One day a long time ago, I decided to make a pie for my sister, who was coming to visit me. I prepared everything and put the pie in the oven to bake. When I pulled the pie pan out, though, the oven rack tipped, and my left hand became covered in boiling pie filling. 

The pain was intense. With great difficulty, I removed the pie pan from the oven with my right hand, using a protective glove. I cleaned my left hand with one cloth and wrapped it in another.

I immediately began to pray with “the scientific statement of being,” found in Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, where Mary Baker Eddy writes: “There is no life, truth, intelligence, nor substance in matter. All is infinite Mind and its infinite manifestation, for God is All-in-all. . . . Spirit is God, and man is His image and likeness. Therefore man is not material; he is spiritual” (p. 468).

It became very clear to me that, if there is no life, no truth, and no substance in matter, then I, as the spiritual image and likeness of God, could not be suffering from anything material or discordant. Because we are each the manifestation of God, my experience could only be absolutely harmonious and painless. I began to pray out loud many truths like these that I had learned in my study of Christian Science. I remember how firmly I prayed. I never for a moment thought of using any other means to relieve the pain. 

At first, the more I prayed, the stronger the pain became. But I continued to pray steadfastly. Then I remembered this from Science and Health: “It requires courage to utter truth; for the higher Truth lifts her voice, the louder will error scream, until its inarticulate sound is forever silenced in oblivion” (p. 97). 

That is what happened—as I prayed steadfastly, the pain finally began to subside. A sense of peace came over me. I felt that all was well and that I could continue with my tasks, which I completed without any more pain. 

The next day there was no sign of a burn on my skin except for a pinkish color, which disappeared completely soon after. I have no words to describe my joy and gratitude to God for Christian Science and for this healing!

Maria da Conceição Monteiro
Almada, Portugal