Madame Foulon
Madame Foulon, born Wollis, died at Antibes on February 3rd, 1865. She had lived many years in Havre, where she became well known as a highly talented miniature painter. In her youth, painting had simply been a source of joy and artistic fulfillment. But later in life, repeated hardships forced her to rely upon her art for financial survival.
What most deeply earned the love and admiration of everyone who knew her was not merely her talent, but the greatness of her character. She possessed extraordinary goodness, humility, and selflessness. She never displayed her virtues because they came naturally to her, almost unconsciously. If any person could truly be called free from selfishness, it was Madame Foulon.
She constantly sacrificed her comfort, health, and personal interests in order to help others. Her entire life was filled with devotion to those around her and with severe personal trials, yet her courage, patience, and acceptance never failed.
Years of painting gradually destroyed her eyesight, and it had become clear that complete blindness was approaching.
When she discovered Spiritism, it felt to her like a veil had been lifted. The doctrine seemed to explain truths she had always sensed inwardly but had never fully understood. She studied Spiritism passionately and intelligently, and it gave her deep comfort amid the many worries and sufferings of her life.
Her faith in the future life became unshakable. She saw earthly suffering as temporary and earthly things as insignificant compared to spiritual realities.
Her death reflected the same peace and nobility that had marked her life. She faced death calmly and without fear, seeing it as liberation from earthly suffering and entrance into a happier existence.
She died with the satisfaction of having faithfully fulfilled her duties as wife and mother. She also died without resentment toward those who had harmed or betrayed her, returning kindness even for ingratitude.
She left life on Earth forgiving everyone and trusting that the forgiveness she freely gave to others would also be granted to her by God.
Shortly after hearing of her death, Allan Kardec immediately attempted to communicate with her spirit. A close friendship had existed between them for many years through their shared devotion to Spiritism.
Paris, February 6th, 1865. Three days after her death.
The medium’s hand begins writing...
Madame FoulonI was certain you would think of evoking me immediately after my deliverance.
Madame FoulonSo I held myself ready to answer you.
Madame FoulonI experienced no confusion during separation from the body.
Madame FoulonOnly those who fear death remain trapped within its darkness.
Madame FoulonI'm so happy!
Madame FoulonThese poor eyes, which had become so weak and could see only faint memories of the beautiful colors of my youth...
Madame FoulonHave now reopened within the light of magnificent horizons.
Madame FoulonYour greatest artists can only faintly suggest such beauty.
Madame FoulonNo earthly painter could truly reproduce the subtle charm and splendor surrounding me here.
Madame FoulonIt has been only three days since my death, and I still feel like an artist.
Madame FoulonMy search for ideal beauty in art was actually the intuition of abilities and studies acquired during earlier lives.
Madame FoulonAnd those abilities developed even further during my last life on Earth.
Madame FoulonBut how much progress I would still need in order to portray the magnificent spectacle greeting the spirit upon entering this world of light!
Madame FoulonGive me a palette... give me brushes...
Madame FoulonAnd I would prove to the world that Spiritist art is the crown of pagan art and Christian art, both of which are now declining.
Madame FoulonIt is Spiritism alone that will restore the glory of art upon your Earth.
Madame FoulonBut enough of the artist.
Madame FoulonNow let me speak as a friend.
Madame FoulonWhy, my dear friend, should you grieve so deeply over my death?
Madame FoulonYou especially knew how full my life was of suffering and disappointment.
Madame FoulonYou should instead rejoice that I no longer drink from the bitter cup of earthly sorrows that I was forced to drain completely.
Madame FoulonBelieve me... the dead are happier than the living.
Madame FoulonTo weep excessively for them is to doubt the truth of Spiritism.
Madame FoulonYou will see me again.
Madame FoulonBe certain of that.
Madame FoulonI simply departed first because my task on Earth was finished.
Madame FoulonAnd when your own task is completed, you too will come and rest beside me before beginning new work again.
Madame FoulonFor it is not natural for spirits to remain inactive.
Madame FoulonEach spirit follows its own tendencies and inclinations.
Madame FoulonThis is one of the laws proving the reality of free will.
Madame FoulonSo, my dear friend, practice indulgence and charity.
Madame FoulonWe all need them, both in the visible world and in the invisible one.
Madame FoulonWith those virtues as our guide, everything proceeds well.
Madame FoulonYou won't ask me to stop, even though I have already spoken so much during this first communication.
Madame FoulonSo now I leave you in order to speak with my excellent friend, Mr. Kardec.
Madame FoulonI must thank him for the affectionate words he addressed to the friend who has gone before him into the spirit world.
Madame FoulonWe came very close to arriving there together.
