The School for Souls

The members of Simon Peter’s household were gathered around Christ, listening to his gentle and persuasive voice as he commented on

the sacred texts.

When the Divine Word ended his beautiful lesson, Peter’s mother-in-law was troubled and asked:

“Lord, what is our life in the home supposed to be, after all?”

Jesus gazed at her questioningly, implying that he wanted her to explain herself more fully. She elaborated:

“We begin the endeavor amongst flowers, only to find ourselves gathering a bunch of thorns later on. At first, there is the promise of peace and understanding; however, stones and troubles soon appear.”

Seeing that the Galilean woman was on the verge of tears, Jesus responded quickly:

“The home is a school for souls; the temple where divine wisdom gradually enables us to understand humankind more fully.”

He smiled and asked:

“What do you do first with lentils before serving them at mealtime?”

The woman responded hesitantly:

“Well, of course, Lord, I have to put them on the stove and cook them long enough. Then, I have to season them in order to make them taste good.”

“And would you, perchance, serve raw dough at the table?”

“Of course not,” responded the humble old woman. In order to make it edible, I would have to bake it in the oven. Otherwise…”

The Divine Friend then considered:

“In heaven, too, there is a festive banquet, where our sentiments must serve the Father’s glory. Most of the time, the home is a holy cauldron or the preparatory oven. What may seem to us like affliction or suffering in the home is actually a resource for the spirit. The soul that is awakened to the Lord’s Will receives the most enlightening blessings from its renewing struggles, because only by living with others in the home, by studying aspirations and inclinations unlike our own, and by observing the defects of others and putting up with them, can we learn to overcome our own imperfections. Haven’t you ever noticed how quickly a person’s life passes by? The life of the body is much like that of a flower. In the morning it emits a fragrance; at night it withers … The home is a brief course on the fraternity we will enjoy in the life eternal. The suffering and natural conflicts within its walls are lessons.”

Simon’s mother-in-law listened carefully to all this and then remarked:

“But Lord, there are persons who struggle and suffer, but they never learn.”

Christ rested his very lucid eyes on her and asked again:

“What do you do with the hard lentils that do not yield to the action of the heat?”

“Ah! Of course, I toss them into the garbage because they might hurt the mouth of the careless yet trusting person at the table.”

“The same thing happens to the soul who rebels against the spiritually constructive lessons of the home,” finished the Master. “The struggles of everyday life keep the soul stirred up to its benefit; however, when death arrives on the scene – that great selector of spirits as provisions for the storehouses of Our Father – souls who did not yield to the sanctifying heat, who kept themselves in the same hardened state as when they were first led to the blessed oven of the body, will be tossed out, and for an indeterminate time, they will be like fertilizer in the detritus of nature.”

From The book "Jesus In The Home" psychographed by Francisco Cândido Xavier - By The spirit Neio Lucio