Article March 19, 1932 Issue

"Floral apostles"

KATE HOLLAND PATTON

In the Christian Science textbook, "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures," Mrs. Eddy writes (p. 240): "Festive flowers, and glorious heavens,—all point to Mind, the spiritual intelligence they reflect. The floral apostles are hieroglyphs of Deity." Seeking a clearer understanding of immortality, a student gained a helpful lesson from these "floral apostles." This student often found herself confronted with indecision as to the disposal of blossoms when their early loveliness and freshness had faded, sometimes keeping them long after their beauty was gone. One day, as she stood with a faded bouquet in hand, the voice of Truth came to consciousness, showing her that the flower only symbolized the spiritual idea, which is indestructible; and a healing was accomplished in the letting go of the material and knowing only the spiritual idea as real.

Following this reasoning it was realized that in all our daily contacts we need to strive more earnestly to realize that "Spirit is the real and eternal; matter is the unreal and temporal" (Science and Health, p. 468); for in this way alone can we learn to lessen the beliefs of pain, separation, anxiety, and sorrow. We learn that we need not cling to the material symbol; for the realm of the real is an ever present realm of thought, and nothing can rob us of the good thoughts that come into our lives, however they are manifested. Christ Jesus' ministry was brief; but the result of his exalted thoughts, the truth and love he voiced and enacted, have lived and will continue to live throughout all the centuries.

When those who are near and dear to us pass from our sight, our endeavor should be to understand that we have lost nothing real; that the material seeming was but the counterfeit, and that the conscious identity of our dear ones is indestructible, immortal. As the fact that spiritual thought alone is real dawns more and more clearly on our consciousness, we begin to understand Jesus' words, "If a man keep my saying, he shall never see death." We cannot see death as having entity, because we know that that which is real is spiritual, indestructible. The loving thoughts of each one of us, thoughts which reflect God, are real, immortal; therefore in reality there can be no loss, no separation, for those loving thoughts are with us always.

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