In the sixteenth chapter of Acts we read: "At midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them. And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken: and immediately all the doors were opened, and every one's bands were loosed."

Paul and Silas, singing praises in the gloomy prison, knowing well the powerlessness of evil to hold man captive, demonstrated the availability of divine help in what seemed a desperate situation. It was in the midnight hour that they prayed and sang praises. To those prisoners in the darkness beside them, it must have been a startling experience. Would they not question among themselves: "Why do these men rejoice? Are we not all in the depths of despair? Who knows what the morrow will bring?" Ah, but the radiance of the two stanch Christians was greater than the darkness of the prison, greater than the chains that bound them, and immeasurably greater than the hatred which had thrust them into prison. It was the healing presence of the Christ that shone in their consciousness, in the face of which no form of captivity can stand. Doubtless, there could scarcely have been a fellow prisoner in that dark night who was not shaken in some degree from his lethargy; and we read that the keeper of the prison and his entire household turned to the teachings of Christianity.

Let us never forget what our efforts as Christian Scientists mean to present-day prisoners of ignorant mortal belief. What if a dismal picture of danger and sorrow seems to prevail in the world today? Could darkness and imprisonment separate Paul and Silas from God's help? Divine Love is so near to every one of His children! Though the situation presented by error would seem black indeed, may we not turn the more resolutely to the eternal source of light? There is no permanent help in mere material planning, no satisfying happiness without spirituality, no abiding security in life without God; and we who have learned these truths must live them until all those who need them awaken to the great fact that our heavenly Father still governs, and that it is but necessary to turn to Him with understanding.

One student of Christian Science endeavored to train herself to think rightly before entering a store, visiting friends, or perhaps making merely a passing contact on the street. She said to herself, "Now these people are going to feel happier and less fearful as a result of our meeting; not because of any personal goodness of my own, but because I am remembering to let the light of Christianly scientific thinking radiate from my thought." If we are brimming over with the joy of divine Love, our neighbor, our office associates, the delivery boy at our kitchen door will feel the captivity to discouragement lessening in the illumination of Spirit. The world greatly needs the happy faces of practical Christian Scientists and their joyous thinking—joyous because of their demonstrated trust in the omnipotence of good. The loyal student of Christian Science understands that the freedom-giving qualities of Truth govern every detail of the real man's being. He knows that no task is too lowly to afford an opportunity to express Truth, albeit silently, to those who are in need of its healing ministrations.

How are we to maintain cheerfulness and peace in a world that seems overwhelmed by the belief of evil's might? How are we to sing praises at the midnight hour? It is only as we learn in Christian Science just what evil is, or rather what it seems to be, that we are in a position to handle its claims of dejection and fear. Under the chapter headed "Animal Magnetism Unmasked," in "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures," Mary Baker Eddy has torn the disguise from evil. The purpose of a mask is to deceive one into the belief that its wearer is someone else. Now, what is the mask of animal magnetism? Merely the belief that the erroneous and destructive machinations of a certain individual, an event, unfortunate circumstances, poverty, or unhappiness are real, substantial, and powerful. Tear this mask away and we see not persons, circumstances, or events to be surmounted, but impersonal evil, belief in a power other than God, good. In Science and Health we read (p. 103), "As named in Christian Science, animal magnetism or hypnotism is the specific term for error, or mortal mind."

Now since God is divine Mind, the only motive power and intelligence of man, what is there to fear, and where is mortal mind? The cheerful light of Christianity will always shine forth in the lives of Christian Scientists if they will but remember that there is no evil person and no mortal mind. We must awake to the fact that evil is not real, and that therefore we need not fear it, serve it, or listen to its suggestions. The loved children of our Father-Mother God can never be deprived of joy by something that does not really exist. This does not mean that evil should be ignored, but that it should be unmasked. In order to do this we must be quick in denying its claims; we must constantly realize our at-one-ment with God, our heritage of divine Love. In proportion as we recognize the fraudulent claims of animal magnetism, we are able more nearly to follow in the footsteps of our Master, Christ Jesus.

In its final attempt to enslave mortal man, error seems to flaunt its so-called power on every side. Those who do not understand present-day unrest become fearful and downhearted; but let us remember Paul and Silas. Something took place before "all the doors were opened, and every one's bands were loosed": "there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken." And that is what is happening today. Can we imagine for one moment that Paul and Silas were disturbed by the earthquake or the shaking of the prison foundations? They understood what these things meant. Mrs. Eddy explains this kind of experience on page 401 of Science and Health, where she says, "What I term chemicalization is the upheaval produced when immortal Truth is destroying erroneous mortal belief." Those who understand Truth are not discouraged by evil's phenomena, no matter how blatant they may seem, for they indicate the uncovering of the errors which spiritual understanding will completely annihilate.

Man, created by God, reflects limitless health, happiness, security, and freedom. Because God is Love, man is unselfish, generous, kind; and because God is Mind, these heavenly qualities are forever intelligently active throughout His creation. Whatever seems to contradict these facts has no foundation in reality, though the corporeal senses would have us believe the contrary.

Was there ever greater opportunity than today to express the loveliness of the teachings of Christian Science, and to show what Life really is? As we make use of our opportunities, wherever we pass we shall leave a light, as did the lamplighters of long ago.