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

Friday, January 9

To the Baha’i Friends in Cluster 19:

The 10-day expansion phase of the 14th cycle of our Intensive Program of Growth begins tomorrow. For the next 10 days we will be making extra efforts to share the Message of Baha’u’llah in a direct way with our friends, family, neighbors, and coworkers. And we will have collective door-to-door teaching projects on the weekends in Lakewood and Sumner. As part of this effort, we are hoping that all the Friends will join a collective prayer effort by saying the Prayer for the Western States every day. We will also be sending a prayer and a quote from the Writings to you every day during the expansion phase. Our hope is that each of us will say the prayer and focus on the quote each day, and that through this participation, our hearts will be united every day of the 10 days of expansion. Who can predict what the effect of this effort will be? Let’s find out!

With warmest Baha’i greetings,

Your Cluster 19 Core Team

(Area Teaching Committee, Cluster Institute Coordinator, Auxiliary Board Members)

Say: Teach ye the Cause of God, O people of Bahá, for God hath prescribed unto every one the duty of proclaiming His Message, and regardeth it as the most meritorious of all deeds.

Bahá’u’lláh

‘Abdu’l-Bahá is the Center of the Covenant and the Perfect Examplar, the embodiment of service to Bahá’u’lláh. The Master’s house in Haifa, Israel, is shown in the picture above just below the middle of the photo. The rooms in the upper floor were the personal quarters of Shoghi Effendi and his wife, Ruhiyyih Khanum. The garden to the left is the resting place of Hand of the Cause ‘Amatu’l-Bahá Ruhiyyih Khanum, who lived in this house for more than 60 years.

Whoso ariseth to teach Our Cause must needs detach himself from all earthly things, and regard, at all times, the triumph of Our Faith as his supreme objective.

Bahá’u’lláh

Beginning this weekend, Saturday, January 10th, for ten days, Bahá’ís will have the opportunity to place into practice their own devotion through a focused effort to bring the Faith to our neighbors in Pierce County.  We will offer to present the Faith to interested persons. Prayers will be said for their success, and some friends will offer their homes as centers for gathering.

For were men to abide by and observe the divine teachings, every trace of evil would be banished from the face of the earth.

Bahá’u’lláh

We will be providing information about this every day during the ten days. Contact Bahá’ís in your area to volunteer!

If they arise to teach My Cause, they must let the breath of Him Who is the Unconstrained, stir them and must spread it abroad on the earth with high resolve, with minds that are wholly centered in Him, and with hearts that are completely detached from and independent of all things, and with souls that are sanctified from the world and its vanities. It behoveth them to choose as the best provision for their journey reliance upon God, and to clothe themselves with the love of their Lord, the Most Exalted, the All-Glorious. If they do so, their words shall influence their hearers.

 Bahá’u’lláh

Some of the best things that have ever happened are because the people and governments of the world met together in unity to solve their common problems. In the middle of the 19th Century every country had to enter into a separate agreement with every other country in order for its residents to send mail there to be received and delivered to its intended destination. There were no uniform rules and rates varied wildly. This disorganization hindered business by U.S. companies.  Montgomery Blair, head of the United States Postal Service, suggested an international conference with a view to establishing a treaty to provide uniform rules and rates, and it was held in Paris in 1863. Under the auspices of Germany, another conference was held in Bern, Switzerland in 1874 and a treaty was concluded. Today, it is called the Universal Postal Union and is still headquartered in Bern as an organ of the United Nations. There are 191 member countries. This treaty is the reason that you can pay postage at a standard rate in your own country and your mail will be delivered to its intended address virtually anywhere in the world.

Unity works!

They that are endued with sincerity and faithfulness should associate with all the peoples and kindreds of the earth with joy and radiance, inasmuch as consorting with people hath promoted and will continue to promote unity and concord, which in turn are conducive to the maintenance of order in the world and to the regeneration of nations. Blessed are such as hold fast to the cord of kindliness and tender mercy and are free from animosity and hatred.

Bahá’u’lláh