HONOR EACH OTHER

… thou art greatly loved:

… thou art mine!  

--The Bible, Daniel 9:23 & Isaiah 43:2----

“Let us therefore follow after the things which make 

for peace, and things wherewith one may edify another.”  

-The Bible: Romans 14:19

THE ROCK OF MY REFUGE

When we pray for the little ones, the families, the elders … -- and the people around the globe, I feel that something beautiful starts happening to them and to us.  Our prayer is a loving, healing thought, resting on them.  Prayer reveals the power of empathy and true brother-hood, and it bands people together when facing a crisis.  It helps us recognize that each of God’s children is inseparable from divine Love.

Understanding this even just a tiny bit heals the aching heart.

An excerpt from an article by Eva-Maria Hogrefe, C. S. “The Rock of my Refuge” published in the Christian Science Sentinel,

 September 27, 1999--

Since thou wast precious in my sight, 

thou hast been honourable,

And I have loved thee:

I, even I, am the Lord; 

--The Bible, Isaiah 43:4, 11--

 … keep clean your spirit.  And how shall it be kept clean, Mr. Gruffydd?  By prayer, my son, he said, not mumbling, or shouting, or wallowing like a hog in religious sentiments.  Prayer is only another name for good, clean, direct thinking.  When you pray, think well what you are saying, and make your thoughts into things that are solid.  In that manner, your prayer will have strength, and that strength shall become part of you.
--Richard Llewellyn, How Green Was My Valley, p 97—

What we see is shadow, what we think is substance. --Grazy Horse, Oglala Sue Indian--

In the Bible we are introduced to a man called Job.  Job yearned for self-knowledge, which comes from a better understanding of our real nature, made in the image of good, or God.  God spoke to Job out of the whirlwind.  What do you think is the meaning of this metaphor?  A metaphor illuminates thought -- and so the metaphor of a whirlwind, I understand to mean, that Job’s thinking was highly disturbed by doubts and uncertainties — but even though in the midst of these doubts, he could intuitively recognize God’s voice: “Deck thyself now with majesty and excellency; and array thyself with glory and beauty,” and divine Truth added, “Then will I also confess [or explain] unto thee that thine own right hand can save thee” (40:10, 14). 

In Science and Health self-knowledge is defined as: “Anatomy, 

when conceived of spiritually, is mental self-knowledge, and consists 

in the dissection of thoughts to discover their quality, quantity, and 

origin.  Are thoughts divine or human?  This is the important question.  

This branch of study is indispensable to the excision of error.” 

The anatomy of Christian Science teaches when and how to probe 

the self-inflicked wounds of selfishness, malice, envy, and hate.  

It teaches the control of mad ambition.  It unfolds the hallowed 

influences of unselfishness, philanthropy, spiritual love" (462).

--Eva-Maria--

Schloss in Holland--a dear friend of mine contributed with his fine work, to its beauty!

“Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.”  

--The Bible, Matthew 5:9--

Christ Jesus in the Beatitudes is instructing his followers to make peace – not just to hope for peace, or talk about peace, or negotiate peace, however necessary all these human steps are – the utmost importance is to make peace.  And how do we begin?  By making sure that whatever we think and say and do has to lead to the most progressive step -- to a fuller recognition of man’s real nature, and his inseparability from divine Love.  This is a spiritual leap by which we make first peace with ourselves and then with our fellowman.  And thus, as the Scriptures point out, we are able to live as God’s likeness -- reflecting His abundant love and goodness.  – Eva-Maria --

A POEM 

Blessed, Thine

Delighted, Father-Mother, because

I am gratefully pondering good today,

Considering how You, dear source above,

Enrich me, that I may

Know my being deep in Your love.

Revealed as the image of Truth divine,

I behold through healing staff and rod

That I am blessed, blessed

Blessed, Thine.

--Eva-Maria Hogrefe, Christian Science Sentinel, June 20, 1994

The rattlesnake and the dove
 WHILE I WAS LIVING ON A RANCH IN SOUTH DAKOTA, 

some of our neighbors told us that the area was infested with rattlesnakes.  But I never saw one.  One day I asked a rancher how that could be, and he said, “You know, you are a danger to them.  And they hide from danger.”  That made sense.  Not exposing themselves to danger.

There are effective ways to pray about protection from danger.  In the Bible, for example, Jesus said to his disciples, “Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves” (Matt. 10:16).  I think of this as meaning we need to be wise first, before we can be harmless to ourselves and others.  And I have asked myself, “What is the wisdom of a serpent?”

Maybe one thing it means is not exposing oneself to danger.  And perhaps at the root of this kind of wisdom and safety is the idea of not adopting or relying on mistaken notions about God, humanity, or the world at large.  We can be wise enough to recognize a mistaken notion for what it is—a mistake.  Then we can let our love for God and our respect for His creation show what is true.

Jesus’ words to his followers—and that includes his followers today—point out how to deal more effectively with terrorism and random destruction, beginning with individual thoughts.  That is, we can choose not to surrender to or react to thoughts of fear.  I think it’s fear that lies behind a terrorist’s act, and that it’s also fear that makes us react so helplessly to it.  Fear brings doubt as to the presence and power of God, who is our source of intelligence.

If I believe that a frightening concept is the correct one, I am fooled.  And if I’m fooled, I’ll be confused, and confusion perpetuates fear.  But once I gain a true concept of God and His child, intelligence is at work, and to the degree that I accept the truth, fear and confusion will disappear.  When that happens, I experience the power of divine Mind, which is our God.  Then I feel reassured and am able to see how whatever is frightening me really only challenges me to think more intelligently about everything.  That includes understanding God as my origin, good as my cause—and isn’t that really what defines you and me?  With God as our source and creator, we really are “harmless as doves.”  Realizing that fact is a kind of prayer and communication with God that makes me feel incapable of seeing myself or others, or even world-situations, in a context of fear. 

I received a call asking me to pray for a man who was on business in Washington, D.C., area.  The infamous snipers had randomly killed people at that time.  This man was battling what so many of us are struggling with right now—the fear of random evil.  My prayer for him was directly inspired by the insights I had gained from those words of Jesus quoted earlier.  Our prayer together healed that man’s paralyzing fear, and he was able to continue his activities in Washington with alertness and a feeling of peace.

People who are confused and do harmful things to others, are harming themselves, too.  I’m sure that if we include them in our prayers, we will be helping them, because if they are even just for a moment receptive to divine intelligence—the Mind that is God—the mistaken notions that are harming them and controlling them can disappear.  Maybe even in the twinkling of an eye.

--Eva-Maria Hogrefe, C. S., Christian Science Sentinel, March 10, 2003--

With much love to YOU,

Eva-Maria