Supplement to the chapter on prayers.

— Several subscribers regretted not having found, in our Imitation of the Gospel According to Spiritism, a special morning and evening prayer for habitual use.

We shall point out that the prayers contained in that work do not constitute a formulary which, to be complete, would have to comprise a much greater number. They form part of the communications given by the Spirits; we gathered them in the chapter devoted to the examination of prayer, just as we appended to each of the other chapters the communications that concerned them. By intentionally omitting those of the morning and evening, we wished to prevent our work from having a liturgical character, which is why we limited ourselves to those that have a more direct relation to Spiritism, so that everyone may find the others among those of his particular worship. Nevertheless, to comply with the wish expressed to us, we give below the one that seems to us best to answer the aim that is proposed. We shall, however, preface it with a few observations, so that its scope may be better understood.

— In the Imitation, no. 274, we stressed the necessity of intelligible prayers. He who prays without understanding what he says accustoms himself to attach more value to words than to thoughts; for him it is the words that are efficacious, even if the heart takes no part in it. Thus, many believe themselves discharged of their obligation after reciting a few words that dispense them from reforming themselves. It is to form a strange idea of the Divinity to believe that it allows itself to be paid with words instead of acts, which attest a moral improvement. Here, on this subject, is the opinion of Saint Paul:

“If therefore I know not the meaning of the voice, I shall be a foreigner to him that speaketh; and he that speaketh, a foreigner to me. – For if I pray in another tongue, my spirit indeed prays, but my mind is unfruitful. – And if thou bless only in spirit, how shall the unlearned say the amen after thy thanksgiving, seeing he understandeth not what thou sayest. – For thou indeed givest thanks well, but the other is not edified.” (Saint Paul, 1st Epistle to the Corinthians, chapter 14, verses 11, 14, 16, and 17.) It is impossible to condemn the use of unintelligible prayers more formally and more logically. It is astonishing that so little account should have been taken of Saint Paul's authority on this point, when, on others, it is so often invoked. As much could be said of the majority of the sacred writers, regarded as lights of the Church, whose precepts are far from being put into practice.

An essential condition of prayer is, then, according to Saint Paul, to be intelligible, so that it may speak to our spirit. For this it is not enough that it be said in a language comprehensible to the one who prays; there are prayers in the vulgar tongue that say no more to the thought than if they were in a foreign language, and which, for that very reason, do not reach the heart; the rare ideas they contain are often smothered by the superabundance of words and by the mysticism of the language. The chief quality of prayer is to be clear, simple, and concise, without useless phraseology, nor a profusion of epithets, which are nothing but false ornaments; each word must have its scope, awaken a thought, stir a fiber; in a word, it must make one reflect; only on this condition can prayer attain its aim, otherwise it is nothing but noise. Observe, too, with what distracted air and with what volubility they are most of the time said. One sees the lips moving, but, by the expression of the countenance and by the tone of the voice, one recognizes a mechanical act, purely external, to which the soul remains indifferent. The most perfect model of concision in the matter of prayer is, undoubtedly, the Lord's Prayer, a true masterpiece of sublimity in its simplicity;

under the most restricted form, it sums up all the duties of man toward God, toward himself, and toward his neighbor. Yet, by reason of its very brevity, the profound meaning, enclosed in the few words of which it is composed, escapes the majority; the commentaries made on it are not always present in the memory, or are even unknown to the majority. This is why they generally say it without digesting the thought upon the applications of each of its parts. They say it as a formula, whose efficacy is proportional to the number of times it is repeated. [See Matthew.]

Now, it is almost always one of the cabalistic numbers three, seven, or nine, drawn from the ancient belief in the virtue of numbers, and still in use in the operations of magic. Think or do not think of what you say, but repeat the prayer so many times, and that suffices. Whereas Spiritism expressly rejects all efficacy attributed to words, signs, and formulas, the Church improperly interferes by accusing it of reviving the old superstitious beliefs.

