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A colection of prayers, Joana dArc, 03/ 06/ 2014.

Theme: A Prayer for an enemy who has died.
Source:The gospel according to Spiritism, XXVIII: 67 e 68.


FOR AN ENEMY WHO HAS DIED
67. PREFACE - Charity towards our enemies should accompany them into the Beyond. We need to
understand that the evil they did was a test for us, which can be useful to our state of advancement, if we know
how to take advantage of it. It can be even more beneficial to us than purely material afflictions, by the fact of our
being allowed to join together courage, resignation, charity and the forgetting of offences (See chapter 10, item 6,
& chapter 12, items 5 & 6).

68. PRAYER:
Lord, it pleased You to call the soul of X... before You called me. I forgive him the evil he did and the bad
intentions nurtured towards me. Maybe he is regretting this now that he no longer feeds off the illusions of this
world.
Dear God, may Your mercy descend upon him and turn away from me any idea I might have of rejoicing at
his death. If I am in debt towards him for any reason, may he forgive me, as I forget those misdemeanours
committed against me.
***
I advance presenting the suggested items: Chapter. X: 6 e XII: 5 e 6:
6. In the act of pardon, as in general practice of good, there is not only a moral effect but also a material
effect. As is already known, death does not liberate us from our enemies; vengeful Spirits in the afterlife
frequently pursue with great hate all those for whom they bear rancour.
From this we understand the falsity of the proverb: The poison dies with the beast, when it is applied to
mankind.
The evil Spirit waits for the other whom he does not like to return to a physical body, where he or she is
partially captive, in order to more easily torment, hurt interests or harm affections. The cause of the majority of
cases of obsession lies within this fact, especially those cases which present some gravity, such as subjugations
and possession. The person who is either obsessed or possessed is almost always a victim of vengeance. The
motive will be found in their past lives, in which the one who is suffering gave cause for this result. God allows this
to happen in order to punish the evil which was originally committed or, if this is not the case, for the lack of
indulgence and charity through the refusal to grant a pardon. Consequently, from the point of view of future
tranquility, it is important that each person makes amends for all grievances which may have been caused to
neighbours as soon as possible.
Before death reaches us, it is necessary that we pardon all our enemies, thereby eradicating all motives for
dissension, as well as all causes for ulterior animosity. In this manner it is quite possible to make a friend in the
next world out of an enemy in this world. At least all those who proceed in this manner put themselves on the right
side of the Law. God will not consent to anyone who has pardoned being made to suffer from vengeance.
When Jesus recommends that we should reconcile ourselves with our adversaries as soon as possible,
this is not merely with the object of pacifying any discords during the actual existence, but principally to avoid their
perpetuation into the future life. Jesus said: " No one can leave this prison until the last cent of their debt has
been paid," that is to say, not until God's justice has been completely satisfied.
***
DISCARNATE ENEMIES
5. The Spiritist has still other motives for being indulgent towards his enemies. In the first place, he knows
that evil is not the permanent condition of mankind. This occurs due to the temporary state of imperfection, and
just as children correct themselves of their defects, so the evil man or woman will one day recognise their errors
and so gradually become good people.
The Spiritist also knows that death is only a relief from the material presence of the enemy, because this
enemy can continue to pursue with hate even after leaving the Earth. They also know that the vengeance which

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was seized on fails in its objective, as it has the contrary effect of causing even more irritation, which is capable of
continuing on from one existence to another. It was up to Spiritism to prove through experience and the law which
governs relationships between the visible and invisible worlds, that the expression: extinguish hate with blood is
radically wrong, and that in fact blood only feeds hate, even in the after-life. It is therefore up to the doctrine to
offer a positive reason for this fact, together with a practical motive for forgiveness and for Christ's commandment:
Love your enemies. There is no heart so perverse that it will refuse, even though reluctantly, to show itself
to be sensitive to good behaviour. Through good comportment it is possible to take away all pretext for retaliation
and , who knows, even make a friend out of an enemy, before and after death. Through bad behaviour Man only
succeeds in irritating his enemy, who then becomes the instrument which God's Justice will use to serve as a
punishment for those who are unable to forgive.
***
6. It is always possible to find enemies amongst both incarnates and discarnates. Our enemies in the
invisible world manifest themselves and their malice by means of obsession and subjugations, as can be
frequently seen. These represent a kind of trial, which as in other types of trials, help in the process of
advancement, and for this reason the sufferer should accept them with a certain amount of resignation. These
happenings are also a consequence of the inferior nature of this globe, for if there were no evil people on this
planet then there would be no evil Spirits around it either. Hence, if we are to be benevolent with our incarnate
enemies, we should also treat those of them who are discarnate in a like manner.
In days gone by it was the custom to make bloody sacrifices of innocent victims, in order to appease the
hellish gods who were none other than evil Spirits. These fiendish gods followed on after the devils, who are the
same thing. Spiritism shows us that these devils are merely the souls of perverse men and women, who have not
yet disposed of their material instincts and that no one can succeed in appeasing them, except by sacrificing the
hate that exists, that is to say, by being charitable towards them. This has the effect of not only stopping them in
their evil practices, but also of recovering them and bringing them back to the path of goodness, thus contributing
to their salvation. In this way the maxim: Love your enemies, is not circumscribed to the Earth ambient and the
present life, but rather forms part of the great universal laws of solidarity and fraternity.

