Meimei, pseudonym of Irma de Castro Rocha was a Brazilian educator and after passing away she manifested herself through Chico Xavier’s letters.
Biography of Meimei “Amor Puro”
By Valle García
Irma de Castro, such was her name on Earth, was born on October 22, 1922, in Mateus Leme, State of Minas Gerais, Brazil.
Born into a humble family, her parents Adolfo Castro and Mariana Castro also had four more children: Carmen, Ruth, Danilo and Alaíde.
Our Meimei, the name by which we will know her later on, is orphaned when she loses her father at the age of five.
She always stood out for being a kind, gentle and, above all, very intelligent child. Her character was jovial, cheerful, spontaneous and very communicative, which won the hearts of all those around her.
Her entire life was marked by illness. A nephritis that caused her to abandon her studies, despite her academic abilities, being at the top of her class during her time as a student. However, she did not allow herself to be overcome by adversity and, gifted as she was with great brilliance and intelligence, she was busy acquiring culture and knowledge through reading, which she loved so much. This contributed greatly to refining his spiritual aspirations.
Her natural kindness and deep humbleness gave way to the charity that radiates from the heart. She was particularly moved by the pain of others and always sought the opportunity to approach the suffering, immediately empathizing with the sufferer, radiating comfort and encouragement.
At the age of 20, she decides to move with her sister Alaíde to Belo Horizonte in search of a job. She studied to become a teacher, as her love for children was well known. And it is there, in Belo Horizonte, where she will meet the love of her life, her future husband Arnaldo Rocha.
At that time she was enjoying a period of good health, even though the disease she was carrying would come and go, she held out hope for a cure.
Irma and Arnaldo were married. The wedding was celebrated in the St. Joseph Church, on June 10, 1942.
Approaching the newlyweds, he asked them for money, and Meimei, sensitized by the state she was in, told him that she had nothing to offer him but her bridal bouquet, as they had just left the ceremony. Without hesitating she hands over her bouquet and kisses his forehead showing her immense love for those who suffer.
Her husband, after reading the book Peking Moments, by the Chinese-American writer Lin Yutang, began to call her affectionately Meimei, which means “Pure Love”. This name was part of their couple’s secrets because that was how Arnaldo saw her: sweet, loving, a very noble spirit…
Unfortunately, their beautiful love story was once again cut short by illness.
Due to the hypertensive condition, Meimei gradually lost her vision, until she was practically blind.
In those days, she began to have visions. She talked and talked about her grandmother Mariana who came to visit her and who would soon accompany her on the journey to heaven where she would meet all her children who could not be born through her.
Meimei longed to be a mother, for as we already know, her love for children was unquestionable, but her wishes never materialized.
Only two years after her marriage, she became seriously ill and despite her husband’s efforts, and after spending three months bedridden, she passed away on October 1, 1946.
And it is at this moment that our dear Meimei would be known forever by all the Spiritists of the world and, above all, by those who dedicate themselves to the noble task of educating the souls of children and young people.
But first, let’s see how the events unfolded.
Irma de Castro, our Meimei, was not a spiritist during her corporeal life, since she was educated in the Catholic Religion. Nevertheless, as we have had the opportunity to see, love of neighbor, a humble attitude, and charity were the flowers with which she crowned her spirit and which offered her the credits of light with which she would enter the Spiritual World.
Meimei had clairvoyant mediumship, talked to spirits and also had access to memories of past lives. Often, while reading, she would be enraptured, gazing at the infinite with indefinable charm. Questioned by her beloved husband, she would reply that she could see scenes of other times, in which they were the protagonists. However, Arnold, an avowed materialist, used to deflect the issue by declaring that death was the end for creatures.
When Meimei died, Arnaldo Rocha continued not believing in God, he was depressed and devastated by the loss of his beloved.
But Divine Providence, which never abandons us, had prepared for Arnaldo an encounter that would change his life forever.
Fifty days after Meimei’s discarnation, Arnaldo meets Chico Xavier in the streets of Bello Horizonte, twelve years after their previous meeting in which they were fleetingly introduced.
When they met that day, Chico told Arnaldo that Meimei wanted to send him a message. Arnaldo was surprised since no one, except them, knew this affectionate nickname by which he referred to his beloved wife.
According to him, the conversation went like this: “Chico looked at me and said: ‘Let me see, my son, the portrait of our Meimei that you keep in your wallet. And after looking at the photo, he continued, “Meimei wants to tell you something.”
Arnaldo was shocked, as it was impossible for Chico to know such details.
So he went to a family reunion where Chico was present, and Meimei sent her first psychographed message.
Those beautiful psychographed letters were, undoubtedly, a source of consolation for the immense pain he felt. It is from then on that he became a Spiritist, founding the Meimei Spiritist Center.
That meeting, with Chico, marked his life and forever encouraged his love for the study of the Spiritist Philosophy, and new friends arose who supported him in his later conquests.
But Meimei also wanted to materialize before him, as recorded in the work “Mandate of Love”.
He says that one night he felt a delicious and delicate perfume, similar to the one she used to wear when she was alive. He immediately saw a brightness in the corridor, and it was then when he could see her.
“She looked at me, waved and walked over to where I was sitting. Her clothes were light and delicate. She was beautiful, I got up to hug her and felt her spiritual heart beating. We kissed fraternally, and she touched my face and played with my ears, as she liked to do.“
As time went by, Chico offered various information about Meimei and his previous lives. On the spiritual plane, she was the same Blandina, mentioned by André Luiz in the work “Between Heaven and Earth” and who lives in the Spiritual Colony “Nosso Lar”.
Chico also revealed two well-known reincarnations of Meimei.
One of them took place in the 8th century B.C., when the princess Mabi.
Being chased by a lion, she was saved by a general of the Assyrian and Babylonian empire, named Beb Alib, one of the reincarnations of Arnaldo Rocha.
In another of her lives, she was also Blandina, a character in the book Ave, Cristo! by Chico Xavier.
Blandina was the daughter of Taciano Varro, one of the reincarnations of Arnaldo Rocha.
It is indeed a spirit of light.
Meimei, having trained as a teacher, continued to teach some children, but she did not stop her work with the little ones in the Spiritual World, dedicating all her love and the most beautiful psychographic compositions to them.
Meimei left countless messages and books through the mediumship of Chico Xavier:
“Meditações Diárias” by spiritual benefactors Meimei and Bezerra de Menezes. It is a collection of reflective texts for a happier life.
Our Father, is one of Meimei’s main books. It is a classic of Spiritist children’s literature. In it, Meimei brings the teachings of Jesus to children through poems, stories and legends:
- The Gospel at Home
- ‘Cartilha do Bem’
- ‘Amizade’ (Friendship)
- ‘Somente Amor’ (Only Love)
- ‘Deus Aguarda’ (God Awaits)
- ‘Sentinelas da Alma’ (Sentinels of the Soul)
- ‘Palavras do Coração’ (Words of the Heart)
Emmanuel, Chico Xavier’s spiritual guide, quotes Meimei and his contribution in the book “Palavras do Coração”.:
“Meimei’s creations, around the most varied human experiences, always arouse in us the idea that our dear sister, symbolically, possesses the heart in the form of harps, on whose strings she composes beautiful and wise lessons, real prose melodies in which we are impelled to the Higher Spheres of Life.”
