Tuesday, April 14

Cluster 19  ~ 15th 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

Monday, April 13

Cluster 19  ~ 15th 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, April 12

Cluster 19  ~ 15th 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