Several subscribers testified their sorrow for not having found a special prayer in our
Imitation of the Gospels According to Spiritism[1], a prayer for a habitual use in the morning and at night.
We must point out that the prayers in that book do not constitute a recipe that to be complete must contain a much larger number of prayers. They are part of the communications given by the Spirits; we gathered them in a chapter dedicated to the analysis of the prayer, as we added to each of the other chapters the communications that could be used as their references. By removing those that could be used in the morning and at night we did so on purpose to remove from our work a liturgical character, that being the reason why we limited ourselves to those that had a closer relationship with Spiritism. The others each person may find among those of their private cult. Despite that, and in order to attend a desire that was expressed to us, we provide below the ones that we believe to best attend the objective. We precede them, however, with some observations so that their reach can be better understood.
In the Imitation, number 274, we pointed out the need for the
intelligible prayers. Someone that prays without knowing what is said gets into the habit of giving more importance to the words than to the thoughts; for that person it is the words that are efficient even without the participation of the heart. Therefore many consider to be free after reciting some words that subtract them from the need of improving themselves. It is like making a strange image of the Divinity, believing that God is satisfied with a few words more than with actions that attest a moral betterment. In fact, here is what St. Paul says about it:
“
If I don’t understand the meaning of the words I am like a barbarian to the one to whom I speak and the one that speak to me will be a barbarian. If I pray in a language that I don’t understand my heart prays but my mind goes without a fruit. If you praise with the Spirit only how come one of those men that can only understand their own language will say Amen at the end of you prayer, considering that he cannot understand what you say? That does not mean that your prayer is not good but the others are not edified (St. Paul, 1st Epistle to the Corinthians, Chap. XIV, verses 11,14,16 and 17).”
It is impossible to condemn in a more formal and logical way the use of unintelligible prayers. One may be surprised by the fact that the authority of St. Paul is not so much taken into account in this matter whereas it is so much invoked in so many other points. The same could be said about the majority of the holy writers, considered as the lights of the Church, and whose precepts are all far from being implemented in practice.
An essential condition of the prayer, according to St. Paul, is that of being intelligible so that it may speak to our soul. For that it is not enough for the prayer to be said in the language understood by the one that prays for there are prayers in vulgar language that speak as much to the mind as it would do if spoken in a foreign language and for that very reason do not reach the heart because the rare ideas that they carry are frequently muffled by the super abundance of words and the mysticism of the language.
The main feature of the prayer is to be clear, simple and concise, without useless phraseology and the luxury of epithets that are nothing but sequin on a garment. Each word must have its reach, awake a thought, move on fiber, in a word must be food for thought. It is only with this condition that the prayer may reach its objective, otherwise it is only noise. Notice also the air of distraction and gibberish with which they are said most of the time! One can see the lips moving but by the expression of the face and tone of voice one can identify a purely mechanical act from which the soul remains indifferent.
The most perfect example of concision, in the case of prayer, is without doubt the Our Father Prayer, a true masterpiece of sublimity in its simplicity. In the most reduced form it summarizes all mankind’s duties to God, to oneself and one’s neighbors. Due to its very brevity, however, the profound meaning carried in the few words it contains escapes most people; the comments already made about it are not always live in one’s memory or are even unknown to the majority and for that matter it is generally said without the thoughts directed to the actual application of its parts. It is said like out of a recipe whose effectiveness is proportional to the number of times it is said. It is generally one of the cabalistic numbers
three, seven or nine taken from the old belief in the virtue of numbers that are also applied in magical operations. Think or do not think in what you are saying but repeat the prayer so many times and that is enough. Now that Spiritism strictly repeals any efficacy attributed to words, signs and formulas, the Church accuses it of resuscitating old superstitious beliefs.
All former and pagan religions had their sacred and mysterious language, only intelligible to the initiated but whose true meaning was hidden to the general public that used to respect it in proportion to the lack of understanding. This could be accepted at the time of intellectual infancy of the masses but nowadays that those masses are spiritually emancipated the mystical languages make no sense any longer and constitute an anachronism; people want to see religious things as clearly as they see things in their civilian life; there is no more request to believe and pray but a need to understand why we do believe and what must be requested when praying.
Latin, of frequent use in the first days of Christianity, became the sacred language to the Church and it is due to a little prestige left to that language that the majority of those that don’t know it say the Our Father Prayer in that language other than in their own language.
One could say that the more value is given to something the least it is understood. Certainly it was not Jesus’ intent when dictating it and that was not St. Paul’s thought when he said: “
For if I pray in a foreign language, my spirit prays, but my mind is unfruitful.”
[2] Even if in the absence of intelligence the heart always prays it would only be half-bad, however, unfortunately quite often the heart does not pray more than the Spirit. It the heart really prayed we would not see so many among those that pray a lot to find so little benefit, or not to be more benevolent or charitable or less defaming of their fellow human beings.
Made that point we say that the pest prayer to be said in the morning or at night is without doubt the
Our Father Prayer, said with intelligence, from one’s heart and not only with the lips. In order to bridge the blank left in its concision we will add with, by advice and with the assistance of the good Spirits, a development to each proposition.
According to the circumstances and time available one can say the simple Our Father Prayer or with the added comments. One can also add some of the prayers contained in the “Imitation of the Gospels” from those that do not a special objective, like for example the prayer of the guardian angels and to the protecting Spirits #293; the one to keep the bad Spirits away #297, to our loved ones #358, to the suffering souls that request prayers #360, etc. It must be understood that this does not affect the special prayers of one’s cult and that there is no request from Spiritism for that to be renounced.
For those that request from us a line of conduct to be followed with respect to the daily prayers we advise each one to make their own collection appropriate to their own circumstances, to others and to those that have left Earth and develop or restrict them according to the occasion. Once a week, say on Sunday for example, one can dedicate a longer time to this and say all of them, be it in private or in a group, adding to that the reading of some passages of the Imitation of the Gospels and some other good instructions dictated by the Spirits. This is more specially addressed to persons that are repelled by the Church because of Spiritism and that do not feel a lesser need to connect to God through their thoughts.
With the exception of that case, there is nothing that preclude those that feel the need to assist on the days dedicated to their own cults to say, at the same time, some of the prayers related to their Spiritist beliefs. This can only contribute to elevate one’s soul to God by the union of thoughts and words. Spiritism is an intimate faith. It is in one’s hearts and not in exterior acts. It does not prescribe any action that may scandalize those that share this belief but it does recommend, on the contrary, one’s abstention in the Spirit of charity and tolerance.
In consideration and as a way of application of the preceding ideas we provide below the “Our Father Prayer” developed. If some people believe that here is not the adequate place for a document of such a nature we would remind them that our Spiritist Review is not a collection of facts only and that its scope involves everything that may help the moral betterment. There was a time that the only thing of interest to our readers was the cases of manifestations. Today, however, that the serious and moralizing objective of Spiritism is understood and appreciated, the majority of the followers seek here things that are more attractive to their hearts than to their minds.
Therefore those are the ones that we address at this time. We know that our work pleases many if not all through this very publication. That alone would have been sufficient to make us decide if we did not have other considerations about which we must keep our silence and that helped us decide to make it now rather than in another time.
[1] Later renamed
The Gospel According to Spiritism (TN)
[2] Corinthians I, 14:14 (T.N.)
