PERIODICALS FRUITAGE MEETING

Held in the Extension of The Mother Church on Tuesday, June 5, 1956, at 10 a.m.

The meeting was opened with the singing of Hymn No. 252 in the Christian Science Hymnal, "O Word of God, most holy." The chairman, Lt. Col. Cyril H. Golding, District Manager for the British Isles of The Christian Science Publishing Society, then read a letter of greeting from The Christian Science Board of Directors and a keynote message from the Board of Trustees of The Christian Science Publishing Society.

Letter of Greeting from The Christian Science Board of Directors

Dear Friends:

It is a pleasure to welcome you to this meeting in the interest of the periodicals founded by our beloved Leader, Mary Baker Eddy.

There has been gratifying evidence during the past year that as our periodicals circle the world they are doing much to leaven human thought—daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly—bringing their healing and constructive message of good will, enlightenment, and inspiration to receptive thought everywhere.

We often hear that through the periodicals someone first learned of Christian Science. In her textbook, "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures," our Leader writes (p. 118): "Ages pass, but this leaven of Truth is ever at work. It must destroy the entire mass of error, and so be eternally glorified in man's spiritual freedom."

Christian Scientists whose hearts overflow with gratitude for our Leader and her great work have the blessed opportunity of giving metaphysical support to each of the periodicals which she established as well as the practical support of subscribing to them and introducing them to non-Scientists. This is indeed a blessed opportunity, for the rewards will be abundantly manifest in the growth of our Cause.

Cordially yours,

The Christian Science Board Of Directors

Keynote Message from the Board of Trustees of The Christian Science Publishing Society

"Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest." So said Christ Jesus (John 4:35). Today as we look with discerning eyes on the world, we see signs of harvest.

In Christian lands and in far corners of the earth we discern the Christian ideal of democracy ripening into practice. Individual self-government is a divinely bestowed and inalienable right. The daily effectual prayer of Christian Scientists that the Word of God enrich and govern the affections of all men is in the process of being answered. Whole peoples, whether they call themselves Christian or not, are responding in greater or lesser degree to this Word and are translating it into self-discipline and democratic forms of government. Is not this response one of the mighty works of which Mary Baker Eddy writes

(Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, Pref., p. xi): "They are the sign of Immanuel, or 'God with us,'—a divine influence ever present in human consciousness and repeating itself, coming now as was promised aforetime,

This influence of the Christ is present in every individual human consciousness, acting upon it, neutralizing error as an acid neutralizes an alkali.

Many peoples are in the throes of casting out old concepts of despotic government. If thought is chemicalizing because of the powerful action upon it of the Christ, if the ideal of democracy is perverted and cunningly misappropriated by some, we see even that to be a sign of the Christ and not beyond its power. The perverseness of mortal mind can neither corrupt the integrity of our prayer nor resist it. Let us continue to pray as we have been taught to do by our intrepid Leader, Mrs. Eddy (Manual of The Mother Church, Art. VIII, Sect. 4): "'Thy kingdom come;' let the reign of divine Truth, Life, and Love be established in me, and rule out of me all sin; and may Thy Word enrich the affections of all mankind, and govern them!"

In our midst are many who have come far in a few generations. The Word of prayer enriches the affections and strengthens the God-given ability of all of us to be citizens of a Christian democracy.

If we ourselves, if some in our midst, if young governments abroad, are struggling against old paganism and putting young Christianity into practice, let us not cease to pray humbly, "Thy kingdom come." Every day from the ends of the earth The Christian Science Publishing Society brings to us news of the coming of that kingdom. Every day, every week, every month, and every quarter, the Publishing Society carries to every part of the world the gospel of self-government according to Principle.

In other great fields of thought—in physical science and invention —we behold startling progress. Why in these particular fields more than in almost any others? The Science of sciences, divine Science, has been revealed, and human thought has responded in the most scientific way it knows. Babes reaching for the moon are become men expecting soon to stand upon it. The revelation of divine Science that "atomic action is Mind, not matter" (Miscellaneous Writings by Mrs. Eddy, p. 190) has led physical scientists (although they mistook what impelled them) to split the so-called material atom and to fuse it together again. But even more portentous is their response to the moral might of Mind, whereby the purpose of men to use power for good coincides with God's purpose. Let us sustain this good purpose by praying, "Thy kingdom is come!"

