Tuesday, June 14, 2011

Pilgrimage Day 9: The Footsteps of 'Abdu'l-Baha

"O Lord, my God! Give me Thy grace to serve Thy loved ones, strengthen me in my servitude to Thee, illumine my brow with the light of adoration in Thy court of holiness, and of prayer to Thy kingdom of grandeur. Help me to be selfless at the heavenly entrance of Thy gate, and aid me to be detached from all things within Thy holy precincts. Lord! Give me to drink from the chalice of selflessness; with its robe clothe me, and in its ocean immerse me. Make me as dust in the pathway of Thy loved ones, and grant that I may offer up my soul for the earth ennobled by the footsteps of Thy chosen ones in Thy path, O Lord of Glory in the Highest." - 'Abdu'l-Baha 


Every step we have taken
On this journey of grace and wonderment
Has been living through Your eyes
Tasting the joy of Your presence
Watching Your light brighten the skies
Breathing the fragrance of Your essence

Each day we have spent with You
Has been a blessing and a treasure
But now we must bid good-bye to these unexplainable days
To walking in the footsteps of Your sacrifice and grace
To the potency of Your fire which has set us all ablaze
To a journey which now ends within Your warm embrace

But with joy we will take You with us
For we yearn to fulfill Your deepest longing
Take each step and each breath as we do
Let our desires and Yours become one and the same
In poverty accompany us as we travel for You
And help us cry to the world His Glorious Name

"O that I could travel, even though on foot and in the utmost poverty, to these regions, and, raising the call of "Ya Baha'u'l-Abha" in cities, villages, mountains, deserts and oceans, promote the divine teachings! This, alas, I cannot do. How intensely I deplore it! Please God, ye may achieve it." - 'Abdu'l-Baha