We hereby continue the methodical study of "The Gospel According to Spiritism" by Allan Kardec, the third of the works of the Kardecian Pentateuch. The first edition was published in April, 1864. The answers to the questions suggested for discussion are at the end of the text below.
Questions for discussion
A. What was the reason for the ban to evoke the dead, decreed by Moses?
B. How can we define a prayer and what is its purpose?
C. What are the qualities of a prayer?
D. Is a prayer effective?
Reading text
355. The Spirits that are frivolous, liars, playful, including all the Lower Spirits, which are not at all scrupulous, always hasten, ready to answer what you ask them, without being concerned with the reliability of their answers. The one who searches for a reliable communication must, first, ask for it earnestly and then learn about the nature of the medium's sympathies with the beings of the spiritual world. Now, the first condition to earn the grace of good spirits is humility, devotion, self-denial, as well as the most absolute moral and material detachment. (Chapter XXVI, section 8.)
356. Mediumship, when honest and responsible, cannot and shall never become a profession, because it would discredit itself morally, and a medium would be regarded as a fortuneteller. There are other facts to consider. Mediumship is essentially a transitory, fleeting, and changeable ability, and nobody can say how long it is going to last. Therefore, for the one who makes a living out of it, it would be an uncertain source of income with a constant risk of failure at the exact moment when most needed. (Chapter XXVI, section 9.)
357. Mediumship is not an art, not a talent, and this is enough to prove that its practice cannot be considered a profession. Furthermore, mediumship does not exist without the assistance of the Spirits. If they are absent, there is no mediumship. The ability can subsist, but its practice is null. This is why there is not one medium in this world that can guarantee the accomplishment of any spiritual phenomena at a given time. (Chapter XXVI, section 9.)
358. For someone to explore mediumship is like disposing of something, which he does not own. To say the contrary is to deceive the one who pays. Moreover, the explorer is not disposing of his own resources. He is charging for the assistance of the Spirits, the souls of the dead, and this causes an instinctive repugnance. (Chapter XXVI, section 9.)
359. It was precisely this commerce, and the deterioration caused by the abuse and exploitation by cheaters, based on people's ignorance, credulity, and superstition, which led to the ban of Moses. Spiritism understanding the seriousness of this issue, and the discredit caused by its misuse, today considers that mediumship is a mission. (Chapter XXVI, section 9.)
360. Mediumship is something holy, which ought to be practiced in a holy and religiously manner. Furthermore, if there is a kind of mediumship that requires the application of this condition more rigorously, is the one regarding healing. A doctor offers the result of his studies, many a times, at the expense of painful sacrifices. The healer offers his own fluid, sometimes even his own health. Can they charge for this? The healer transmits the healthy fluid of the good Spirits. They have no right to sell it. Jesus and the Apostles, although poor, never charged for the cures they performed. (Chapter XXVI, section 10.)
361. If one lacks enough resources for his living, he must look for them in other areas. He is not to use his mediumship for this purpose, and to practice it he shall only use the time he can materially dispose of. The Spirits will take into account his devotion and sacrifice, but they withdraw from those who use them as a ladder. (Chapter XXVI, section 10.)
362. "When you want to pray, go to your room and shut the door, and then pray to your Father in secret. Your Father, who sees what is going on in secret, will reward you. Do not ask for much in your prayers, as the Pagans do, since they imagine that they will be attended according to the variety of words. Do not become like them, because your Father knows what you need before you ask Him for it." (Chapter XXVII, section 1.)
363. "When you are ready to pray, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you also for your sins. If you do not forgive, your Father in heaven shall not forgive your sins too. "(Chapter XXVII, section 2.)
364. "The Pharisee standing up prayed by himself: My God, I thank you because I am not like other men, who are thieves, unrighteous, adulterers, neither am I like this publican. I fast twice a week, and give a tenth of everything I own. The publican, on the contrary, keeping a distance, dared not, even, to lift his eyes to heaven, and beating his breast, said: God, have mercy, because I am a sinner. I tell you that this one returned to his house righteous and the other one did not, because the one who rises himself will be downgraded and he who humbles himself will be exalted." (Chapter XXVII, section 3).
365. Jesus clearly defined the qualities of a prayer. When you pray, He says, do not set yourself up in evidence, but rather pray in secret. Do not pray using many words, because it is not the number of words that will make you be listened, but their sincerity. Before you pray, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, because a prayer cannot please God, if it does not come from a pure heart with no ill feelings contrary to charity. Finally, pray humbly like the publican, and not self-conceited like the Pharisee. Examine your faults, and if you compare yourself with others, seek what is evil in you. (Chapter XXVII, section 4.)
Answers to the proposed questions
A. What was the reason for the ban to evoke the dead, decreed by Moses?
It was precisely this commerce, and the deterioration caused by the abuse and exploitation by cheaters, based on people's ignorance, credulity, and superstition, which led to the ban of Moses. Spiritism understanding the seriousness of this issue, and the discredit caused by its misuse, today considers that mediumship is a mission. Mediumship is something holy, which ought to be practiced in a holy and religiously manner. We cannot joke with something so serious, nor can we make a living using our mediumship. (The Gospel According to Spiritism, Chapter XXVI, section 9.)
B. How can we define a prayer and what is its purpose?
A prayer is a summoning, whereby man, by means of his thought, communicates with a being who he addresses. The purpose of a prayer may be a request, an acknowledgement, or a glorification. We may pray for ourselves or for others, for the living or the dead. The Spirits in charge of fulfilling God's will hear the prayers we address to Him. Those directed to the good Spirits are taken to God, because nothing happens without God's will. (Ibid, Chapter XXVII, section 9.)
C. What are the qualities of a prayer?
Jesus clearly defined the qualities of a prayer. When you pray, He says, do not set yourself up in evidence, but rather pray in secret. Do not pray using many words, because it is not the number of words that will make you be listened, but their sincerity. Before you pray, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, because a prayer cannot please God, if it does not come from a pure heart, with no ill feelings contrary to charity. Finally, pray humbly like the publican, and not self-conceited like the Pharisee. Examine your faults, and if you compare yourself with others, seek what is evil in you. (Chapter XXVII, section 4). (Ibid, Chapter XXVII sections 1 to 4).
D. Is a prayer effective?
Yes, and the proof is in these words of Jesus: "Whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you will obtain and you will be given whatever you ask" (Mark, Chapter XI, vol. 24). Of course, it is not enough to ask. You have to know how to ask, being sure that God will always grant it, if we ask with confidence, courage, patience and resignation, and He will also give us the means to overcome the difficulties, by means of ideas suggested by the good Spirits, thus leaving us the merit of our action. (Ibid, Chapter XXVII, sections 5-7.)
