PRAYER FOR A CHILD THAT HAS JUST BEEN BORN 53. PREFACE - Only after having passed through the tests offered by physical life can Spirits reach perfection. Those who are in an errant state await God's permission to return to an existence which can offer them progress, either by the expiation of their faults by means of the vicissitudes to which they will be subjected, or by the undertaking of a mission which will benefit humanity. Their advancement and future happiness will be in proportion to the manner in which they employ the time given to them on Earth. The duty of guiding their first steps and of leading them towards goodness is up to their parents, who will have to give an account to God for the degree of fulfilment they gave to this mandate. It was to help them that God made paternal and filial love a Law of Nature, a law which can never be transgressed with impunity.
54. PRAYER (To be said by the parents):
Dear Spirit, who has incarnated in the body of our child, we bid you welcome. We thank You, Almighty God, for the blessing of this child.
We know that this is a trust You have deposited in us and for which one day we will have to give an account. If he (she) belongs to the new generation of Spirits who are to inhabit the Earth, we thank you Lord for this blessing! If it is an imperfect Spirit, it is our duty to help him/her progress towards goodness, by means of counselling and good examples. If he/she falls prey to evil through our fault, we shall be responsible for this, seeing that we shall have failed in our mission.
Lord, uphold us in this task and give us the necessary strength and willpower so as to be able to fulfill it to the best of our ability. If this child has come to test our Spirits, may Your will be done, Lord!
Good Spirits, who have watched over this birth and will accompany this child during the course of his/her new existence, do not abandon him/her. Turn away from him/her all the evil Spirits who will try to tempt him/her into badness. Give this being strength to resist all their suggestions and courage to suffer with patience and resignation the tests which await here on Earth (See chapter 14, item 9).
55. PRAYER:
Dear God, You have entrusted me with the destiny of one of Your Spirits; therefore, Lord, make me worthy of the task You have set me. Grant me Your protection. Illuminate my intelligence so that I may perceive right from the beginning the tendencies of the one it is my duty to prepare for ascension to Your peace.
56. PRAYER:
God of infinite goodness, since You have seen fit to permit the Spirit of this child to come once again to undergo earthly trials, destined to make it
progress, give it enlightenment enough so that it may learn to know You, love
You and worship You. Through Your omnipotence may this soul regenerate itself from the source of Your Divine Teachings. That, under the protection of its Guardian Angel, its intelligence may develop, amplify and lead it to aspire to move closer to You. May the science of Spiritism be a brilliant light which illuminates it throughout the many choices of life. And finally, may it learn to appreciate the full extension of Your love, which puts us to the test so that we may purify ourselves.
Lord, cast a paternal eye over this family to which You have entrusted this soul, so that it may learn to understand the importance of its mission. May the seeds of goodness within this child germinate till such time as, by its own aspirations, it elevates itself to You.
O Lord, may it please You to answer this humble prayer, in the name of and by the worthiness of He who said: "Let the little children come to me, because the Kingdom of Heaven is for those who resemble them."