She refers here to the serious illness Allan Kardec had recently suffered.
Madame FoulonWhat would your beloved companion have done if your good spirit-friends had not intervened to help you?
Madame FoulonShe would have wept bitterly.
Madame FoulonAnd I fully understand the grief such a loss would have caused her.
Madame FoulonBut she must make sure you don't put yourself in danger again by coming back to us too soon.
Madame FoulonYou must not leave unfinished the work of establishing the Spiritist movement.
Madame FoulonWithout caution, you risk arriving here much too soon.
Madame FoulonAnd like Moses, you might see the Promised Land only from afar.
Madame FoulonSo, be careful.
Madame FoulonIt is a friend who gives you this warning.
Madame FoulonAnd now I leave you.
Madame FoulonI must return to my children.
Madame FoulonAfterward, I will go and watch over my wandering sheep to see whether she has safely reached port or whether she is still caught in the storm.
She refers to one of her daughters, who had gone to America.
Madame FoulonMay the good spirits protect her.
Madame FoulonI will join them.
Madame FoulonSoon I will return to chat with you again.
Madame FoulonYou know that I was always an indefatigable talker.
The medium’s hand begins writing...
AllanDear Madame Foulon, I was deeply happy to receive your communication the other day and your promise to return and speak with us again.
AllanI recognized you perfectly within your message.
AllanYou referred to matters completely unknown to the medium and known only to you.
AllanYour affectionate language also reflected your true loving nature.
AllanBut what especially struck me was the confidence, firmness, and boldness expressed in your words.
AllanWhile on Earth, I never saw you display such certainty.
AllanYou remember that I sometimes encouraged you to have more confidence in yourself.
Madame FoulonThat is true.
Madame FoulonBut once I became seriously ill, I recovered the strength of mind that suffering and hardship had weakened.
Madame FoulonI said to myself:
Madame Foulon“You are a Spiritist.”
Madame Foulon“Forget the Earth.”
Madame Foulon“Prepare yourself for the transformation awaiting you.”
Madame Foulon“Fix your thoughts upon the shining path your spirit will follow after leaving the body.”
Madame Foulon“That path will lead you, free and happy, toward the heavenly worlds where you will live from now on.”
Madame FoulonYou may perhaps think it somewhat presumptuous that I expected happiness after death.
Madame FoulonBut I had suffered so much that it seemed to me I must have already atoned for the faults of this life and previous lives.
Madame FoulonThis intuition did not deceive me.
Madame FoulonIt restored my courage.
Madame FoulonAnd it gave me calmness and firmness during my final moments.
Madame FoulonThat firmness has naturally increased now that I see my hopes fulfilled.
AllanCan you describe for us your passage into spirit life... your awakening... and your first impressions of the world where you now live?
Madame FoulonI suffered greatly during the separation from my body.
Madame FoulonBut my spirit remained stronger than the physical suffering caused by disengagement.
Madame FoulonAfter my final breath, I entered a condition similar to fainting.
Madame FoulonI possessed no awareness of my situation.
Madame FoulonI thought of nothing.
Madame FoulonI was plunged into a vague sleepiness that was neither bodily sleep nor spiritual awakening.
Madame FoulonI remained in that condition for quite a long time.
Madame FoulonThen, as though awakening from a long sleep, I found myself surrounded by loving friends whom I did not yet recognize.
Madame FoulonThey cared for me tenderly and embraced me affectionately.
Madame FoulonThey pointed toward a shining speck far away in space that resembled a brilliant star.
Madame FoulonAnd they said to me:
Madame Foulon“That is where you are going with us.”
Madame Foulon“You no longer belong to the Earth.”
Madame FoulonAs they spoke, my memory returned.
Madame FoulonSupported by them, I joined their graceful flight toward the unknown region toward which they had directed my attention.
Madame FoulonWe continued rising upward.
Madame FoulonThe certainty of future happiness filled my entire being.
Madame FoulonAnd the beautiful star grew larger and larger as we approached it.
Madame FoulonIt was a high and happy world.
Madame FoulonAt last, your old friend will finally enjoy rest there.
Madame FoulonI mean rest from physical exhaustion and from the harsh struggles of life on Earth.
Madame FoulonBut not inactivity.
Madame FoulonBecause activity itself is a source of happiness for spirits.
AllanHave you now completely left the Earth behind?
Madame FoulonI have left too many loved ones on Earth to leave it completely behind at present.
Madame FoulonI will return there as a spirit because I still have a mission to fulfill for my grandchildren.
Madame FoulonYou already know that nothing prevents a spirit living in a higher world from returning to visit spirits still living on Earth.
AllanBut won't your spiritual elevation weaken the ties connecting you to those you left behind here?
