Tacoma Baha’i

Bringing the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh to the indigenous peoples of the world was always one of the cherished wishes of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. He and Shoghi Effendi urged Bahá’ís pioneering to other lands to reach out to these people rather than to the residents of European descent. Their spiritual capacity is adding incalculable benefits to the Faith.

Tuesday, January 13

Cluster 19  14th Cycle Expansion Phase – Day 4

Friends, please join us in reciting this prayer today to support the teaching we are engaged in during our expansion phase:

O God, my God! Aid Thou Thy trusted servants to have loving and tender hearts. Help them to spread, amongst all the nations of the earth, the light of guidance that cometh from the Company on high. Verily, Thou art the Strong, the Powerful, the Mighty, the All-Subduing, the Ever-Giving. Verily, Thou art the Generous, the Gentle, the Tender, the Most Bountiful.

– ‘Abdu’l-Bahá  

And we share these quotes for your reflection today:

Turn thy face toward the Kingdom of God, ask for the bestowals of the Holy Spirit, speak, and the confirmations of the Spirit will come.    

-‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Selections from the Writings of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, no. 153, p. 188)

Today, as never before, the magnet which attracts the blessings from on high, is teaching the Faith of God.  The Hosts of Heaven are poised between heaven and earth, just waiting, and patiently, for the Baha’i  to step forth, with pure devotion and consecration, to teach the Cause of God, so they may rush to his aid and assistance.  It is the Guardian’s prayer that the friends may treble their efforts, as the time is short  alas, the workers too few.  Let those who wish to achieve immortality, step forth and raise the Divine Call.  They will be astonished at the spiritual victories they will gain.

-From a letter written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi, The Individual and Teaching – Raising the Divine Call, p. 31

Love. The ultimate power in creation. The reason God created us. The great force that connects us to God and to one another. The inspiration in our hearts that persuades us to rise beyond our animal instincts and act as spiritual beings and is proof that we have a soul.

Monday, January 12

Cluster 19  14th Cycle Expansion Phase – Day 3

Friends, please join us in reciting this prayer today to support the teaching we are engaged in during our expansion phase:

O my God! O my God! This, Thy servant, hath advanced towards Thee, is passionately wandering in the desert of Thy love, walking in the path of Thy service, anticipating Thy favors, hoping for Thy bounty, relying upon Thy kingdom, and intoxicated by the wine of Thy gift.  O my God!  Increase the fervor of his affection for Thee, the constancy of his praise of Thee, and the ardor of his love for Thee. 

Verily, Thou art the Most Generous, the Lord of grace abounding. There is no other God but Thee, the Forgiving, the Merciful.

– ‘Abdu’l-Bahá

And we share these quotes for your reflection today:

Gird up the loins of thine endeavor, that haply thou mayest guide thy neighbor to the law of God, the Most Merciful.   Such an act, verily, excelleth all other acts in the sight of God, the All-Possessing, the Most High.   Such must be thy steadfastness in the Cause of God, that no earthly thing whatsoever will have the power to deter thee from thy duty.   Though the powers of earth be leagued against thee, though all men dispute with thee, thou must remain unshaken.

-Baha’u’llah, Gleanings from the Writings of Baha’u’llah, p. 338

What is needed to achieve success in the teaching field is a complete dedication on the part of the individual, consecrating to the glorious task of spreading the Faith, and the living of the Baha’i life, because that creates the magnet for the Holy Spirit, and it is the Holy Spirit which quickens the new soul.  Thus the individual should be as a reed, through which the Holy Spirit may flow, to give new life to the seeking soul.

One should search out those who are receptive to the Faith, and then concentrate on these persons in their teaching.

-From a letter written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi, The Individual and Teaching – Raising the Divine Call, p. 32

Sunday, January 11

Cluster 19 14th Cycle Expansion Phase – Day 2

Friends, please join us in reciting this prayer today to support the teaching we are engaged in during our expansion phase:

He is God!

O Lord, my God, my Well-Beloved! These are servants of Thine that have heard Thy Voice, given ear to Thy Word and hearkened to Thy Call. They have believed in Thee, witnessed Thy wonders, acknowledged Thy proof and testified to Thine evidence. They have walked in Thy ways, followed Thy guidance, discovered Thy mysteries, comprehended the secrets of Thy Book, the verses of Thy Scrolls and the tidings of Thy Epistles and Tablets. They have clung to the hem of Thy garment and held fast unto the robe of Thy light and grandeur. Their footsteps have been strengthened in Thy Covenant and their hearts made firm in Thy Testament. Lord! Do Thou kindle in their hearts the flame of Thy divine attraction and grant that the bird of love and understanding may sing within their hearts. Grant that they may be even as potent signs, resplendent standards, and perfect as Thy Word. Exalt by them Thy Cause, unfurl Thy banners and publish far and wide Thy wonders. Make by them Thy Word triumphant, and strengthen the loins of Thy loved ones. Unloose their tongues to laud Thy Name, and inspire them to do Thy holy will and pleasure. Illumine their faces in Thy Kingdom of holiness, and perfect their joy by aiding them to arise for the triumph of Thy Cause.

Lord! Feeble are we, strengthen us to diffuse the fragrances of Thy Holiness; poor, enrich us from the treasures of Thy Divine Unity; naked, clothe us with the robe of Thy bounty; sinful, forgive us our sins by Thy grace, Thy favor and Thy pardon. Thou art, verily, the Aider, the Helper, the Gracious, the Mighty, the Powerful.

The glory of glories rest upon them that are fast and firm.

– ‘Abdu’l-Bahá

And we share this quote for your reflection today:

From amongst all mankind hath He chosen you, and your eyes have been opened to the light of guidance and your ears attuned to the music of the Company above; and blessed by abounding grace, your hearts and souls have been born into new life. Thank ye and praise ye God that the hand of infinite bestowals hath set upon your heads this gem-studded crown, this crown whose lustrous jewels will forever flash and sparkle down all the reaches of time.

To thank Him for this, make ye a mighty effort, and choose for yourselves a noble goal.

– ‘Abdu’l-Bahá , Selections from the Writings of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá , p. 35

Saturday, January 10

Cluster 19 14th Cycle Expansion Phase – Day 1

Friends, please join us in reciting this prayer today to support the teaching we are engaged in during our expansion phase:

O God, my God! Thou art my Hope and my Beloved, my highest Aim and Desire! With great humbleness and entire devotion I pray to Thee to make me a minaret of Thy love in Thy land, a lamp of Thy knowledge among Thy creatures, and a banner of divine bounty in Thy dominion.

Number me with such of Thy servants as have detached themselves from everything but Thee, have sanctified themselves from the transitory things of this world, and have freed themselves from the promptings of the voicers of idle fancies.

Let my heart be dilated with joy through the spirit of confirmation from Thy kingdom, and brighten my eyes by beholding the hosts of divine assistance descending successively upon me from the kingdom of Thine omnipotent glory.

Thou art, in truth, the Almighty, the All-Glorious, the All-Powerful.

– ‘Abdu’l-Bahá

And we share this quote for your reflection today:

By the righteousness of God! Whoso openeth his lips in this Day and maketh mention of the name of his Lord, the hosts of Divine inspiration shall descend upon him from the heaven of My name, the All-Knowing, the All-Wise. On him shall also descend the Concourse on high, each bearing aloft a chalice of pure light. Thus hath it been foreordained in the realm of God’s Revelation, by the behest of Him Who is the All-Glorious, the Most Powerful.

Baha’u’llah, Gleanings from the Writings of Baha’u’llah, p. 280