30 Dec | a.m

The hands of bounty have borne round the cup of everlasting life. Approach, and quaff your fill. Drink with healthy relish, O ye that are the very incarnations of longing, ye who are the embodiments of vehement desire!

- Baha'u'llah, Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah, p. 32

O maid-servant of God! verily, I long for that cup, which is overflowing with the bounty of God, as a patient desiring to be healed, as a thirsty soul seeking water, as the poor in quest of wealth, and as one in separation yearning after the meeting of the beloved one night and day.

- Abdu'l-Bahá, Tablets of Abdu'l-Bahá v2, p. 314

29 Dec | p.m

This is the day on which the Bird of Utterance hath warbled its melody upon the branches, in the name of its Lord, the God of Mercy. Blessed is the man that hath, on the wings of longing, soared towards God, the Lord of the Judgment Day.

 

- Baha'u'llah, Epistle to the Son of the Wolf, p. 94

29 Dec | a.m

The sincere soul longeth for nearness to God even as the suckling babe yearneth for its mother's breast, nay more ardent is his longing, could ye but know it! Again, his longing is even as the panting of one sore athirst after the living waters of grace, or the yearning of the sinner for forgiveness and mercy.

- Baha'u'llah, The Summons of the Lord of Hosts, p. 204

The companions of all who adore Thee are the tears they shed, and the comforters of such as seek Thee are the groans they utter, and the food of them who haste to meet Thee is the fragments of their broken hearts. How sweet to my taste is the bitterness of death suffered in Thy path, and how precious in my estimation are the shafts of Thine enemies when encountered for the sake of the exaltation of Thy Word!

- Baha'u'llah, Epistle to the Son of the Wolf, p. 95

28 Dec | p.m

Thus do We expound unto you the mysteries of the Cause, and impart unto you what shall render you independent of all that hath so far occupied you, that perchance ye may enter the Court of Holiness within this exalted Paradise. I swear by God! Whoso entereth therein shall never abandon its precincts, and whoso gazeth thereon shall never turn away therefrom, even should the swords of infidels and deniers rain blows upon him.

 

- Baha'u'llah, The Summons of the Lord of Hosts, p. 205

28 Dec | a.m

Only when the lamp of search, of earnest striving, of longing desire, of passionate devotion, of fervid love, of rapture, and ecstasy, is kindled within the seeker's heart, and the breeze of His loving-kindness is wafted upon his soul, will the darkness of error be dispelled, the mists of doubts and misgivings be dissipated, and the lights of knowledge and certitude envelop his being.

- Baha'u'llah, Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah, p. 266

Whenever this longing and desire is attained, that maid-servant of God [i.e., thyself] will become a lighted candle in the assemblage of the world, receiving the lights of the Kingdom and reflecting them in turn upon the souls.

- Abdu'l-Bahá, Tablets of Abdu'l-Bahá v3, p. 623

27 Dec | p.m

Should there be ignited in thy heart the burning brand of the love of God, thou wouldst seek neither rest nor composure, neither laughter nor repose, but wouldst hasten to scale the highest summits in the realms of divine nearness, sanctity, and beauty. Thou wouldst lament as a soul bereaved and weep as a heart filled with longing.

 

- Baha'u'llah, Gems of Divine Mysteries, p. 14

27 Dec | a.m

Should the greatness of this Day be revealed in its fullness, every man would forsake a myriad lives in his longing to partake, though it be for one moment, of its great glory - how much more this world and its corruptible treasures!

- Baha'u'llah, Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah, p. 197

The souls of the well-favored among the concourse on high, the sacred dwellers of the most exalted Paradise, are in this day filled with burning desire to return unto this world, that they may render such service as lieth in their power to the threshold of the Abhá Beauty.

- ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, quoted by Shoghi Effendi in The World Order of Baha'u'llah, p. 110

26 Dec | p.m

Verily, I say, so fierce is the blaze of the Bush of love, burning in the Sinai of the heart, that the streaming waters of holy utterance can never quench its flame. Oceans can never allay this Leviathan's burning thirst, and this Phoenix of the undying fire can abide nowhere save in the glow of the countenance of the Well-Beloved. Therefore, O brother! kindle with the oil of wisdom the lamp of the spirit within the innermost chamber of thy heart, and guard it with the globe of understanding, that the breath of the infidel may extinguish not its flame nor dim its brightness.

 

- Baha'u'llah, The Kitab-i-Iqan, p. 60

26 Dec | a.m

Until thou enter the Egypt of love, thou shalt never come to the Joseph of the Beauty of the Friend; and until, like Jacob, thou forsake thine outward eyes, thou shalt never open the eye of thine inward being; and until thou burn with the fire of love, thou shalt never commune with the Lover of Longing.

 

A lover feareth nothing and no harm can come nigh him: Thou seest him chill in the fire and dry in the sea.

- Baha'u'llah, The Seven Valleys, p. 9

Do not be content with showing friendship in words alone, let your heart burn with loving kindness for all who may cross your path.