— All the ancient and pagan religions had their sacred language, a mysterious language, intelligible only to the initiated, but whose true meaning was hidden from the common people, who respected it the more the less they understood it. This could be accepted in the era of the intellectual infancy of the masses; but today, when they are spiritually emancipated, mystical languages no longer have any reason to exist and constitute an anachronism; they want to see as clearly in the things of religion as in those of civil life; one is no longer asked to believe and pray, but one wants to know why one believes and what one asks in praying. Latin, in habitual use in the first ages of Christianity, became for the Church the sacred language, and it is by a remnant of the ancient prestige attached to these languages that the majority of those who do not know it recite the Lord's Prayer in that language, instead of in their own. One would say that they attach to it the more virtue the less they understand it. Certainly, this was not the intention of Jesus when he dictated it, and such, likewise, was not that of Saint Paul, when he said: “If I pray in another tongue, my spirit indeed prays, but my mind is unfruitful.” (1Cor) If, again, for lack of intelligence, the heart always prayed, there would be only a lesser evil; unfortunately, often the heart prays no more than the spirit. If the heart really prayed, one would not see so many people, among those who pray much, profit so little, being neither more benevolent, nor more charitable, nor less slanderous toward their neighbor.

— This reservation having been made, we shall say that the best morning and evening prayer is, without a shadow of a doubt, the Lord's Prayer, said with intelligence, with the heart and not with the lips. But, to fill the void that its concision leaves in the thought, we have added to it, on the advice and with the assistance of the good Spirits, a development to each proposition.

According to the circumstances and the time available, one may, then, say the Lord's Prayer simply or with the commentaries. One may also add some of the prayers contained in the Imitation of the Gospel, taken from among those that have no special aim, for example: the prayer to the guardian angels and to the protecting Spirits, no. 293; the one to keep away the bad Spirits, no. 297; for the persons who were dear to us, no. 358; for the suffering souls who ask for prayers, no. 360, etc. [All the references to the Imitation of the Gospel have been redirected to the definitive version of the GOSPEL According to Spiritism.] Let it be understood that this is without prejudice to the special prayers of the worship to which one belongs by conviction, and which Spiritism does not command one to renounce. To those who ask us for a line of conduct to follow concerning daily prayers, we advise each one to make his own collection, appropriate to the circumstances in which he finds himself, for himself, for others, or for those who have left the Earth; to develop them or restrict them, according to opportunity.

Once a week, for example, on Sunday, one may devote a longer time to them and say them all, whether in private or in common, if there is occasion, adding some passages from the Imitation of the Gospel and that of some good instructions, dictated by the Spirits. This is addressed more especially to the persons rejected by the Church on account of Spiritism, who feel, for that very reason, more in need of uniting themselves to God by thought. But, except in this case, nothing prevents believers, on the days devoted to the ceremonies of their worship, from saying there some of the prayers connected with the Spiritist beliefs, at the same time as they utter their own. This can only contribute to raising their soul to God by the union of thought and of words. Spiritism is an intimate faith; it is in the heart, and not in external acts; it imposes none that is liable to scandalize those who do not share that belief; on the contrary, it recommends abstaining from them, out of a spirit of charity and of tolerance.

— In consideration and as an application of the preceding ideas, we give below the Lord's Prayer developed. If some persons should judge that this was not the place for a document of this nature, we would remind them that our Review is not only a compilation of facts, and that its field of action embraces everything that can aid moral development. There was a time when the cases of manifestations were the only ones to interest the readers; but today, when the serious and moralizing aim of Spiritism is understood and appreciated, the majority of the adepts seek there more what touches the heart than what pleases the spirit. It is, then, to these that we address ourselves on this occasion. By this publication, we know we are agreeable to a great number, if not to all. This alone would have moved us, if other considerations, upon which we must keep silence, had not determined us to do it at this moment, and not at another.

THE LORD'S PRAYER DEVELOPED. n I. Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name!

We believe in thee, Lord, because everything reveals thy power and thy goodness. The harmony of the Universe bears witness to a wisdom, a prudence, and a foresight that surpass all human faculties. In all the works of Creation, from the tiny blade of grass and the little insect, up to the stars that move in space, there is inscribed the name of a being sovereignly great and wise. Everywhere we encounter the proof of paternal solicitude. Blind, therefore, is he who does not recognize thee in thy works, proud he who does not glorify thee, and ungrateful he who does not render thee thanks. II. Thy kingdom come!