Into our Publishing Society in every mail pour letters of gratitude for the healing of physical ills. Our printing presses multiply these letters of healing many thousandfold and send them out to a yearning world. In the daily press, we perceive that materia medica and psychology are becoming more humanly scientific. They are convinced that diseases which were thought to be incurable can be healed, and they are determined to heal them. Why has this conviction come? The love and the Science that are the Christ have proved and are continuing to prove that there is no such thing as incurable disease—that health is the Godgiven reality. Psychosomatic medicine is a step toward the proposition of Christian Science: that because disease is mental its cure is mental— divinely mental. Thought is responding more rapidly in the fields of science and medicine than in theology. But theology is recognizing the power of spiritual thinking to heal—the power of prayer alone, without matter or hypnotism.

The minister of a Protestant church is quoted as recently saying: "There are laws which govern existence, because life itself is a science. Jesus understood these laws and applied them to human existence. Although we do not understand all these laws now, we too are capable of applying these laws and doing similar works to those of Jesus. We are living in a great age, and within our lifetime we shall see a great change come over humanity so as to completely revolutionize the world."

And a resident of the city in which this minister lives writes to the Publishing Society: "A member of this minister's church was told by a physician that he could not live beyond April. Hearing of this, the minister and several members of the church met at the man's house once a week to pray with him. Not long afterwards he found that as a result of prayer he had been completely healed of cancer."

Mrs. Eddy writes (Pulpit and Press, p. 22), "If the lives of Christian Scientists attest their fidelity to Truth, I predict that in the twentieth century every Christian church in our land, and a few in far-off lands will approximate the understanding of Christian Science sufficiently to heal the sick in his name." Because Christian Scientists are attesting their fidelity, this prediction is beginning to be fulfilled. Let us speed its fulfillment by living our prayer, "Let the reign of divine Truth, Life, and Love be established in me, and rule out of me all sin."

Not Christian Scientists alone, but our fellow religionists discern the signs of a great promise in human thought. They speak of it as the coming of a renaissance, a restoration of the spirit of primitive Christianity. The Science of Christianity restores the spirit of faith. And indispensable among the elements of this Science is its simple divine logic. Its premise is that God, good, is the only cause and creator. Its conclusion is that the effect of this cause is good—according to the law of logic that like produces like. This law holds true humanly in politics, physics, medicine, and theology because it is true divinely. The logic and practice of divine Science are bringing again the pure spirit and proof of Christianity. Today we are gathering the early fruits of this Science.

After a period of silent prayer, followed by the audible repetition of the Lord's Prayer, the following addresses were given.

Our Lesson-Sermon

By Maurice W. Kempthorne, of Detroit, Michigan

Not long ago I again read in "Retrospection and Introspection" our Leader's reference to a meeting of the Christian Scientist Association held in 1879, at which time it was voted to organize a church to commemorate the words and works of our Master, a Mind-healing church.

At first, personal preaching was the custom in our churches, but Mary Baker Eddy saw the wisdom of abandoning this practice. Looking to divine Mind for guidance she was led to designate the Bible and her book "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" as our only preachers, our impersonal pastor. Here was another evidence of the emergence of a great spiritual Leader, Loveinspired. She had discovered the Christ Science, demonstrated it in human experience, written the textbook, Science and Health, organized her Church, and now she provided for a weekly Lesson-Sermon in the Christian Science Quarterly, which should enable all seekers for Truth to hear, study, understand, and demonstrate the spiritual nature of God and man.

The purity of vision which enabled Mrs. Eddy to interpret the Scriptures spiritually also unfolded the wondrous idea of the church service which would forever guard her sacred discovery against misinterpretation through mere personal opinion or doctrine.

Have we not all marveled at the timeliness of certain sermons, worked out months in advance by our devoted Bible Lesson Committee, to meet specific local, national, or international problems? An outstanding example was during the evacuation of the Allied troops at Dunkirk in World War II. Christian Scientists everywhere were studying the pertinent lesson, "Ancient and Modern Necromancy, alias Mesmerism and Hypnotism, Denounced." Dark indeed seemed the prospect of delivery, but the intelligent, loving prayers of the people demonstrated the everpresent Christ (Matt. 14:27), "It is I; be not afraid," resulting in an unusual calm of the waters of the English Channel and a haze over the coast preventing the enemy from using their Air Force to the fullest. Probably everyone here could testify to particular Lesson-Sermons appearing at the right time to meet some especially pressing need.

