Healing of swelling and pain in breast

by Maitreyee Dutta
from The Christian Science Journal, February 2022

I have been practicing Christian Science since 2001, when a colleague first introduced me to its teachings while I was working at an institute for technical education in my city, where I am still employed. Since that time I have had Christian Science class instruction and experienced numerous healings by relying on God, and Christian Science has given me the confidence to do so.

I am testifying here to a healing of painful inflammation and swelling in one of my breasts. I noticed these symptoms in August of 2017, and I was very frightened. I shared my fears with my husband. For the previous two months I had also not had my regular period, and I began thinking this might be a serious condition. I immediately called a Christian Science practitioner and asked for treatment. She agreed to help and reassured me about God’s allness and goodness. I felt I was safe in God’s hands.

After talking with the practitioner, I saw the importance of not focusing on the symptoms and so making a reality of them. The practitioner gave me selections to study from Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy, including this one from page 391, in a chapter about practicing Christian Science: “Instead of blind and calm submission to the incipient or advanced stages of disease, rise in rebellion against them. Banish the belief that you can possibly entertain a single intruding pain which cannot be ruled out by the might of Mind, and in this way you can prevent the development of pain in the body.”

I was inspired by those lines and also by this statement in the same chapter: “Every law of matter or the body, supposed to govern man, is rendered null and void by the law of Life, God. Ignorant of our God-given rights, we submit to unjust decrees, and the bias of education enforces this slavery. Be no more willing to suffer the illusion that you are sick or that some disease is developing in the system, than you are to yield to a sinful temptation on the ground that sin has its necessities” (pp. 380–381).

I prayed every day and worked with the passages the practitioner gave me, as well as with “the scientific statement of being” in Science and Health on page 468. I recognized the allness of God and my perfection as divine Mind’s reflection and denied the reality of matter and the symptoms of disease.

One day the practitioner talked with me about the purpose of a breast. She reminded me that a mother’s breast provides nourishment and comfort to her babies. So how could this breast cause any suffering to that mother? Suffering is not in accordance with God’s law, she told me, and we are not governed by any other law. She then asked me to love those for whom I might have any resentment.

That night I prayed and felt the love of God in every aspect of my life. I loved and included in my prayers everyone in my office and at home, and my relatives, and all those connected with me. I also prayed to know that I was the fearless child of our fearless Father-Mother God.

At one point, I was asked by someone for Christian Science treatment. After I prayed for her, her problem was healed, and I also felt free of fearful thoughts for myself. But the symptoms I was experiencing got aggravated and again I was tempted to be afraid. The inflamed area was increasing, as was the swelling and pain.

One day while I was talking with the practitioner, she told me to “keep command.” Those words inspired me. I realized that was what I needed to do. I took command of the situation and knew that divine Mind—God—was governing me. How could I then be tempted to be fearful? I stopped myself from looking at the symptoms. I started feeling good. Soon the inflammation and redness decreased.

During this time I was not at all sorrowful or tense. I was able to do all the activities I normally do at home, at church, and in my office. Continuing with my church duties, especially serving as First Reader, helped me remain calm and hopeful. I continued to insist on the fact that my being is spiritual, untouched by matter, and so it is pure. In this purity, no imperfection or disease can exist.

Finally, the fearful thoughts dissolved and the pain and swelling completely vanished. This occurred after I came back spiritually enriched from my annual Christian Science students’ association meeting.

I continued to pray about the normalization of my periods because I knew that there cannot be any obstruction in my natural and harmonious functions under the government of divine Mind. I was also praying to know there can’t be any obstructions in the activities of our church, as our branch had been having difficulty getting a big enough hall for a Christian Science lecture that December. One night I also pondered the infinite spiritual qualities that I and the other members of our church reflect, as we are all God’s children.

Just two days later my regular periods returned. And our church was able to book a nice hall for a successful lecture. That was the end of the physical problems.

I felt so blessed by this healing. I learned that we have to obey God and love one another wherever we are—and that we cannot let resentments and discords go unchecked in any area of life, whether at home or work or church. I thank God from the core of my heart for this beautiful healing. I thank the Christian Science practitioner for helping me. And I thank Mary Baker Eddy for her wonderful book, Science and Health.

This article was published in the February 2022 issue of The Christian Science Journal. To learn more about this monthly magazine, published online and in print, visit HERE.