Lord, thou gavest to men laws full of wisdom and that would give them happiness, if they fulfilled them. With these laws, they would make peace and justice reign among themselves and would mutually aid one another, instead of mistreating one another, as they do. The strong would sustain the weak, instead of crushing him. The evils that are engendered by excesses and abuses would be avoided. All the miseries of this world come from the violation of thy laws, for no infraction of them fails to occasion fatal consequences. Thou gavest to the brute the instinct that traces for it the limit of what is necessary, and it mechanically conforms to it; to man, however, besides this instinct, thou gavest intelligence and reason; thou gavest him also the liberty to fulfill or to infringe those of thy laws that personally concern him, that is, the liberty to choose between good and evil, so that he may have the merit and the responsibility of his actions. No one can plead ignorance of thy laws, for, with paternal foresight, thou willed that they should be engraved in the conscience of each one, without distinction of worship, or of nations. If they violate them, it is because they despise them.

A day will come when, according to thy promise, all will practice them. Incredulity will then have disappeared. All will recognize thee as sovereign Lord of all things, and the reign of thy laws will be thy kingdom on Earth.

Deign, Lord, to hasten its advent, by granting to men the necessary light, that may lead them to the path of truth.

III. Thy will be done, on Earth as in Heaven.

If submission is a duty of the son toward the father, of the inferior toward his superior, how much greater must be that of the creature toward his Creator! To do thy will, Lord, is to observe thy laws and to submit, without complaints, to thy decrees. Man will submit to it, when he understands that thou art the source of all wisdom and that without thee he can do nothing. He will then do thy will on Earth, as the elect do it in Heaven. IV. Give us this day our daily bread.

Give us the food indispensable to the sustenance of the forces of the body; but give us also the spiritual food for the development of our Spirit.

The brute finds its pasture; man, however, owes his sustenance to his own activity and to the resources of his intelligence, because thou created him free.

Thou hast said to him: “Thou shalt draw thy food from the earth with the sweat of thy brow.” Thus, thou madest of labor, for him, an obligation, so that he might exercise his intelligence in the search for the means of providing for his needs and his well-being, some through manual labor, others through intellectual labor. Without labor, he would remain stationary and could not aspire to the happiness of the superior Spirits. Thou aidest the man of good will who trusts in thee, as regards what is necessary; not, however, him who takes pleasure in idleness and would wish to obtain everything without effort, nor him who seeks the superfluous.

How many succumb through their own fault, through their negligence, through their improvidence, or through their ambition and for not having been willing to content themselves with what thou hadst granted them! These are the artisans of their own misfortune and lack the right to complain, since they are punished in that wherein they sinned. But thou abandonest not even these, because thou art infinitely merciful. Thou stretchest out thy hands to succor them, provided that, like the prodigal son, they turn sincerely toward thee. Before complaining of our lot, let us inquire of ourselves whether it is not our own work. At each misfortune that comes to us, let us take care to know whether it would not have been in our hands to avoid it. Let us also consider that God granted us intelligence to draw us out of the mire, and that on us depends the manner of using it.

Since to the law of labor the man of Earth is subjected, give us courage and strength to obey this law. Give us also prudence, foresight, and moderation, so that we may not lose its fruit.

Give us, then, Lord, our daily bread, that is, the means of acquiring, through labor, the things necessary to life, for no one has the right to claim the superfluous.

If to labor is impossible for us, to thy divine providence we entrust ourselves.

If it is in thy designs to try us by the harshest tribulations, in spite of our efforts, we accept them as a just expiation of the faults we may have committed in this existence, or in another previous one, for thou art just. We know that there are no undeserved penalties and that thou never punishest without cause.

Preserve us, O my God, from envying those who possess what we do not have, nor even those who dispose of the superfluous, while to us the necessary is lacking. Forgive them, if they forget the law of charity and of love of neighbor, which thou taughtest them.