Through consecrated study of the Lesson-Sermons, Christian Scientists are learning how to handle personal and world problems. But error may advance most plausible arguments to interface with this study, such as lack of time, counterattractions, personal feelings, and so on. Of course, this is evil's insidious "let us alone." We must detect and reject these aggressive suggestions of evil. Although there is no rule in the Manual of The Mother Church by Mrs. Eddy regarding daily Lesson-Sermon study, it is in the Manual that our Leader says that the prosperity of Christian Science largely depends upon the Lesson-Sermon. The more advanced student profits from such daily study as much as the beginner. In John (2:21) we read, "I have not written unto you because ye know not the truth, but because ye know it, and that no lie is of the truth." What one gleans from the printed page is in proportion to the spiritual understanding which he brings to it. Claiming unlimited understanding as the fact of his being, the Christian Scientist increasingly will be able to demonstrate it.

An experienced worker in our movement once referred to the general belief that we do things merely physically; whereas all action is mental. He continued to say that spiritual understanding enables one to do everything more harmoniously and effectively and that he knew of no better way for Christian Scientists to demonstrate right direction and intelligent action than by a thorough study of the lesson early in the day.

Since each lesson subject is treated in its entirety in six sections, or aspects, he who reads only a portion misses its full import and utility. Although a prayerful study of one or more sections is better than a superficial reading of the whole, the richest spiritual inspiration, unfoldment, and healing are gained through working with the entire six sections each day.

Perhaps the suggestion has come that the lessons are less inspiring because of the repetition of certain citations. Sometimes it seems necessary that certain passages be repeated when used in lessons on the same subject. However, this repetition may be increasingly valuable to all students, for repeated passages often carry a new meaning when used in a different connection and with different correlated material. Many have found new, wonderful enlightenment through consecrated study of these repeated citations. This demands deep, incisive thought, and it is significant that in the Preface of Science and Health our Leader says (p. vii), "The time for thinkers has come."

Strangers have sometimes expressed surprise that we Christian Scientists study the Lesson-Sermon during the week and then go to church on Sunday to hear it read. Attending church with thought attuned to Truth and with added understanding due to study, we listen prayerfully due to our study, we listen prayerfully to our impersonal pastor, and, like those on the Pentecostal Day of old, each hears the Word in his own tongue—that is, each gleans from the service what he needs of further instruction, new inspiration, correction, and healing. Thus we demonstrate for ourselves and for the whole world the healing presence of the Christ.

The church Readers must ever remember the impersonal nature of our pastor. Their consecrated study of the lesson in its spiritual import, their careful preparation for reading to the congregation, such as correct pronunciation, distinct enunciation, and familiarity with the text, ensures its being read intelligently and with sincere humility and love. The Lesson-Sermon needs no personal embellishment, and its presentation should lack nothing of simple excellence. Indeed, it never does lack excellence where spirituality and selfless dedication prevail. Reading that attracts no personal attention but permits the glorious ideas of Truth to be self-interpreted is not characterless and dull, but sparkles with spiritual joy, power, authority, and "with signs following." It helps to fulfill our Leader's aspiration that ours should be a Mind-healing church.

The divine wisdom which directed Mrs. Eddy to establish the Lesson-Sermon guided her also in the selection of subjects to be covered. So infinite and diversified, so eternally new and potent, is the unfolding of Truth that the twenty-six subjects will always be adequate to meet the needs of individuals and nations. Each sermon not only defines and unfolds the salient points of the subject but exposes and neutralizes their supposed opposites.

For example, the Lesson-Sermon on "Spirit" often handles the false claim of spiritualism while presenting the truth that Spirit is God, one infinite, omnipotent, divine presence. The lesson on "Soul" reverses the lie that soul is in body with the truth that Soul is God, governing man and the universe. The subject "Mind" always reveals God to be the one and only Mind. It handles the belief of an opposite, evil mind expressed as minds many, confusion, indecision, apathy, and frustration.

