In recent years I have become grateful for the entire holiday season that extends from Thanksgiving through Christmas. That may seem like an odd thing to be grateful for, but it occurred to me that here in the United States and other countries where a Thanksgiving Day is celebrated in autumn, the proximity of two cherished occasions can be a very special time of the year. 

In the Glossary of Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, Mary Baker Eddy includes “space for repentance” in her spiritual definition of year (p. 598). While the “space” between Thanksgiving and Christmas is only about a month in some countries, perhaps one can consider this a space or opportunity to humbly gain a greater understanding of God and His Christ. 

As the season starts off with a wonderful time of thanksgiving, no matter what we may have faced this year, we can spend time in deep communion with God—praising, glorifying, and giving thanks to God for being Truth and Love as well as our Life. This coincides with Christ Jesus’ actions; for example, he gave thanks to God before raising Lazarus from the dead and before feeding multitudes with a few fish and loaves of bread. He continually gave thanks to God and walked in a consciousness or awareness of God, good. And we, too, can maintain a mental altitude of thanksgiving, leaving us prepared for new spiritual awakenings, insights, renewals, and healing throughout the season. 

The Christ, the divine presence, which Jesus so fully expressed, is here “throughout all time” and can be felt today. Mrs. Eddy puts it this way: “The time for the reappearing of the divine healing is throughout all time; and whosoever layeth his earthly all on the altar of divine Science, drinketh of Christ’s cup now, and is endued with the spirit and power of Christian healing” (Science and Health, p. 55). 

Growing up, even while not yet having Christian Science in my life, I found the space between Thanksgiving and Christmas to be very inspiring. I felt led to sit quietly and ponder the things of Spirit, and this brought about wonderful gratitude, uplift, and thoughtful care and prayer for others. This kind of communion time moves us to do the works that Jesus did and expected of his followers, helping and healing others. 

I learned that quiet communion with God silences the physical senses and naturally brings about healing effects. And there were many healings over the years, for me as well as for family and friends—including recovery from sickness, protection from potentially violent or life-threatening encounters, and intuition that led me to take an action that spared another from harming herself. 

I sometimes wonder if that special seasonal contemplation, along with witnessing those experiences, led to more of the kind of prayer that eventually brought me together with the Comforter—Divine Science (see Science and Health, p. 55). The Comforter explains the forever Christ as “the true idea voicing good, the divine message from God to men speaking to the human consciousness” (Science and Health, p. 332). 

We can open our thought to a greater understanding and acceptance of the Christ. And as the “dear Christ enters in,” as mentioned in a hymn that begins “O little town of Bethlehem” (Phillips Brooks, Christian Science Hymnal, No. 222), a wonderful sense of love fills consciousness and instills the true, spiritual sense of Christmas in our days. 

Well, you might be thinking, this sounds like a wonderful idea, but for me the Christmas season is filled with commitments, activities, pressures, or loneliness. But Jesus said, “Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you” (Matthew 6:33). Therefore, this daily prayerfulness must be totally doable. “But how?” you might ask. One way is to simply start by knowing that God gave man (which is the true identity of each of us) dominion over all the earth, including time and the belief that we must bow down to it.

When we learn more about God and spiritual reality, it naturally follows that our days are enhanced. Any unnecessary or down-pulling activities that may intrude on our inspiration can be gently let go. We can begin to find great joy in our “holiday with God” time, and become confident that divine Principle, Love, will either order our commitments to others or replace loneliness with more tangibly feeling God’s love and being guided to express that love.

As Mrs. Eddy puts it, “I love to observe Christmas in quietude, humility, benevolence, charity, letting good will towards man, eloquent silence, prayer, and praise express my conception of Truth’s appearing” (The First Church of Christ, Scientist, and Miscellany, p. 262).The world, including those close to us, needs this kind of love to help heal ills and calm fears. Our conscious communion with God sometimes leads to others recognizing our inward peace. 

We have no way of knowing how much time Mary, the mother of Jesus, spent in prayerful communion with God, but it is clear that her purity of thought enabled her to perceive the true, spiritual sense of man, and to bring forth the babe Jesus. Mrs. Eddy says of this event: “Jesus was the offspring of Mary’s self-conscious communion with God. Hence he could give a more spiritual idea of life than other men, and could demonstrate the Science of Love—his Father or divine Principle” (Science and Health, pp. 29–30).  

In our own lives, we can come to the realization that we can make spiritual progress by relating more closely with divine Spirit. And we can perceive higher and deeper views of spiritual reality, which begin to replace limited, material thinking and experience with a more unlimited and expansive thought and experience, blessing not only us but others as well.

The Christ is immortal and eternal. Materialism cannot hide the power and permanence of Christ-healing from any one of us if we are growing in our understanding of God. Mrs. Eddy says of Christian healing, “This is the babe we are to cherish” (Miscellaneous Writings 1883–1896, p. 370).

May we all feel more of the Christ-spirit and “joy unspeakable” (I Peter 1:8) during this holiday season. Irrespective of our circumstances, may our hearts open wide to God and His Christ and be filled with abundant inspiration and healing.