11.

On the use of external signs of worship in the Groups.

I have often been asked whether it is useful to begin the sessions with prayers and external acts of devotion. My answer is not mine alone; it is also that of the eminent Spirits who have dealt with this question.

It is, without doubt, not only useful but necessary to beseech, by a special invocation, by a kind of prayer, the assistance of the good Spirits. This practice, moreover, can only predispose to contemplation, an essential condition of every serious meeting. The same is not the case with the external signs of worship, with which certain groups believe they ought to open their sessions, and which have more than one drawback, despite the good intention with which they are suggested.

Everything in the meetings must take place religiously, that is, with gravity, respect and contemplation. But we must not forget that Spiritism addresses itself to all forms of worship; that, consequently, it must not adopt the formalities of any one in particular. Its enemies have already been clever enough, presenting it as a new sect, in order to have a pretext to combat it. One cannot, then, corroborate this opinion by the use of formulas from which they would not fail to take advantage, to say that the Spiritist meetings are assemblies of Protestants, of schismatics; do not think that such formulas are capable of rallying certain antagonists. Spiritism, calling to itself men of all beliefs, to unite them under the banner of charity and fraternity, accustoming them to look upon one another as brothers, whatever their manner of adoring God, must not shock anyone’s convictions by the employment of external signs of any worship whatsoever. Few are the Spiritist meetings, however small they may be, above all in France, in which there are not members or attendees belonging to different religions. If Spiritism placed itself openly on the ground of one of them, it would drive away the others. Now, as there are Spiritists in all of them, one would see Catholic, Jewish or Protestant groups form, thus perpetuating the religious antagonism that Spiritism tends to abolish. It is also the reason why one must abstain, in the meetings, from discussing particular dogmas, which would certainly wound certain consciences, whereas questions of morality belong to all religions and all countries. Spiritism is a neutral ground, upon which all religious opinions can meet and join hands. Now, disunion could arise from controversy. Do not forget that disunion is one of the means by which the enemies of Spiritism seek to attack it; it is with this objective that they often induce certain groups to occupy themselves with irritating or compromising questions, under the specious pretext that one must not place the light under the bushel. Do not let yourselves be caught in this snare, and let the directors of groups be firm in repelling all suggestions of this kind, if they do not wish to pass for accomplices of these machinations.

The employment of external signs of worship would have the same result: that of a schism among the adherents. Some would end up finding that they are not sufficiently employed; others, that they are employed in excess. To avoid this drawback, which is very serious, it is fitting to abstain from all liturgical prayer, not excepting the Lord’s Prayer, however beautiful it may be. As no one abjures his religion in taking part in a Spiritist meeting, let each one, within himself and mentally, make the prayer he judges fitting; but let there be nothing ostensible and, above all, nothing official. The same holds for the sign of the cross, for the custom of kneeling, etc., without which there would be no reason to prevent a Muslim Spiritist, a member of a Spiritist group, from prostrating himself and reciting aloud his sacramental formula: “There is but one God and Mohammed is his prophet.”

There is no drawback when the prayers made on someone’s behalf are independent of any particular worship. This being so, I believe it superfluous to point out how much there would be of the ridiculous in making a whole gathering repeat in chorus a prayer or any formula whatsoever, a practice witnessed by someone who recounted it to me.

Let it be well understood that what has just been said applies only to the groups or societies formed of persons who are strangers to one another, but in no way to the intimate family meetings, in which, naturally, each person is free to act as he sees fit, provided that no one is wounded there.