The Lesson-Sermon "Is the Universe, Including Man, Evolved by Atomic Force?" is another example of the remarkable spiritual foresight and leadership of Mrs. Eddy. The human sense of atomic energy, with its good and evil possibilities, occupies ever-increasing importance in human thought. Anticipating the resistance of materialism to the spiritual teaching and practice of Christian Science, our Leader wrote (Science and Health, p. 83), "Mortals must find refuge in Truth in order to escape the error of these latter days." How comforting it is to read in "Miscellaneous Writings" by Mrs. Eddy (p. 190): "Atomic action is Mind, not matter. It is neither the energy of matter, the result of organization, nor the outcome of life infused into matter: it is infinite Spirit, Truth, Life, defiant of error or matter."

Perhaps the suggestion has come that some lessons, for instance those on "Matter," "Everlasting Punishment," and "Probation After Death," are negative or doctrinal, not so inspiring and healing as the positive subjects, such as "Life," "Truth," and "Love." Actually, every lesson is healing and redemptive, invariably emphasizing the positive fact of Spirit and the nothingness of matter, sin, and death. Not only must the beginning student be correctly informed of Christian Science teaching on these subjects, but the more experienced workers are reminded of their responsibility to handle the general false beliefs concerning them.

Thus every Lesson-Sermon is needed by every Christian Scientist. It is impossible to overestimate the value of familiarizing oneself with the absolute statements of divine Science used in developing each subject. Also we all need such comforting assurances as that given from Isaiah in a lesson some weeks ago (41:10): "Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness."

A dictionary gives an interesting definition of "dismay": "to disable with alarm or apprehension." The student finds in his lesson study that which destroys his fears and awakens his positive ability to remain undismayed at so-called problems, whether world or otherwise, thus aiding in their solution.

A lesson some months ago included the citation from I Timothy (2:1,2), "I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; for kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty." We shall find that what appear to be our own problems are lessening and disappearing as we pray for the world. Of vital importance to us all is a right concept of nation and government. Our lessons unfold these concepts which must result in the ascendancy of those nations that most nearly express the government of the Christ. And these nations will forward the progress of all mankind. Thus is fulfilled the Biblical prophecy (Isa. 9:6), "The government shall be upon his shoulder." The Christ-idea leads. It is universal. No nation may have a monopoly on it, and none can obscure or destroy it.

In order to deal effectively with world developments, let us demonstrate the pure spirituality which alone can neutralize the threats of war, the darkness of Oriental philosophy, and the hypnotic suggestions of scholastic theology. Therefore spirituality, the Christ-consciousness, alone can solve the problems of individuals, races, and nations. Consecrated study of the Lesson-Sermon spiritualizes thought and action. Are we fully utilizing this great gift of Love for ourselves and all humanity? To again quote Isaiah (62:10), "Go through, go through the gates; prepare ye the way of the people; castup, cast up the highway; gather out the stones; lift up a standard for the people." Our Love-crowned Leader has lifted up the standard. Let us keep it aloft.

The Mission of Our Periodicals

By Mrs. Mary Sands Lee, of Chicago, Illinois

In "Retrospection and Introspection" by Mary Baker Eddy we read (p. 88), "Mind demonstrates omnipresence and omnipotence, but Mind revolves on a spiritual axis, and its power is displayed and its presence felt in eternal stillness and immovable Love."

It is surely obvious that the Mind which is infinite must be ever present and the only power; and it is equally clear that in this stillness—in the quietude and calm of the unaccusing, uncondemning consciousness which constitutes unchanging Love—the omnipresence and omnipotence of Mind can be recognized and maintained.

In this quietude of pure, spiritual knowing there can be no sense of limitation or obstruction. This explains the immediate and permanent healing and the newly awakened consciousness of good brought about by Christian Science.

Spiritually scientific thinking, even when undirected, can arouse the materially dulled consciousness of everyone everywhere—in our supposedly enlightened civilization as well as among the least spiritually awakened peoples. Truth is supreme—and supreme means, supreme! And when we as individuals really stop to consider this, does it not indicate what each one of us can do to help our periodicals succeed in their mission of world enlightenment and salvation?