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CONSIFERATIONS:
Jesus says to us my Peace be with you, but so that the peace of the Lord be with us, it is also needful that
we be in peace with our neighbor and our neighbor can well be our enemy or enemies and it is us ourselves the
guilty of the animosity, so that even in doubt we ought to give if possible the first step to apologize to him or them
as the case may be so that there may be harmony amongst all, because whilst there be an unbalance in
relations there will always be somewhat to be mended, hence a prayer to God asking pardon for us all concerned
and that our enemy or enemies forgive us as much also asking in the name of Jesus that peace and harmony be
done amongst all of us.
And for us as much as possible we ought to seek out always to better ourselves in moral and to police out
our actions so that our misdeeds do not be repeated, because so will be our natural progress, on being convicted
of an error to seek out always to rectify our life in our learning, as God does not demand punishment to the
sinner, but that the sinner rectifies himself of his acts before the Laws which are designated by God for our
evolution and ascencial progress to the summits of His Will.
Good, that we may have some reflections about the need of prayers in our life, as we are Spirits and as
such our responsibility is not only with our material body, because although our body be temporally the home of
our spirit and we ought to look after it so that our true self the spirit be in peace (a sound mind a sound body)
and let us also consider that our body is the temple of God as St. Paul points out, (I Corinthians, III: 16-17) being that
a fact, the fair thing for us to do would be to get accustomed to the praying not fanatically, but allowing it to make
part of our life, as man does not live by bread alone. (Matthew, IV: 4).
Because we are in this world of Tests and Expiations we are found to be many a time inferior and enable
to lift our voice to God to make some request, so in that there is one more reason for us to make an effort to
outcome that inferiority of us, due to various experiences in our past lives many of us gained the habitude of
prayer and it is to them a natural thing the act of praying, but not all spirits are found to be in the same progress
considering that as spirits not all are of the same age or experience, there is always some elder and more gifted
that others, a reason is because God has always created spirits as far as remote times and He continues His
creation, hence we to have amongst us a multitude of spiritual degrees as we may have an idea of that in the
Spirits Book in the questions number 100 and the following ones.

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Many a time we offend someone, although unconscious of that due to the sensibility of each one, whilst
some do not take to harsh a misplaced world others register in themselves as a offence and do keep it with hate
to the person who unconscious has mentioned that unpleasant word, hence the person who has offended on
knowing of that in wanting to apologize is found thinking that in doing so due to know the offended to be a difficult
person, backs himself off before the fear that on apologizing may aggravate the problem, but in that case a prayer
to God comes to be a benefit because God will visit the offended and soften his heart and give strength to the
offender to approach the offended to apologize and as a surprise both will be in peace and feel as friends, as the
weight of hate or offence will be taken from their shoulders.
A prayer for ourselves, many a time we make prayers to God with requests that God practically replies with
a no, and the person begins to lack in faith in God for God not having given him his wish, but he hardly knows that
God replies accordingly to the spiritual situation of the person as an oriental would say according to ones
Karma, hence God can respond to him aligning a future benefit, for example, if he has requested to God fortune
and God sees that fortune will do him more ill than good, God may well then align to him a better future by
inspiring him for example, to take a course of a working trade which will guarantee him better means of living
although he may not come to be rich, hence God does yes reply the prayer of that needed person even if not the
way he might desire.
************
Let us see in the Spirits Book several situations of Prayer Reading some questions:
479. Is prayer efficacious as a means of putting an end to obsession?
"Prayer is always an efficacious means of obtaining help; but you must remember that the muttering of
certain words will not suffice to obtain what you desire. God helps those who help themselves, but not those who
limit their action to asking for help. It is therefore necessary for the person obsessed to do his utmost to cure
himself of the defects which attract evil spirits to him."
***
658. Is prayer acceptable to God?
"Prayer is always acceptable to God when dictated by the heart, for the intention is everything in His sight;
and the prayer of the heart is preferable to one read from a book, however beautiful it may be, if read with the lips
rather than with the thought. Prayer is acceptable to God when it is offered with faith, fervour, and sincerity; but do
not imagine that He will listen to that of the vain, proud, or selfish man, unless it be offered as an act of sincere
repentance and humility."
***
659. What is the general character of prayer?
"Prayer is an act of adoration. To pray to God is to think of Him, to draw nearer to Him, to put one's self in
communication with Him. He who prays may propose to himself three things: to praise, to ask, and to thank."
***
660. Does prayer make men better?
"Yes; for lie who prays with fervour and confidence has more strength for withstanding the temptations of
evil, and for obtaining from God the help of good spirits to assist him in so doing. Such help is never refused when
asked for with sincerity."
- How is it that persons who pray a great deal are sometimes very unnameable, jealous, envious, and
harsh, wanting in benevolence and forbearance, and even extremely vicious?
"What is needed is not to pray a great deal, but to pray aright. Such persons suppose that all the virtue of
prayer is in its length, and shut their eyes to their own defects. Prayer, for them, is an occupation, a means of
passing their time, but not a study of themselves. In such cases, it is not the remedy that is inefficaceous, but the
mode in which it is employed."
***
661. Is there any use in asking God to forgive us our faults?
"God discerns the good and the evil: prayer does not hid faults from His eyes. He who asks of God the
forgiveness of his faults, obtains that forgiveness only through a change of conduct.
Good deeds are the best prayers, for deeds are of more worth than words."
***
662. Is there any use in praying for others?
"The spirit of him who prays exercises an influence through his desire to do good. By prayer, he attracts to
himself good spirits who take part with him in the good he desires to do."
We possess in ourselves. through our thought and our will, a power of action that extends far beyond the
limits of our corporeal sphere. To pray for' others is ~n act of our will. If our will be ardent and sincere, if calls