- Abdu'l-Bahá, Paris Talks, p. 15

25 Dec | p.m

By My life! Couldst thou but know the things sent down by My Pen, and discover the treasures of My Cause, and the pearls of My mysteries which lie hid in the seas of My names and in the goblets of My words, thou wouldst for longing after His glorious and sublime Kingdom, lay down thy life in the path of God.

- Baha'u'llah, Epistle to the Son of the Wolf, p. 58

25 Dec | a.m

Let the flame of search burn with such fierceness within your hearts as to enable you to attain your supreme and most exalted goal - the station at which ye can draw nigh unto, and be united with, your Best-Beloved.

- Baha'u'llah, Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah, p. 323

Thus may your hearts be set aglow with the fire of the love of God and [may it] burn away the self-life.

- Abdu'l-Bahá, Tablets of Abdu'l-Bahá v3, p. 509

29 October | a.m

The hands of bounty have borne round the cup of everlasting life. Approach, and quaff your fill. Drink with healthy relish, O ye that are the very incarnations of longing, ye who are the embodiments of vehement desire!

- Baha'u'llah, Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah, p. 32

O maid-servant of God! verily, I long for that cup, which is overflowing with the bounty of God, as a patient desiring to be healed, as a thirsty soul seeking water, as the poor in quest of wealth, and as one in separation yearning after the meeting of the beloved one night and day.

- Abdu'l-Bahá, Tablets of Abdu'l-Bahá v2, p. 314

28 October | p.m

This is the day on which the Bird of Utterance hath warbled its melody upon the branches, in the name of its Lord, the God of Mercy. Blessed is the man that hath, on the wings of longing, soared towards God, the Lord of the Judgment Day.

- Baha'u'llah, Epistle to the Son of the Wolf, p. 94

28 October | a.m

The sincere soul longeth for nearness to God even as the suckling babe yearneth for its mother's breast, nay more ardent is his longing, could ye but know it! Again, his longing is even as the panting of one sore athirst after the living waters of grace, or the yearning of the sinner for forgiveness and mercy.

- Baha'u'llah, The Summons of the Lord of Hosts, p. 204

The companions of all who adore Thee are the tears they shed, and the comforters of such as seek Thee are the groans they utter, and the food of them who haste to meet Thee is the fragments of their broken hearts. How sweet to my taste is the bitterness of death suffered in Thy path, and how precious in my estimation are the shafts of Thine enemies when encountered for the sake of the exaltation of Thy Word!

- Baha'u'llah, Epistle to the Son of the Wolf, p. 95

27 October | p.m

Thus do We expound unto you the mysteries of the Cause, and impart unto you what shall render you independent of all that hath so far occupied you, that perchance ye may enter the Court of Holiness within this exalted Paradise. I swear by God! Whoso entereth therein shall never abandon its precincts, and whoso gazeth thereon shall never turn away therefrom, even should the swords of infidels and deniers rain blows upon him.

- Baha'u'llah, The Summons of the Lord of Hosts, p. 205

25 October | p.m

Verily, I say, so fierce is the blaze of the Bush of love, burning in the Sinai of the heart, that the streaming waters of holy utterance can never quench its flame. Oceans can never allay this Leviathan's burning thirst, and this Phoenix of the undying fire can abide nowhere save in the glow of the countenance of the Well-Beloved. Therefore, O brother! kindle with the oil of wisdom the lamp of the spirit within the innermost chamber of thy heart, and guard it with the globe of understanding, that the breath of the infidel may extinguish not its flame nor dim its brightness.

- Baha'u'llah, The Kitab-i-Iqan, p. 60

25 October | a.m

Until thou enter the Egypt of love, thou shalt never come to the Joseph of the Beauty of the Friend; and until, like Jacob, thou forsake thine outward eyes, thou shalt never open the eye of thine inward being; and until thou burn with the fire of love, thou shalt never commune with the Lover of Longing.

A lover feareth nothing and no harm can come nigh him: Thou seest him chill in the fire and dry in the sea.

- Baha'u'llah, The Seven Valleys, p. 9

Do not be content with showing friendship in words alone, let your heart burn with loving kindness for all who may cross your path.

- Abdu'l-Bahá, Paris Talks, p. 15

24 October | p.m

By My life! Couldst thou but know the things sent down by My Pen, and discover the treasures of My Cause, and the pearls of My mysteries which lie hid in the seas of My names and in the goblets of My words, thou wouldst for longing after His glorious and sublime Kingdom, lay down thy life in the path of God.

- Baha'u'llah, Epistle to the Son of the Wolf, p. 58

24 October | a.m

Let the flame of search burn with such fierceness within your hearts as to enable you to attain your supreme and most exalted goal - the station at which ye can draw nigh unto, and be united with, your Best-Beloved
- Baha'u'llah, Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah, p. 323

Thus may your hearts be set aglow with the fire of the love of God and [may it] burn away the self-life.

- Abdu'l-Bahá, Tablets of Abdu'l-Bahá v3, p. 509