In considering the mission of the periodicals, it came to me to give attention to the following by Mrs. Eddy from the leading editorial in the first issue of The Christian Science Monitor, "Something in a Name." She writes (The First Church of Christ, Scientist, and Miscellany, p. 353): "I have given the name to all the Christian Science periodicals. The first was The Christian Science Journal, designed to put on record the divine Science of Truth." The Journal we see, then, was intended to state the Science of Truth. The later periodicals show the application of this Science—how to make it practical in all the aspects of human existence. In other words, they carry on "the ministry of reconciliation," the ministry of reconciling man and the universe to God.

Of the Christian Science Sentinel, Mrs. Eddy says, "The second I entitled Sentinel, intended to hold guard over Truth, Life, and Love." I wonder if all of you have not found it a watchful, vigilant companion, coming weekly as it does, enabling us to meet and dispose of discouragement, depression, self-accusing arguments—arguments of all sorts— which, if permitted to enter and dwell in thought, would have blinded us temporarily to the Truth, Life, and Love we are all striving to express.

There have been days when a load has been lifted for me and the day brightened by the spiritual food supplied by the Sentinel. This illustrates the practicality of divine Science, and the way it not only solves but forestalls many problems, As is made plain by the Discoverer and Founder of this Science, Christian Science is divine Science applied to humanity. Christian Science is the application of divine Science in our human affairs, the affirmation of Truth penetrating and superseding error, whether it appears as sin, sickness, lack, or distress. Christian Science is the activity of the Christ, entering, purifying, and redeeming individual consciousness, thus improving all that concerns us—our dispositions, our bodies, our relationships, our churches, and all our affairs.

To the degree that our continuous, active thinking is intelligently devoted to the support of our periodicals, they fulfill their function, their divine purpose of enlightening all mankind, and revealing to us and to all, the world as it really exists. Christian Science entertained merely as theory, as a preoccupation of the intellect, would lack momentum and be of no practical worth to us. Would we have houses, roads, cities, automobiles, ocean liners, or airships if mathematics was not specifically applied, but was used merely to engross and entertain the intellect—as an intellectual pastime?

Christian Science is Science, the Science of God, the Science of Mind, therefore the Science of active, correct thinking. It is pure, unadulterated, spiritual knowing, naturally and necessarily acting to correct and supplant misconceptions, the false beliefs that are holding mankind within limits, holding humanity in bondage.

There is a friendliness about our Sentinel. Its quiet, unassertive cover makes no demands, but leaves one free to pick it up or leave it; but its contents satisfy, heal, and enrich. An interesting instance of this is that of an overseas family who were intellectually endowed, nobly minded, and nobly stationed, but who were reduced to poverty when the enemy took over. As a result of semistarvation and extreme hardship, the wife became ill with tuberculosis and was in a hospital bed in a strange country when Christian Science found her. Someone had given her a Sentinel. She was healed in Christian Science, and the family was soon restored to affluence. Her husband became at once an earnest, demonstrating Christian Scientist, and very soon a recognized power in his adopted country, and officially and unofficially of service to our movement.

The mission of The Herald of Christian Science (in its various editions) Mrs. Eddy says is "to proclaim the universal activity and availability of Truth." The definition of "herald" as given in a dictionary, "forerunner—a messenger sent before to give notice of the approach of what is to follow," gives a special significance to the name Herald and moreover points to our obligation, the obligation of each one of us, to see that our Heralds fulfill their trust, a trust inseparable from the Christ and first announced by Jesus (Mark 16:15), "Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature."

The omnipresence of Mind and the universality of the Christ entertained by us with growing fidelity can reach, as Mrs. Eddy implies they must, to the globe's remotest bound. No one is or can be immune to their influence. Receptivity to good, to the God-given ability to understand and demonstrate God's allness, is not confined to the Christian world or to those who are the so-called educated and intellectual, for God is no respecter of persons. The belief that the deeply imbedded superstition of so-called backward peoples cannot yield to enlightenment is without foundation, is utterly false. God and God's creation stand intact. To doubt this would be to question His eternal integrity. Divine Mind is the Mind of everyone everywhere. And in the measure that we hold to this fact of divine Mind, those who sit in darkness will indeed see a great light. And, in the words of a hymn (Christian Science Hymnal, No. 82),