Keep away, likewise, from our spirit the idea of denying thy justice, when we note the prosperity of the wicked and the misfortune that sometimes falls upon the man of good. We already know, thanks to the new lights that it has pleased thee to grant us, that thy justice is always fulfilled and excepts no one; that the material prosperity of the wicked is ephemeral, as is his corporeal existence, and that he will experience terrible reverses, whereas eternal will be the joy of him who suffers with resignation. V. Forgive us our debts, as we forgive those who are indebted to us. – Forgive us our offenses, as we forgive those who have offended us.

Each of our infractions of thy laws, Lord, is an offense that we commit against thee and a debt that we contract and that sooner or later we shall have to settle. We beseech thee to forgive them us by thy infinite mercy, under the promise, which we make to thee, of using our greatest efforts not to contract others.

Thou imposedst upon us by express law charity; but charity does not consist only in assisting our fellows in their needs; it also consists in the forgetting and the forgiving of offenses. By what right would we claim thy indulgence, if we did not use it toward those who have given us cause for complaint?

Grant us, O my God, strength to efface from our soul all resentment, all hatred, and all rancor. Grant that death may not surprise us keeping in the heart desires of vengeance. If it please thee to take us from this world this very day, grant that we may present ourselves, before thee, pure of all animosity, after the example of the Christ, whose last thoughts were in favor of his executioners. The persecutions that the wicked inflict upon us constitute part of our earthly trials. We must, then, receive them without complaining, like all the other trials, and not curse those who, by their wickednesses, open for us the path of eternal happiness, since thou hast said to us, through Jesus: “Blessed are they who suffer for justice!” Let us bless, therefore, the hand that wounds and humbles us, since the mortifications of the body fortify the soul and since we shall be exalted as an effect of our humility. Blessed be thy name, Lord, for having taught us that our lot is not irrevocably fixed after death; that we shall find, in other existences, the means of redeeming and of repairing our past faults, of fulfilling in a new life what we cannot do in this one, for our progress. Thus are explained, at last, all the apparent anomalies of life. It is the light that is projected upon our past and our future, an evident sign of thy sovereign justice and of thy infinite goodness.

VI. Leave us not to fall into temptation, but deliver us from evil.

Give us, Lord, the strength to resist the suggestions of the bad Spirits, who attempt to divert us from the path of good, by inspiring us with bad thoughts.

But we are imperfect Spirits, incarnated on Earth to expiate our faults and to improve ourselves. In ourselves is the primary cause of evil and the bad Spirits do nothing more than take advantage of our vicious inclinations, in which they maintain us in order to tempt us.

Each imperfection is a door open to their influence, whereas they are powerless and renounce all attempts against perfect beings. All that we can do to keep them away is useless, if we do not oppose to them a decided and unshakable will to remain in good and an absolute renunciation of evil. It is, then, against ourselves that we need to direct our efforts and, if we do so, the bad Spirits will naturally keep away, since good repels them. Lord, sustain us in our weakness; inspire in us, through our guardian angels and through the good Spirits, the will to correct ourselves of all imperfections in order to bar to the bad Spirits the access to our soul.

Evil is not thy work, Lord, for the source of all good can engender nothing evil. It is we ourselves who create evil, by infringing thy laws and making bad use of the liberty thou granted us. When we men fulfill them, evil will disappear from the Earth, as it has already disappeared from worlds more advanced than ours.

Evil does not constitute for anyone a fatal necessity and only seems irresistible to those who take pleasure in it. Since we have the will to do it, we can also have that to practice good, wherefore, O my God, we ask thy assistance and that of the good Spirits, in order to resist temptation.

VII. So be it.

May it please thee, Lord, that our desires be fulfilled. But we bow before thy infinite wisdom. May in all the things that escape our understanding thy holy will be done and not ours, for thou willest only our good and, better than we, knowest what suits us.

We address to thee this prayer, O God, for ourselves and also for all the suffering souls, incarnate and disincarnate, for our friends and enemies, for all those who solicit our assistance.

For all we implore thy mercy and thy blessing.

Note. – Here may be formulated the thanks that one wishes to address to God and what one desires to ask for oneself or for others.

[1] Translator's note: See The Gospel According to Spiritism, chapter XXVIII, item 3.