Value of prayer.

— The same person [Mrs. F…] alluded to in the preceding fact received one day the following communication, whose origin she did not at first understand:

“You have not forgotten me, and never has your Spirit had toward me a sentiment of pardon. It is true that I did you much harm; but for a long time I have been punished for it. I have not ceased to suffer. I see that you fulfill your duties with such courage, to provide for the needs of your family… but envy has not ceased to devour my heart. Your… (Here we stopped to ask who it could be. The Spirit added: “Do not interrupt me; I will give my name when I finish.”) …resignation, which I followed, was one of my greatest sufferings. Have a little pity on me if, in truth, you are a disciple of Christ. I was very alone on Earth, notwithstanding being among my own, and envy was my gravest defect. It was through envy that I dominated your husband. It seemed that you were regaining your hold over him when I met you and interposed myself between you. Forgive me and have courage so that, in turn, God may have pity on you. My sister, whom I oppressed during my life, is the only one who has prayed for me. But it is your prayers that I lack. The others do not bring to me the seal of pardon. Farewell; forgive. Angèle Rouget.”

That lady adds: “Then I remembered perfectly the woman, dead about twenty-five years ago, and of whom I had not thought for many years. I ask myself how the prayers of her sister, a virtuous and gentle creature, devoted, pious, and resigned, should not be more fruitful than mine. Even so, I prayed and forgave.”

Answer. – The Spirit itself gives the explanation when it says: “The prayers of the others do not bring to me the seal of pardon.” In effect, that lady, the principal offended one, having suffered more from the conduct of the other, saturated her prayer with pardon, which must have touched the guilty Spirit even more. In praying, her sister was, so to speak, only fulfilling a duty; on the other hand, there was an act of charity. The offended one had more right and more merit to ask for grace; her pardon, therefore, must have reassured the Spirit more. Now, it is known that the principal effect of prayer is to act upon the morale of the Spirit, whether to calm it or to lead it to good. By bringing it to good, prayer hastens the clemency of the Supreme Judge, who always pardons the repentant sinner. Human justice, despite its imperfection in the face of divine justice, offers us frequent similar examples. If a man is brought before the tribunal for offenses against someone, no one will defend him better, nor obtain his absolution more easily, than the offended one himself, coming generously to withdraw the complaint.

— After having been read at the Society of Paris, the above communication gave rise to the following question, proposed by one of its members:

“Spirits constantly request prayers from mortals. Do the good Spirits not pray for the suffering ones? In that case, why are the prayers of men more efficacious?”

The following answer was given in the same session, by Saint Augustine, through the medium E. Vézy:

“Pray always, my children. I have already told you: prayer is a beneficent dew that should make less arid the parched earth. I come to repeat it once more and to add a few words in answer to the question you put to me. You ask why the suffering Spirits prefer to ask for prayers from you rather than from us. Are the prayers of mortals more efficacious than those of the good Spirits? – Who told you that our prayers did not have the virtue of spreading consolation and giving strength to the weak Spirits, who can go to God only with difficulty and, often, without courage? If they implore your prayers, it is because they have the merit of earthly emanations which, rising voluntarily to God, are always profited from by them, because they proceed from your charity and your love. “For you, to pray is abnegation; for us, a duty. The incarnate one who prays for his neighbor fulfills the noble task of the pure Spirits; without possessing their courage and their strength, they accomplish their marvels. It is peculiar to our life to console the Spirit that suffers and passes through difficulties; but one of your prayers is the necklace that you take from your neck to give to the needy; it is the bread that you take from your table to give to one who is hungry. That is why your prayers are agreeable to the one who hears them. Does a father not always heed the prayer of the prodigal son? Does he not call all the servants to kill the fatted calf for the return of the guilty son? How would he not do so still more for the one who, on his knees, comes to say to him: “O my father, I am very guilty; I do not ask grace for myself, but pardon my repentant brother, weaker and less guilty than I.” Oh! it is then that the father softens, drawing from his breast all that it can contain in gifts and in love. And he says: “You were full of iniquities and you confessed yourself a criminal; but, understanding the enormity of your faults, you did not cry out for grace for yourself; you accept the suffering of my punishment and, in spite of your tortures, your voice has strength enough to ask for your brother!” Well then! the father does not wish to be less charitable than the son: he pardons them both. To one and the other he extends his hands so that they may walk straight on the path that leads to his glory. “This is the reason, my children, why the suffering Spirits, who wander about you, implore your prayers. We must pray; you can pray. Prayer of the heart, you are the soul of souls, if I may so express myself; a sublime quintessence that rises, ever chaste, beautiful, and radiant, toward the vaster soul of God.”

Saint Augustine. n [1]

[v.

Saint Augustine.]