For Truth to be universally received and lived is not a matter of time but of courage and faithfulness—yours and mine: the courage freely to accept our individual responsibility and the steadfastness to watch and discipline our thinking minute by minute. Because there is one God and God is Mind, all men have this Mind. The belief that racial misunderstandings and the hatred of centuries have divided us is without foundation in fact and must be relinquished. Our textbook gives a definite, specific rule for dissipating such beliefs, a rule emanating from omniscience and supported by omnipotence. Mrs. Eddy makes it very clear that God, good, is the only Mind and is the exterminator of error.

It is important, therefore, that we declare and maintain that God, good, is the only Mind; that He is the Mind of every one of us; that this Mind in truth governs the thinking, volition, and impulsion of everyone; and that it operates as a law of blessing to each one, to us and to all creation; and that such knowing will in time overcome all opposition to Christian Science. The demonstration of the one Mind is an effective handling of the belief in malpractice malpractice either nonintentional or otherwise. It destroys the claim according to the Golden Rule.

Of our daily paper Mrs. Eddy writes: "The next I named Monitor, to spread undivided the Science that operates unspent. The object of the Monitor is to injure no man, but to bless all mankind."

It might be interesting in the light of Mrs. Eddy's naming our daily paper The Christian Science Monitor to consider what the word "monitor" means as defined by two dictionaries: "One who warns of faults, informs of duty"; "one who gives useful hints." With this in mind, I think we must all feel that our Monitor approximates what our beloved Leader would have it be. And to have it extend its usefulness and bless all mankind, we must recognize that in reality the Monitor exists not as paper and ink but as idea.

The unfolding of Science in and as Mrs. Eddy's consciousness brought to her the spiritual conception of this daily paper. It originated in Mind and came into human evidence as the unfolding of Mind. To be apprehended correctly, it must be seen and maintained as such.

In working for the circulation of the Monitor, we must see that because Mind is omnipresent all its ideas are omnipresent. Although this is not yet visible to human sense, it is a divine and eternal fact, which is in process of demonstration. And how long it will take for this to be realized as a law of unlimited circulation for our Monitor depends upon each of us individually, upon how much we love our movement, and the strength and persistence of our desire to serve it.

In conclusion, I am going to read excerpts from the Manual of The Mother Church by Mrs. Eddy (Art. VIII, Sects. 6 and 14): "It shall be the duty of every member of this Church to defend himself daily against aggressive mental suggestion, and not be made to forget nor to neglect his duty to God, to his Leader, and to mankind," and, "It shall be the privilege and duty of every member, who can afford it, to subscribe for the periodicals which are the organs of this Church." And let us permit no aggressive suggestion to make us misread Mrs. Eddy's "who can afford it" as "who can afford it," for surely our Leader would never project into the consciousness of any Christian Scientist that he cannot afford wholeheartedly to support our movement.

This is our Church. These are our periodicals. And we cannot afford to deprive them of our support; and even less can we afford to deprive ourselves of the privilege of supporting our periodicals.

The Mission of Our Daily Newspaper

By Lt. Col. Cyril H. Golding

District Manager for the British Isles of
The Christian Science Publishing Society

For a brief while, may we look at a great newspaper, not through eyes that see just paper and ink, advertising and circulation, news and people, but through the eyes of a spiritual seer, Mary Baker Eddy. What did she see? She saw the opposition of the carnal mind to the Christ. She did more; she saw an answer that would meet that opposition. We today hold that answer in our hands—The Christian Science Monitor.

Stretching down through history, here and there we read of a few God-inspired men and women who have questioned a material concept of life, who have wondered why something so illogical, so inexplicable as a world both good and bad, constructive and destructive, living yet dying, could be reality.

Here and there some of them broke through the material evidence and caught glimpses of a world in which there are no such contradictions. Nearly two thousand years ago there came the man Jesus, who said in effect, "I live in the world of Spirit." And he taught men that they too could become conscious of this spiritual world. And nearly two thousand years later came Mrs. Eddy, who caught the full vision of Jesus' teachings. She based her discovery of Christian Science upon the same premise, that all is Spirit; there is no matter. Upon this premise she founded the Christian Science church, wrote its textbook, "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures," and its Rules and By-Laws in the Manual of The Mother Church, and established its periodicals so that men may learn of Truth in their own tongue.

