"Meditate upon these things; give yourself wholly to them, so that everyone may see your progress." Paul. (1 Timothy 4:15).

In any group of people, we will always find fellow travellers on the path of spiritual growth who consider themselves incapable or even useless because they feel so inferior that they declare themselves unfit to serve in the work of goodness. They forget that they must invest effort in improving their own qualities in order to develop the same talents as those who have attained the joy of fulfilment after facing hard and painful struggles and experiences in the work of spiritual development. We know that we all have duties to fulfil in the service of goodness and that, without delay, we should take our place in the workshop dedicated to service, devoting our effort and our time to whatever contribution we are able to offer, however insignificant it may seem to us. Therefore, present yourself in the field of good works and begin, right now, by doing something for someone else. The common good is a task that belongs to everyone, because it is not only others who need to work; we ourselves also need to learn how to build our own future, which will be good or bad according to the strength or weakness of the work we build by fulfilling the noble commitments we undertook in our present reincarnation.

"You say that you are unable to practise goodness; yet countless people confined to beds of illness would gladly offer bags filled with riches for the simple ability to walk that enables you to move about, so that they might exercise themselves by helping others. You say that you are discouraged, forgetting that long lines of people who have lost the use of their limbs would willingly pay the highest price for the wealth of your feet and the blessing of your arms. You say that you are undergoing a trial, but you forget that, within the sorrowful wards of psychiatric hospitals, innumerable sufferers would give everything they possess to receive a little of the balance and clarity of mind that you enjoy. You say that you cannot help through the light of your words; yet countless people who cannot speak would make enormous sacrifices to possess the gift of clear speech that flows from your lips. You say that you are abandoned; nevertheless, millions of souls would give all they have in life to possess a healthy body like yours so that they could help the children of expiation and suffering. Whoever you may be, do not write a certificate of incapacity against yourself. Remember that a smile of confidence, a prayer filled with tenderness, a word of encouragement, a gesture of solidarity, and a single minute of peace have no price on Earth."(Francisco Cândido Xavier, through the Spirit Emmanuel, Religion of the Spirits, Chapter 13, "You Say...", public meeting of 23 February 1959).

As the Earth is a planet of expiation and trials, there is no one here who can consider themselves perfect. We are still imperfect, but we can be useful in meeting the needs of the world in which we live. It is not advisable for anyone to claim virtues they do not yet possess or to display talents they are still far from attaining. Nevertheless, there is no one who has nothing to offer, nor anyone who needs nothing from others.

Let us reflect on this.

Francisco Rebouças