”, under the title “Vencendo o Câncer” (Defeating Cancer).  

What would you like to say to someone who is ill? 

Whatever the illness, the most important is to keep our faith and a positive approach. Prayer is our big aide in every moment of our lives, and especially when we are going through long-term illness treatments, as in the therapies for cancer. You must look for the best resources traditional medicine can offer, but you should also look for a Spiritist Centre. Avoid being angry. Try instead to understand the lessons you should learn from your illness and be sure that the Spiritual Benefactors will always be with you, helping you, treating you and giving you lots of love. When the treatment is over, let us look back and realise how strong we have been to fight such an illness. Let us continue to improve, to develop spiritually, working for good causes and putting into practice the Gospel of Jesus. If we practice charity, we will always be on the right path.

Your final thoughts, please. 

One of the main factors that helped me cure my cancer was the knowledge I had of Spiritism: it was the basis; it made me strong and allowed me to battle the illness with faith, courage and perseverance. I understood that the whole process was aimed at testing my knowledge of Spiritism and my determination to fight. We are now going through a phase of transition on earth towards a better world. We should make sure we do our internal reform and get rid of habits that damage our physical and moral health. We should put into practice everything we have learned in the books, all the comforting messages and teachings from the Spiritual World. Let us bear in mind that we have huge inner strength, which can lead us to overcome all obstacles and challenges. We must believe and act accordingly, as we will never reach a higher level of spiritual development unless we make an effort. Christ is waiting for us. There is still so much to be done. Let us persevere in our work for good causes, working with happiness, enthusiasm and lots of love.