O Thou kind Lord! These souls are Thy friends and this
gathering is longing for Thee. They are captives of the lights of Thy Beauty
and ecstatic by Thy musk-scented locks. Their hearts are Thine; they are Thy
poor, humble and homeless; they have severed themselves from relative and
stranger and have established the relationship of unity with Thee. They have
adored Thee. They were sons of earth; Thou hast made them new fruits of the
Kingdom. They were plants of the desert of bereavement; Thou hast made them
trees of the rose-garden of knowledge. They were silent; Thou hast made them
speak. They were extinct; Thou hast lighted them. They were sterile soil; Thou
hast made them the rose-garden of significances. They were the children of the
world of humanity; Thou hast caused them to attain development and the maturity
of the Kingdom!
O kind One! Grant them shelter and security under Thy
protection, preserve them from tests and trials, send them invisible help and
confer upon them the doubtless bounty, O Thou kind Beloved!
They are the body and Thou art the Life. The body is
dependent for its life and freshness upon the Spirit—therefore they are in need
of confirmation and long for the Breaths of the Holy Spirit in this new Cause!
Thou art the Able! Thou art the Giver, the Educator, the
Forgiver, the Pardoner and the Light shining from the Invisible Realm!
- ‘Abdu’l-Baha (‘Tablets of ‘Abdu’l-Baha, vol. 1)
