Julienne Marie

Julienne-Marie, known as the beggar woman, was an old infirm woman near Nozay who lived by begging. One day she fell into a pond and was rescued by a local doctor who often gave her alms. She died soon after. On the day of her death, the doctor felt a strange passing sensation over his body, as if someone had brushed against him. His guides later told him it was likely her spirit, grateful and already happy.

The medium’s hand begins writing...

AllanGood Julienne-Marie, I am glad to know you are happy. That was all I wished to know. I will often think of you, and I will never forget you in my prayers.

Julienne-MariePut your trust in God, and inspire your patients with that same trust, and your treatment will almost always succeed. Do not trouble yourself about the reward you will receive. It will be more than you ever hoped. God always knows how to repay the one who truly devotes himself to easing the pain of others and does it without hidden motives. Otherwise it would all be nothing but illusion.

Julienne-MarieBut before everything else, faith is necessary. Without it, nothing can be done. Remember that, and you'll be surprised by what you obtain. You already have proof of it in the two patients you cured. With medicine alone, you would have failed.

Julienne-MarieWhen you ask God to allow the good spirits to spread His healing power over you, if your prayer does not bring an involuntary trembling, it is because it was not fervent enough to be heard. They will be effective only under the conditions I am about to tell you.

Julienne-MarieThese are the prayers that produced the sensations you felt: Merciful God, God of infinite kindness, please hear my prayer and allow the good spirits to help me in the cure of... Take pity on him, dear God, and restore his health. Without You I can do nothing. Let Your will be done.

Julienne-MarieYou did well not to neglect the humble. The voice of one who suffered with acceptance in your world is always heard in this one. And as you can see from the help I am allowed to promise you, no good deed goes without reward.

Julienne-MarieI will now add a few words about myself, and they will confirm everything I have just said. Spiritism explains the language I now use as a spirit. There is no need to go at length into the lives I lived before the one in which you knew me. That last life should be enough to convince you that the earlier ones were not always blameless.

Julienne-MarieThroughout my last life, condemned to poverty, infirmity, and inability to work, I lived by begging. I saved almost nothing. In old age, all I had put away came to about a hundred francs, gathered for the time when I would no longer be able to go after alms.

Julienne-MarieWhen God judged my trial and atonement sufficient, He mercifully called me back from the miseries of life on Earth. I did not kill myself, as people believed. I died suddenly at the edge of the pond, just as I was praying to God. My body fell into the water only because of the slope of the ground.

Julienne-MarieI did not suffer in dying, and I rejoice that I fulfilled my mission without revolt and with acceptance. I was useful to those around me in the measure of my strength and means, and I wronged no one. I am now rewarded for my faithfulness. I thank God, who softens the bitterness of trials by making us forget our former lives during life on Earth, and by placing charitable souls along our path to help us bear the burden of past wrongdoing.

Julienne-MariePersevere, and like me you will be rewarded. I thank you for the service you rendered me. I will never forget it. We will meet again, and many things will then be explained to you. For now, that would be unnecessary. Know only that I am wholly devoted to you, and that I will always be near you when you need my help in caring for those who suffer.

Later, the Paris Society also called her.

The medium’s hand begins writing...

Julienne-MarieThank you, dear friends, for receiving me among you. You have sensed that in some of my earlier lives my social position was higher than in the last one. It was because of my proud vanity, which made me reject the poor and the miserable, that I had to return to Earth under the law of retaliation as the poorest beggar in the whole countryside.

Julienne-MarieAnd yet, even in that depth of misery, as if to prove God's goodness to me, I was not rejected by everyone, as I had feared. The kindness of a few helped me bear my lot without complaint, sustained by a quiet hope of a happier life from which I would not have to return again to this Earth of exile and suffering.

Julienne-MarieWhat happiness it is when the soul, forever young, returns to the spirit world and rejoins those it loves. That joy is mine, because I have loved, and I was delighted to meet again those who had gone before me.

Julienne-MarieMy thanks to Doctor A., whose mediumship opened for me the door of gratitude. Without it, I could not have thanked him or shown him that I do not forget the comfort of his good heart. Let him be active in spreading his divine belief. He is meant to bring many wandering souls back to the right road. He can count on my help. I will repay his kindness a hundred times by helping him move forward on the path he has chosen.

Julienne-MarieBe grateful for the divine ordering that allows the spirits of the other life to come to you, to encourage the poor in their suffering and to stop the rich in their pride. Learn how shameful it is to turn away the unfortunate. Let my example warn you, so that you may not, like me, have to return to Earth and atone by taking painful social positions that bring you low and place you among the refuse of society.

She later gave the doctor a final advisory communication.

The medium’s hand begins writing...

Julienne-MarieRemember my counsels and follow them faithfully. Be charitable as far as your means allow. I do not need to speak long about that duty, because you already understand how charity should be practiced in all the relationships of human life.

Julienne-MarieI do not need to come and teach you about this. You yourself will be the best judge, if you always follow the voice of your conscience. It will not deceive you when you listen sincerely.

Julienne-MarieDo not lose your way in the mission you feel you must fulfill. Whether small or great, each person has his own mission. Mine was hard to bear, but I deserved that punishment because of my former lives. As I told the president of the Paris Society, all will one day gather into the same work. That day is not as far away as people think, because Spiritism moves forward with giant steps despite all the obstacles placed in its road.

Julienne-MarieGo forward, then, without fear, devoted followers of the doctrine, and your efforts will be crowned with success. Why worry about what is said against you? Rise above insolent criticism. In the end it will fall back upon the adversaries themselves.

Julienne-MarieThe proud think they are strong and that they can easily defeat you. But you, my good friends, remain calm and do not fear them, because they are easier to defeat than they imagine. Many resist only because they are afraid the truth will overcome them. Be patient. In time they too will return and help place the crowning stone on the building.

These communications were presented as a living example of the Gospel teaching that those who humble themselves will be raised, and that the poor and despised on Earth may be noble spirits in the other life.