MORNING:

Earthrise from the Moon

O SON OF MAN!

Should prosperity befall thee, rejoice not, and should abasement come upon thee, grieve not, for both shall pass away and be no more.

O SON OF BEING!

If poverty overtake thee, be not sad; for in time the Lord of wealth shall visit thee. Fear not abasement, for glory shall one day rest on thee.

O SON OF BEING!

If thine heart be set upon this eternal, imperishable dominion, and this ancient, everlasting life, forsake this mortal and fleeting sovereignty.

O SON OF BEING!

Busy not thyself with this world, for with fire We test the gold, and with gold We test Our servants.

O SON OF MAN!

Thou dost wish for gold and I desire thy freedom from it. Thou thinkest thyself rich in its possession, and I recognize thy wealth in thy sanctity therefrom. By My life! This is My knowledge, and that is thy fancy; how can My way accord with thine?

O SON OF MAN!

Bestow My wealth upon My poor, that in heaven thou mayest draw from stores of unfading splendor and treasures of imperishable glory. But by My life! To offer up thy soul is a more glorious thing couldst thou but see with Mine eye.

—His Holiness Bahá’u’lláh

The Arabic Hidden Words, #’s 52-57

EVENING:

Say, O beloved of God!  Fear none and let nothing grieve thee;  be steadfast in the Cause.  By God, those who have drunk of the love of God, the glorious, the Effulgent, have not fear of anyone, and show patience in calamity, like unto the patience of the lover toward the good-pleasure of the beloved.  With them affliction ranketh greater than that which the lovers perceive in the countenance of the beloved….*

…Blessed are the steadfastly enduring, they that are patient under ills and hardships, who lament not over anything that befalleth them, and who tread the path of resignation…**

…He, verily, shall increase the reward of them that endure with patience….***

…The virtues and attributes pertaining unto God are all evident and manifest, and have been mentioned and described in all the heavenly Books. Among them are trustworthiness, truthfulness,purity of heart while communining with God, forbearance, resignation to whatever the Almighty hath decreed, contentment with the things His Will hath provided, patience, nay, thankfulness in the midst of tribulation,and complete reliance inall circumstances, upon Him.  These rank,according to the estimate of God, among the highest and most laudable of all acts.****

*quoted by Hand of the Cause of God Mr. H.M. Balyuzi, Eminent Bahá’ís in the Time of Bahá’u’lláh, p. 22

**Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh, p. 129

***Ibid.

**** Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh, p. 290

—His Holiness Bahá’u’lláh

[All of the above…Fire and Gold, pp. 199-200]

First photograph of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá taken after World War I

FROM  ‘ABDU’L-BAHÁ, CENTRE OF THE COVENANT :

For any soul who walketh in the path of guidance, there is no doubt he shall endure hardships. Consider thou their Highness the Apostles; likewise the Assembly of Christians, who were sanctified souls; what calamities and persecutions hailed them in the Cause during the first and second century and even up to the third century!

Look thou around the world of existence: A little worldly transaction cannot be brought about except through surmounting many an obstacle. How much more important are the objects of the Supreme World! Certainly there existeth troubles, trials, afflictions, persecution, censure and contempt. When thou didst occupy thy time in the past to give out religious exhortations and advices, thou experienced some persecutions and trouble. But thou canst not realize in this present moment what great ordeals are in store and what unbearable calamities, affliction and adversity exist, and that to give up life is the easiest of all those calamities. But the end of all these is bliss, overflowing joy, everlasting exultation, happiness and supreme contentment. It is eternal life, never ending glory, a lordly gift and divine sovereignty!

In brief, thou hast asked concerning my desire for thee: I wish, if thou art worldly, to become heavenly; if thou art of the world of possession, become thou celestial; if thou art of the material sphere, become an inhabitant of the realm of Light; hasten from the world of darkness to the world of illumination and become the manifestor of the exhortations, advices and instructions of the Blessed Perfection. This is my greatest desire for thee.

Tablets of Abdu’l-Bahá v3, pp. 547-548