The Waterbury Democrat., 1938-06-06

zee to the society's new publishing lere the various publications of the ,hristian Science Monitor is printed lily.
 doing over with the airy comment That was never true" and do no more about 1t. Such an attitude would be dishonest, and would pro- long the errors of the past nto the present. Repentance and reforma- ton are necessary, and form part of the demonstration of the eternal, ever-present nature of good. An honest desire to make up for in- juries we may have inflicted in the past will insure the means and op- portunity of doing so when that is humanly possible.
 The parable of the prodigal son provides illustrations of the pains and penalties which come from the belief that God is less than ever present; it also shows how we may escape from those penalties. The younger son thought that there was something to be gained by leaving his fathers house-by separating himself from the presence of God. He therefore went into far country, and three he met with the inevit- able bad results of his journey. The belief that we can separate ourselves or be separated from God must eventually result in trouble and unhappiness and worse, because it is a belief in separation from good. The unhappy prodigal sought help from "a citizen of that country whither he had gone, and found lit- tie satisfaction. That is not sur prising, for "a citizen of that coun- try" far from the fathers house na- turally shared the prodigals own delusions, and did not know the truth of Gods ever-presence, the one thing that could help. But at last the prodgal began to awake to the truth about himself. Then there came into play those true qualities of thought which self-will and self indulgence had hidden-spiritual activity, humility, trust in his father. It was not long before he found himself in his fathers house and had regained all that he seemed to have lost.
 So with all who seem to have gone into 8 far country. When once we awake to our true selfhood as the ideas of divine Mind, the sons and daughters of God, we find ourselves in our Fathers house and realize that our separation from it was only a false belief, a dream, and that man is eternally conscious of his unity with his creator.
 But what of the elder son, that unsympathetic character whom il is sometimes the fashion to deSpiSe? What was it that was wrong with the elder son? Was 1t not that he too, was limiting the presence oi God? He was quite sure that he himself had never left his fathers house, but he was equally sure that his brother had done so. Nor was he sparing in his condemnation oi his brothers kpses. Yet had the elder son understood the allness ol God he would have known that hi brother could never in reality have strayed from Loves ever-presence and he would have rejoiced at hi. brothers awakening from the falst belief of separation from his father: house, with all the sordidness ant all the misery of that false belief The elder son was, in his way, jus as ignorant of the infinity of Goo as the prodigal had been, and so h, received that tender rebuke begin ming, "Son, thou art ever with me and all that have is thine." Die that rouse him to see that the sam, statement was really true of hi prodigal brother? like to thinl that 1t did.
 Christian Science teaches us nevel to condone evil in ourselves or il others, but at the same time not t, condemn the sinner, or to grudg him or ourselves deliverance iron sin and from its consequences Whether, like the prodigal, we hav consciously strayed from the fath CTS house, or whether, like the eide son, we think that we ourselves hav remained faithful while others hay wandered. Christian Science show us that the fathers house is inf mite, since there is neither place no time where God is not present. Tha fact understood means deliveranc
 from pain, from sorrow, from dis |, ease and sin from all evil, becaus
 1t substitutes for a conscious or un conscious belief of separation iron God a present understanding o mans oneness with divine Mind. Prayer and Spiritual Communion It is through prayer and througl spiritual communion with God tha we learn to know Loves ever-pres , ence, and bring that knowledge t ] bear upon human needs. Christian r Science teaches us to find in praye something more than petition onl. } The Apostle Paul bade the Thessa l lonians "pray without ceasing," an
 it would not seem possible to obe that advice in the sense of pourin 5 forth a constant series of petition [ There would be scant opportunit to enjoy the answer to our prayer ? Prayer which begins as petition bios