Christ and Christmas
Ernest Holmes

Christ, the perfect man, is developed within us through the realization and revelation of the self to the self. God in us is Christ, and Christ in us constitutes our true Sonship to the Parent Mind, which is God. Every man is a potential Christ, an as yet undeveloped divinity. From the least to the greatest, the same life runs through all, threading itself in the patterns of our individualities. He is “over all, in all, and through all.”

This presence, this inner sense of a greater reality bears witness to itself through our highest acts and in our deepest emotions. Who is there who has not at times felt this inner presence? It is impossible to escape our true nature. The voice of Truth is insistent. The urge to unfold is constant. In the long run, each will fully express his divinity.

Christmas is for remembrance. The love manifest through our gifts to each other typifies the offering of Life, the givingness of Spirit to Its creation. The hands of the Eternal are outstretched through our hands, and the heart of the Infinite beats in the human breast. But the giver must give of himself, for, “The gift without the giver is bare.” It is not enough to give money to a great cause. Only those understand giving who give of themselves, withholding nothing.

It is not, then, in lavish gifts that we find true giving, but in the sweet simplicity of remembrance, in the kindly thought, the tolerant mind, and the gentle act. Love alone can give love, sympathy alone can sympathize, and only goodness can really do or be good. The one who gives for reward does not give at all; he seeks to bargain; to trade for spiritual gifts, hence he senses a loss in his own giving and finds no completion through the act. But he who gives half his meat to the hungry, feels justified and is warmed by a real sense of comradeship. He has established an actual unity between himself and another offspring of creation.

Great causes succeed when there is a giving of humanity to humanity. Charity is cold but love is warm. When heart speaks to heart, a divine conversation has taken place, a heavenly discourse.

Each of us has something to give. Let each see that he gives of his best. If we are bringing our gifts to the altar of love, nothing less than the best will be acceptable, nothing less than all is enough. This giving will never deplete us nor can it drain the storehouse of the Infinite.

Affirmation
The joy of the Christmas Spirit is eternally mine. The comfort of the Christ Idea finds an abiding place in my consciousness.

Excerpted from “Daily Readings” by Ernest Holmes, Science of Mind magazine December 1929. You can read this entire issue here.

Peter Mayer—Holy Now
—Kent Rautenstraus

Minnesota songwriter Peter Mayer talks about his signature song: “I virtually never omit 'Holy Now' from a performance because it honors religion but widens its scope.” Mayer once studied to be a Catholic priest, but now ministers to people around the world through his evocative songwriting/singing. In “Holy Now,” he shares the impacting message that everything is holy if we bring consciousness to it. This statement poignantly resonates most especially in December, when there are many observances celebrating holiness, including Diwali (Hindu); Kwanzaa (African American); Bodhi Day (Buddhist); Hanukkah (Jewish), and Christmas (Christian).

Mayer also cites the ancient observance of the Winter Solstice in the Northern Hemisphere, which brings light to the day with the least hours of daylight, as a profound winter celebration of holiness. “The Solstice is a beautiful celebration about the resilience of people living in darkness but bringing the light.”

Mayer has nine CDs of original music, including Midwinter, a sensitive and often meditative album blending Christmas-thematic songs, i.e. “Christmas Morning,” with Winter Solstice songs, including “The Longest Night” and “Where Is the Light?” In researching Midwinter, Mayer discovered that on the early church calendar, Winter Solstice and Christmas were observed on the same day, but were later separated within the Gregorian calendar. “The birth of light began with Solstice,” Mayer says with awe. (Winter Solstice 2013 will be observed on December 21.)

What is an easy tip for finding holiness this season? Mayer immediately lifts up the spiritual principle of giving thanks. “In our family, we say grace before dinner and sing together the song ‘We are thankful for our many blessings.’ Then, we go around the table and share what we are thankful for.” Mayer’s two young daughters, ages six and two, love this tradition—as do Mayer and his wife, Beth Harrison. “Statistics have proven that people are happiest when they stop to name what they are thankful for. That’s a holy thought,” he says confidently.

Click here to experience Peter Mayer performing “Holy Now.”

For more information about Peter Mayer and to order his CDs, please visit www.blueboat.net

That Holy Thing—the Harmony Project Choir Live

Photo by Miller Imagery

Readers enjoyed Joanne Blum’s feature “That Holy Thing” in the December 2013 issue of Science of Mind magazine. Now you can enjoy seeing choir director David Brown’s humor and dynamic energy as he works with the Harmony Project Choir.