What specific method did our Leader devise to interpret conflicting world viewpoints from the standpoint of the spiritual universe and spiritual man? What means did she place in our hands whereby to present this world of Spirit in a practical form? What greater means is there for reaching the thought of all humanity than that of a great international daily newspaper?

This means, then, is the one at our disposal—a means, among others, given us by the Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science after years of prayer and through a life of self-abnegation. This was a duty superlatively done, done not only in the letter, but in the Spirit.

Shall we, in this vast auditorium, survey the mission of The Christian Science Monitor? That it is succeeding in its mission in some measure is to be judged from the visible proofs that are to be found in the world today. These proofs are produced, as often as not, by people who hasten to insist that they are not Christian Scientists. Would that Christian Scientists themselves might produce equal poroofs of esteem of this messenger and produce the proof with the same spontaneous alacrity.

In my own field, the British Isles, perhaps one of the strongest points to be broken down is that of the time lapse in its delivery. But time and distance are among the very things that Mrs. Eddy expected The Christian Science Monitor to overcome—first in consciousness, then in fact. When this is accomplished in its order, we shall be able to demonstrate greater promptness in all that we do.

Let us take a look at part of our Leader's motive for the Monitor, which is to spread the Science that is undivided. What a perfect annihilation of time, yes, and of distance. There can be no true sense of fellowship if you are here and I am over there, and time be required to bring us together. Time is much more likely to separate us. Fellowship is based on a divine idea, and ideas are not subject to time. Do any of us need time to enter, in thought, our homes? Do I need time in order to love? Does it take time for Love to reach me? No! The Christian Science Monitor, if it be seen in truth as idea, will be seen as being free from any time restriction. If, however, the paper be approached purely and simply as a newspaper—a great newspaper if you like—then it comes under the domination of material measurements of time, yes, and of expense also.

I feel rather full of questions this morning. Most of them are directed to myself for an answer. Do we regard the Monitor as a means, not only of world healing, but of individual healing? Not often enough, I think. But read it carefully with the sole purpose of discovering just how much of it does directly have the motive to heal, and I mean physical healing. I am not confining my examination to the religious article on The Home Forum page, either. In "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" Mrs. Eddy writes (p. 411), "The procuring cause and foundation of all sickness is fear, ignorance, or sin." Fear is nearly always for the future and is very largely bound up by those two archdeceivers, "if" and "when."

Very few newspapers, even the most reputable, can resist the temptation to look into the future and forecast trouble. Worry, old age, incapacity, and most sickness may be due to fear. Here, to heal them, is a paper that bases the future, not on trouble, but on the constructive, positive certainty that God, good, governs. Look for this positive attitude in the next issue you read. You will not be disappointed. It is there, and it will have started its healing mission well before the particular issue actually went to press—it will have started its healing when the writer lined his own thoughts with the Love that blesses. To see what the world calls news through the lens of Truth, which eliminates fear, is to heal fear and thus to heal disease

Lack, limitation, missed opportunities, and inharmony may be due to ignorance. Again this is not a question of confining your acceptance of the Monitor as a healing agent to mere hearsay. Test it! You will find page after page of items that dispel ignorance. If I know how my fellow man lives, thinks, and works, and he, on his part, knows how I live, surely that knowledge, instead of letting us drift apart, brings us together. We may still each prefer our own way of living, but at least we shall have built up a solid foundation of fellowship and understanding. These two qualities spell peace for the world. They spell, too, expansion, freedom, and concord. Where, then, with these in consciousness, can lack, limitation, and inharmony find entry?

Sin is too often a suggestion entertained instead of rejected. From its very inception The Christian Science Monitor has not ignored that which was harmful and destructive, but has had, as its mission, the uplifting of thought. The sordid, the wrong, and the unhelpful finds itself in these columns, not for exploitation, but for destruction. Test that too!

