Devotional Reading

by Robert Perry

Most of us do not hear Jesus’ voice clearly within ourselves. Yet this does not mean that we have to totally imagine his side of the relationship. For he reveals his side to us in the Course.

Reading the Course as a personal message from Jesus to you

You can read the entire Course as if it is Jesus himself speaking it personally to you. If the Course is your path, then it is his message to you.
For instance, take this paragraph from the Text, and read it very slowly, imagining that Jesus himself is speaking it directly to you:

Thy will be done, you holy child of God! It does not matter if you think you are in earth or Heaven. What your Father wills for you can never change. The truth in you remains as radiant as a star, as pure as light, as innocent as love itself. And you are worthy that your will be done. [CE T-31.VI.7]

Reading the first person passages in the Course

There are a large amount of these, most of them in the Text’s first twenty chapters, particularly the first eight. There are also many first person passages in Part II of the Workbook. Some high points:

  • The first five chapters in the Text.
  • “The Message of the Crucifixion,” Chapter 6, Section I.
  • Chapter 8, especially sections III and IV.
  • The Christmas discussions in Chapter 15, Sections III, IX, X and XI.
  • “The Obstacles to Peace,” Chapter 19, Section IV (especially the first two obstacles).
  • The concluding six paragraphs of the Text (in “Choose Once Again,” Chapter 31, Section IX).
  • Review 5 in the Workbook, Introduction, paragraphs 6-9.
  • Section 23 in the Manual and Sections 4 and 5 in the Clarification of Terms. In these sections, Jesus speaks about himself in the third person, yet they are some of the most beautiful material about Jesus in the entire Course.

These passages should be read very slowly. Savor each sentence. Each one is filled with a richness of communication. Don’t just brush over them hurriedly. The more attention you bring to each word, the more appreciation you will come away with.

The Urtext

This is the original typescript of the Course, the one typed by Bill Thetford in response to Helen’s dictation from her shorthand notes. The early portions of its Text are filled with more personal dialogue with Helen and guidance to her and Bill. More about this early material in the category below. Note: most of this personal dialog and guidance for Helen and Bill now appears in the Complete and Annotated Edition (CE)—either in the Cameos or re-phrased in more general terms in the Course itself, without mentioning Helen and Bill by name.

Absence from Felicity

This book about Helen Schucman and her scribing of the Course, written by Ken Wapnick, is a gold mine for Jesus material. For it contains an enormous amount of personal guidance from Jesus to Helen and Bill. Most of this material is found in the following places:

Chapters 7-10 (pp. 185-330)

pp. 395-399

pp. 464-471

This quote (from page 224) is one of my favorite quotes from this personal guidance, where Jesus is instructing Helen to give Bill a message for him:

…and be sure to tell him I did kiss him on the forehead and am kissing him again now. He is doing very well, and I am deeply grateful for his efforts. I do need his help with this course.

In this material we get to see Jesus personally applying the principles of the Course to the lives of Helen and Bill. We therefore learn an immense amount about how Jesus works with his students. Here is a brief summation of some of what we learn:

We learn that Jesus really is an ever-present personal helper and teacher, who cares about one thing and one thing only: the liberation of our minds. One could write an entire book on how he deals with Helen and Bill: how intimately he is concerned with their thoughts, their behavior and their relationship; how hard he tries to reach them in ways they would personally consider meaningful; how many devices he uses to get their attention and engage their interest; how he encourages their every gain and frequently thanks them for helping him with his Course; how he tries to make the Course practical and meaningful by adapting it to their individual personality patterns; how often he assures them of his love and care for them—the list could go on and on. Here is a being who seemingly knows everything: from the Heart of God Himself, to Helen and Bill’s every thought and the entire span of their journey through repeated lives, to where to find a particular winter coat. Yet he enters into Helen and Bill’s lives and jokes with them, makes puns to them, quotes to them their own past remarks as his current counsel. Rather than distant and aloof, he acts absolutely familiar with them, truly like a brother whom they knew since they were born. Yet he clearly means business; he pulls no punches. He is not at all shy about calling them to task and identifying certain thoughts or behaviors as outright hatred and attack. He never forgets that before them is a task of awesome magnitude: the awakening of two minds that have endured centuries of self-imposed misery, and through them, the awakening of a weary, agonized world.

The Gifts of God

Considered Helen’s last authentic scribing from Jesus. Printed in the back of The Gifts of God poetry collection, even though it is not one of her poems. Filled with first person material from Jesus. More passionate in tone than the Course itself. Bears repeated reading. An absolute gem.

Some of Helen Schucman’s poems

Many of Helen’s poems speak of Jesus (those with an asterisk are my personal favorites):

The Certain Help, p. 24
* Bright Stranger, p. 43
Arise with Me, p. 46
Waiting, p. 52
Deliverance, p. 55
Conversion, p. 61
Transformation, p. 64
* A Jesus Prayer, p. 82
The Invitation, p. 90
The Hope of Christmas, p. 98
The Place of Resurrection, p. 99
The Resurrection and the Life, p. 100
The Second Easter, p. 102
* Stranger on the Road, p. 103
Good Friday, p. 106
Requiem, p. 109
* Easter, p. 110

Collecting favorite Jesus quotes

Another terrific way to get in touch with how Jesus relates to us is to collect your favorite quotes in which he speaks in the first person, and put them in a form and in a place where you will read them frequently. I have two of my favorites posted on the wall in front of my work station.

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