Madame FoulonNo.
Madame FoulonAffection keeps souls united.
Madame FoulonBelieve me, spirits living on Earth may be closer to advanced spirits than to selfish and inferior spirits still attached to earthly things.
Madame FoulonLove and charity are two immensely powerful forces of attraction.
Madame FoulonThey are the links that unite souls despite distance or time.
Madame FoulonDistance exists only for physical bodies.
Madame FoulonSpirits know no distance.
AllanWhat is now your opinion concerning my Spiritist work?
Madame FoulonI see that your mission carries immense importance and a very heavy burden.
Madame FoulonBut I also see the goal toward which you are working.
Madame FoulonAnd I see that you will achieve it.
Madame FoulonI will help you with my advice whenever possible so that you may overcome the difficulties that will arise.
Madame FoulonI will help guide you toward measures capable of accelerating the movement of spiritual renewal that Spiritism seeks to establish during your lifetime.
Madame FoulonYour friend Demeure and the Spirit of Truth will assist you even more than I can, because they possess greater wisdom and clarity.
Madame FoulonBut since the support of good spirits sustains your mission, you may be certain that whatever help I can provide will always be at your service.
AllanFrom what you say, it seems that you don't intend to take an active personal role in the development of Spiritism.
Madame FoulonYou are mistaken.
Madame FoulonBut I see so many spirits better qualified than I'm to discuss such an immense subject that I still feel timid about answering you fully.
Madame FoulonPerhaps later I will feel more confidence in my ability to help.
Madame FoulonBut first I need time to become accustomed to my new surroundings.
Madame FoulonIt has been only four days since my death.
Madame FoulonI'm still dazzled by the splendor surrounding me.
Madame FoulonSurely you can understand that, dear friend.
Madame FoulonI can't yet describe the new sensations I'm experiencing.
Madame FoulonI must force myself to pull my thoughts away from the wonders I continually admire.
Madame FoulonFor now, I can only bless and adore God through His works.
Madame FoulonBut this excitement will gradually pass.
Madame FoulonMy spirit-friends assure me that I will soon become accustomed to all this magnificence.
Madame FoulonThen I will be able to think clearly about the spiritual renewal of the Earth.
Madame FoulonAnd besides... I still have an entire family to visit and comfort.
Madame FoulonFarewell for now.
Madame FoulonI will return again soon.
Madame FoulonYour friend loves you and will always love you as the teacher to whom she owed the only true and lasting consolation she found on Earth.
February 9th, 1865. Madame Foulon then dictated a message for her children.
The medium’s hand begins writing...
Madame FoulonMy beloved children... God has called me away from you.
Madame FoulonBut the reward He has granted me is immense compared to the little good I was able to accomplish on Earth.
Madame FoulonMy dear children, accept the will of God with acceptance.
Madame FoulonDraw strength from all that He has permitted you to receive.
Madame FoulonUse that strength to endure the trials of life on Earth.
Madame FoulonKeep firmly within your hearts the belief that made my own passage into spirit life so much easier.
Madame FoulonGod extended His inexhaustible goodness to me at the moment of my death, just as He had done throughout my life on Earth.
Madame FoulonBe grateful for all the blessings He has granted you.
Madame FoulonBless Him, my children.
Madame FoulonBless Him always and at every moment.
Madame FoulonNever lose sight of the goal placed before you.
Madame FoulonNever lose sight of the path you must follow.
Madame FoulonMake good use of the time God grants you on Earth.
Madame FoulonIn this way, my beloved ones, you will be happy.
Madame FoulonHappy among yourselves.
Madame FoulonHappy within your children.
Madame FoulonIf you raise them according to the path you yourselves have been allowed to discover.
Madame FoulonAlthough you can no longer see me, be certain that the bond uniting us has not been broken by death.
Madame FoulonWe were never united merely through the body.
Madame FoulonWe were united through the soul.
Madame FoulonAnd through that union, by God’s goodness, I will still be able to guide and encourage you in your journey toward the future life where we will all one day be reunited.
Madame FoulonDon't cry for me, my children.
Madame FoulonInstead, let these communications strengthen your faith and your love for God.
Madame FoulonHe has granted you many blessings.
Madame FoulonHe so often sent help to your mother.
Madame FoulonPray to Him.
Madame FoulonBless Him.
Madame FoulonLove Him.
Madame FoulonAnd live according to the teachings that I followed with so much devotion.
Madame FoulonI will return to you, my beloved ones.
Madame FoulonBut now I must go to your poor sister, who greatly needs my presence.
Madame FoulonPlace your trust in God, to whom I pray on your behalf.
Madame FoulonPrayer is a great source of strength.