What, then, of our part? Do we assent to the mission but merely wish the missionary well? The handkerchief waved from the quayside to the missionary bound on his journey is a loving gesture, but it is only a gesture if we leave him unsupported. To support our wonderful newspaper requires far more than the wave of a handkerchief. It requires study, application, courage, and the certainty that these, and even greater than these, are within our capability.

In my country we have a mysterious body of people called "they." These same "theys" are the folk who ought to be doing something about something, possibly running a later streetcar, repairing the sidewalk, and so on. We even have these "theys" in our Christian Science churches in England. In this case, the mysterious "they" is usually the board of the church who ought to be doing something, or, more usually, who have done something which they should not have done.

The Christian Science Monitor also has its "theys" who ought to do quite a lot about it. I wonder if there are any of these "theys" here this morning? Yes, several thousand. The "theys" consist of those who ought to find more time each day to read the Monitor, to ponder and to heal by means of its quickening influence. The "they" that ought to do something about it is the man who walks home under my hat. Could it also be the one who walks home under your hat?

Let us apply to our newspaper these words of our Leader (Miscellaneous Writings, p. 319): "The object to be won affords ample opportunity for the grandest achievement to which Christian Scientists can direct attention, and feel themselves alone among the stars." What leadership! What a mission! And when we follow, what an achievement awaits us!

If we would take in the blessing that the Monitor has to offer to all mankind, we first need an allembracing concept of what it means to bless. To bless seems so often a rather narrow, almost ritualistic action, with a definite, religious signification. But see God as good, then the recognition and impartation of good, either for oneself or for another, are a true blessing. It is religion practiced on its highest and most scientific level. Consider some aspects of blessing which are directly applicable to the Monitor. A dictionary has defined in part the verb "to bless" as "to make happy; confer prosperity or happiness upon."

Let us take up any copy of the Monitor and see whether this mission of conferring happiness and prosperity is being fulfilled, yes, even any edition. Do not pick and choose. The advertisement columns, for instance, are a direct and continuous example of this blessing. These advertisements are chosen because of their ability to notice that an individual, or a service, or a commodity can extend the range of its constructive usefulness and enlightened service and confer a right sense of prosperity on those willing to reciprocate.

We can go much further and see in the advertisements the qualities of integrity, honesty, service, beauty, and many more in active expression. Viewed in this light, the smallest advertisement is, in essence, an acknowledgment of the purpose and demonstation of Mrs. Eddy, a purpose to be translated practically. To bless all mankind is so wide that it embraces not only those who advertise service and integrity, but those who read the advertisement. Is our response to be one merely of sentiment or emotion? Is it to be a quid pro quo attitude? Or is it to be the eager acknowledgment that the qualities which called the advertisement into being are God-given and also must inevitably be expressed by those who respond? If we see this, then we today are fulfilling the mission.

It is so enriching to take our Leader's writings and to discover how consistently and steadily she keeps the motive and reason for her movement before her thoughts and prayers; how she acknowledges the power animating her discovery and the divine inspiration of her leadership. Her writings furnish many leadings that her desire to give to the world such a gift as The Christian Science Monitor was with her from the very earliest day. This desire grew in her consciousness but waited patiently for God's appointed time before presentation.

Let us return briefly to Mrs. Eddy's statement, "The procuring cause and foundation of all sickness is fear, ignorance, or sin," and link with it what our Leader says about her discovery of divine Science (Retrospection and Introspection, p. 32), "It was the gospel of healing, on its divinely appointed human mission, bearing on its white wings, to my apprehension, 'the beauty of holiness,'—even the possibilities of spiritual insight, knowledge, and being." Linking the two passages together, it is easy to see the remedy already existing to meet the need. Is there anything to deny us the joy of identifying The Christian Science Monitor with that simple purpose of healing and blessing?

To those of us who look beyond its purely journalistic achievements, the Monitor appears less a great newspaper and more a great healing missionary. We can look at the gaunt needs of the world, the false claims that bedevil it, and then realize what a complete remedy we hold in our hands when we pick up The Christian Science Monitor. We have the ability to realize this; but in order to bestow this great blessing, we need to have abundant love, to give unstinted support, and to share in some measure the conviction of the woman who sent this paper on its mission—a mission that is ours this morning as it was hers when she founded the Monitor.

The meeting closed with the singing of Hymn No. 226, "O Lord of life."