THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO SPIRITISM

Allan Kardec

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ON SENSING APPROACHING DEATH


40.PREFACE During our lifetime to have faith in the future, together with the elevation of our thoughts towards our future destiny helps in the process of rapid liberation of the Spirit because this weakens the links which tie it to the material body. So much so that quite frequently, even before the physical body has expired, the soul being impatient to be free, has already launched itself into the great immensity. The contrary being the case of the person who, having concentrated on all that is material, finds these ties more difficult to break and the separation more painful and difficult, to be followed by an awakening full of anxiety and perturbation in the after-life.

41. PRAYER:

Dear God, I believe in You and Your infinite kindness. Therefore, I cannot believe that You have given Man intelligence which allows him to gain knowledge of You and an aspiration for the future, so as to plunge him into nothingness.

I believe that my body is only a perishable covering for my soul and that when I cease to live, I will awaken in the world of the Spirits.

Almighty God, I feel that the ties which hold my soul to my body are breaking and that in a short while I will have to account for the use to which I have put the life that is now slipping away from me.

I know that I will experience the consequences of the good and the bad that I have practised. There will be no possibility of illusions, no subterfuge. My past will unfold before me and I will be judged according to my works.

I will take nothing with me of earthly possessions such as honours, riches, satisfactions of vanity or pride; in short, everything which belongs to the body will remain in this world. Not even the most minute particle of these things will accompany me, nor would they be of use to me in the spiritual world. I will take with me only what belongs to my soul, that is to say, the good and bad qualities I possess, which will be weighed on the balance of strict justice. I know that the judgement will be even more severe according to the number of times I refused the opportunities that were given to me to practise good due to the position I held on Earth (See chapter 1(3, item 9).

Merciful God, may the depth of the sincerity of my repentance enable it to reach out to You! May You see fit to cast over me Your cloak of indulgence!

If You see fit to prolong my present existence, may I utilize that time to make good, as far as I am able, all the evil that I have done. But if my hour has come, I take with me the consoling thought that I will be permitted to redeem myself by means of new tests, so that one day I may deserve the happiness of the elected ones.

If it is not given to me to enjoy such perfect happiness immediately, which is known only to those who are pre-eminently just, I know nevertheless that I am not denied hope for ever. Sooner or later I will reach my goal, according to the amount of effort I put into working towards that objective.

I know that good Spirits and my Guardian Angel are near to receive me and that soon I shall see them, just as they see me now. I know too, that if l deserve it, I will meet again all those I have loved here on Earth, and that those I leave behind will later come to meet me. One day we shall all be united for ever, and until that time arrives I will be able to come and visit them.

I know too, that I will re-encounter those I have offended; may they forgive me for whatever they have to reproach me for, such as my pride, my hardness and my injustices, so that their presence will not overwhelm me with shame!

I forgive all those who have either done or tried to do me harm; I hold no rancour against them and beg You, dear God, to forgive them.

Lord, give me strength to leave all the material pleasures of this world without regret, which are as nothing compared to the healthy and pure delights of the world into which I am about to enter, and where for those who are just, there are no more torments, or miseries, and where only the guilty are subject to suffering. But even they always have the consolation of hope.

Good Spirits and you who are my Guardian Angel, I implore you not to allow me to fail at this supreme moment. If my faith should waver, then cause the Divine Light to shine in my eyes, so that it may be reanimated.

NOTE - See further on, paragraph 5: "Prayers for the sick and obsessed."

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