MY MOTHER AND I had been at hammer and tongs ever since I decided to be an actor. Eventually I stopped going home. Then, at a very low emotional ebb in my life, an acquaintance told me about Christian Science and invited me to a Sunday church service. I didn't know what it was all about, but I remember coming away feeling lighter. As if a load had been lifted off my shoulders. I attended the Wednesday evening testimony meeting and also the next Sunday service.
Then I received a telegram from my mother in England asking me to come home right away due to a family emergency that, upon my arrival, I discovered hadn't been urgent after all. My negative reaction to these circumstances resulted in a heated argument with my mother, after which I felt incredibly sorry. I'd gone home with the intention of bringing peace and harmony and felt that I had created chaos instead. How could I begin to be forgiven? I thumbed through the Journal my Christian Science friend had given me to read on my journey and found a list of churches, practitioners, and Reading Rooms. None were within easy reach of my parents' home, so I decided to write a letter to the nearest Reading Room over 70 miles away. I wrote "to whom it may concern" about my distress and what I had done. Then I posted the letter and left for my home in Rome, Italy.
Imagine my surprise when I received a letter from my mother on Friday of the same week. She told me that a "Christly" woman had come to visit. This elderly woman had received my letter at the Reading Room, and set out immediately by train and bus, and then on foot through the snow, to my parents' house. She talked to my mother about Christian Science. My mother said that she didn't know why I had behaved as I did, but if I had anything whatsoever to do with such a Christly woman I couldn't be as bad as she thought I was, and she was ready to let bygones be bygones. My mother never became a Christian Scientist, but we had a natural loving relationship from that lady's visit on.
I joined a branch church and was very active for a while, but gradually I fell a bit by the wayside. I became involved in my career as an actor and stopped going to church for a period of about 18 months, in spite of several gentle inquiries by fellow members. You might say I was like the man described in the Bible who forgot what manner of man he was (see James 1:22–24).
During that time a painful cyst appeared on the inside of my leg. I had great difficulty walking up steps or getting on public transport and had to be very careful even when drying myself after a shower. I decided to consult a doctor as I thought too much time had gone by and I didn't "merit" Christian Science treatment. The morning I made this decision I found a special edition of the Journal in my mailbox. It had been sent to all members of The Mother Church all over the world even if they weren't subscribers to the publications. "That's nice," I thought, "they haven't forgotten me."
Then I got on a bus to go to work and started reading some of the articles and poems in the Journal, many of them having been previously published in the periodicals over a period of 100 years. The ideas and experiences those writers shared were very inspiring. I couldn't wait to get back on the bus and read some more on my way home. That evening I had my shower as usual and went to bed. Before I fell asleep my hand went instinctively to touch the cyst. I realized that I'd dried myself without any problem. It was no longer there. Not a trace remained. Every sign of it had disappeared like the morning mist after the sun has come out. Needless to say I was back in church the very next Sunday and soon gave a testimony at the Wednesday testimony meeting. Eventually I became a First Reader in that church.
I am so grateful for Christian Science and for all those who lovingly share spiritual ideas and healings that illuminate our understanding.
ROME, ITALY