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good spirits to the aid of the party prayed for, and thus helps him by the suggestion of good thoughts, and by
giving him the strength of body and of soul which he needs. But, in his case also, the prayer of the heart is
everything; that of the lips is nothing.
***
663. Can we, by praying for ourselves, avert our trials, or change their nature?
"Your trials are in the hands of God, and there are some of them that must be undergone to the very end;
but God always takes account of the resignation with which they are borne.
Prayer calls to your help good spirits who give you strength to bear them with courage. so that they seem
to you less severe. Prayer is never useless when it is sincere, because it gives you strength, which is, of itself, an
important result. 'Heaven helps him who helps himself,' is a true saying. God could change the order of nature at
the various contradictory demands of His creatures; for what appears to be a great misfortune to you, from your
narrow point of view, and in relation to your ephemeral life on the earth, is often a great blessing in relation to the
general order of the universe; and, besides, of how many of the troubles of his life is man himself the author,
through his short-sightedness or through his wrong doing! He is punished in that wherein he has
sinned. Nevertheless, your reasonable requests are granted more often than you suppose.
You think your prayer has not been heeded, because God has not worked a miracle on your behalf; while,
in fact. He has really assisted you, but by means so natural that they seem to you to have been the effect of
chance or of the ordinary course of things. And, more often still, He suggests to your minds the thought of what
you must do in order to help yourselves out of your difficulties."
***
664. Is it useful to pray for the dead, and for suffering spirits, and, if so, in what way can our prayers soften
or shorten their sufferings? Have they the power to turn aside the justice of God?
"Prayer can have no effect upon the designs of God; but the spirit for whom you pray is consoled by your
prayer, because you thus give him a proof of interest, and because he who is unhappy is always comforted by the
kindness which compassionates his suffering. On the other hand, by your prayer, you excite him to repentance,
and to the desire of doing all that in him lies to become happy; and it is this way that you may shorten the term of
his suffering, provided that he, on his side, seconds your action by that of his own will. This desire for
amelioration, excited by your prayer in the mind of the suffering spirit, attracts to him spirits of higher degree, who
come to enlighten him, console him, and give him hope. Jesus prayed for the sheep that have gone astray;
thereby showing you that you cannot, without guilt, neglect to do the same for those who have the greatest need
of your prayers."
***
665. What is to be thought of the opinion which rejects the idea of praying for the dead because it is not
prescribed in the gospel?
"Christ has said, to all mankind, 'Love one another.' This injunction implies, for all men, the duty of
employing every possible means of testifying their affection for each other; but without entering into any details in
regard to the manner of attaining that end. If it be true that nothing can turn aside the Creator from applying, to
every action of every spirit, the absolute justice of which He is the type, it is none the less true that the prayer you
address to Him, on behalf of a suffering spirit for whom you feel affection or compassion, is accepted by Him as a
testimony of remembrance that never fails to bring relief and consolation to the sufferer. As soon as the latter
manifests the slightest sign of repentance. but only then. help is sent to him; but he is never allowed to remain in
ignorance of the fact that a sympathizing heart has exerted itself on his behalf, and, is always left under the
consoling impression that this friendly intercession has been of use to him.
Thus your intervention necessarily induces a feeling of gratitude and affection, on his part, to the friend who
has given him this proof of kindness and of pity; and the mutual affection enjoined upon all men by Christ will
thereby have been developed or awakened between you and him. Both of you will thus have obeyed the law of
love and union imposed on all the beings of the universe; that Divine law which will usher in the reign of unity that
is the aim and end of a spirit's education."
This reply was given by the spirit of M. Monod, the well-known and highly-esteemed Protestant pastor of Paris, deceased in 1856.
The preceding reply (N. 664) was given by the spirit of St Louis
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Remark. Yes, we can and ought to pray for an enemy who has died, because it is convenient to the deceased
and ourselves the Peace between us and the obedience of Love. In every case and conditions of our life a Prayer
is always valid and needy, and needful it is that we humble ourselves before God and accept the commendation
of Jesus that we be humble as children as theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven. (Mark, X: 14)
May God be with us, as formerly, today and always?