Spiritist Book of Prayers

Although Espiritismo is a form of Spiritism, most Espiritistas are far from strict Kardecists. The range of adherence among Espiritistas to Kardecist teachings can be anything from passing familiarity with the Spiritist Codification, to outright disagreement with the basic tenants of Kardecist doctrines such as reincarnation. 

On the spectrum of Spiritism those who are closest to the teachings of Kardec as set forth in the Spirit Codification (the books compiled by Allan Kardec) are often referred to as Espiritismo Científico, which emphasizes study of Spiritist texts and scientific development purely based on the theories and concepts found in the writings of Kardec. 

On the other end of the spectrum we have traditions such as Espiritismo Cruzado, which incorporate elements from traditions such as Lukumi or Palo, as well as Folk Catholic practices, and folk healing modalities. This is the form of Espiritismo that I will be discussing. 

Rather than the texts of the Spirits Codification, the main text that most Espiritistas associate with Allan Kardec is through the a small prayer book known as the Coleccion, or Collection of Selected Prayers. 

The title of this book comes from the last chapter of Allan Kardec's Gospel According to Spiritism, which lists various prayers for Spiritists. The prayers range from prayers to say during a séance, as well as blessings, and prayers for the sick or obsessed. The bulk of The Coleccion is made up of these prayers. 

The Coleccion also includes additional prayers and texts not found in Kardec's work. These are mainly from Spanish Spiritist texts, and include inspired poetry and prose writings that promote or teach Spiritist concepts. One of the most well known of these is the Naufrago, the Castaway's Prayer, or the Shipwreck Prayer.  Also included are general Catholic prayers such as the Hail Mary, and Our Father. 

The Coleccion provides the basis of Spiritist framework for most Espiritistas, and solidly places the two concepts of Prayer and Charity front and center. Perhaps the one unifying concept that all Espiritisatas will agree on is this central importance of faith, hope, and charity as the most important virtues that an Espiritista should live by. How this is interpreted varies, but the importance is near universal. 

With more English speakers, becoming familiar with Espiritismo (as well as more Kardecist forms of Spiritism) there is now a new opportunity to discuss the nature of this prayer book:  on one hand, the Coleccion has become a traditional part of Espiritismo, on the other hand, Espiritismo does not have a set specific liturgical language. 

The Coleccion itself is a translation from the original French prayers authored by Kardec. And when it was compiled was actually a highly creative work that included prayers and texts from different sources that were the most useful for individuals. 

Although not necessarily authoritative among all Espiritistas, The Spirits Book is actually extremely clear that it's not the words of the prayers themselves that matter, but the inner meaning that moves a heart closer to the Good Spirits and to God. 

I think as time goes on we will continue to see more creative and interesting approaches to both translation, and what prayers and texts will be used in a ritual aspect in Espiritismo as different people from different walks of life come to embrace Espiritismo, and Spiritism in general. 

Collection of Selected Prayers (English) 

This is an infamously terrible translation, and at this point I'm even surprised that it's still in print. The only possible use that I could have seen for this is that at one point in the past it was pretty much the only available English translation, and if someone wanted to attend a Misa but could not speak Spanish, this translation would give an English speaker a very vague understanding of what was being said. At this point though, there are much better translations. 

 

 Collection of Selected Prayers. Candita Gual 

This is the best, and only complete direct translation of the Collection into English. It's wonderful, readable, and includes all the important prayers. 

The one feature I find to be the most interesting (and this isn't a complaint) is the translator's choice to use the word Spiritualist instead of Spiritist through out the book. I have a few guesses as to why, but I'm mostly curious as to what her choice was. 

Spiritist Prayers, United States Spiritist Federation. H.M. Montiero 

This is actually a fantastic translation of Allan Kardec's prayers. It was translated by a brilliant author, and is the result of Brazilian Spiritism becoming more well known and available to English readers. It's pocket sized and is fairly cheap. The only issue some people may have is that this is very much a Kardecist Spiritist translation, and you will not find any of the extra material from Spanish sources in the book, or Catholic prayers. 

Helping Yourself with Selected Prayers, Vol. 2 

While this is not a translation of the Collection, it does have an entire section of prayers taken from the Collection including some of the more well known prayers only found in the Collection. The big benefit that this book has (in my opinion), is that it has tons of prayers to Saints, Folk Saints, Catholic Prayers, etc. It's an extremely useful book and actually one of my favorite prayer books.