ss Holy Tree of sanctity and oneness, cannot be told in
words, and my most ardent wish is that I might correspond with each one of
you, but our alarm and grief over this momentous happening, this terrible
affliction and ill-omened agony, this inexorable divine decree, the
passing of 'Abdu'l-Baha--may our souls be offered up for all the wrongs He
bore!--has left us wretched, desolate, to such a degree that there is no
peace in the spirit, no will to endure in the heart.

This is an earthquake which shook the foundations of our lives, this is a
wailing and an uproar within the Company on High. The lightning bolt of
this departure has set the very world aflame, and the fires of this
leave-taking have scorched the whole earth.

The grieving dwellers in the courts of holiness have rent their garments
of long-suffering, and the household of the Most High have put on mourning
dress. Truly the people of Baha and those who are kin to the divine
Lote-Tree are sharing with us the pangs of this bereavement, this direst
of torments, and are partners in anguish of those who suffer here.

Now that this dread event has come upon us all, it is to be hoped that new
stirrings and wondrous new vibrations will be felt; that a renewed
staunchness and fidelity, an ever more vigorous firmness and loyalty, will
take over and astound the world. Thus all will clearly understand that
even though that sacred and mysterious Being has laid aside the garment of
His mortal life, even though that Bird of eternity has abandoned the cage
of this earth, still is His spirit in our midst, still is He watching over
us all from the realm of the All-Glorious, ever is He gladdening the
hearts of the beloved, and to the souls of those who are fast-rooted in
the Covenant, ever is He bringing tidings of great joy.

45: The good news has come that the Will and ...

(168) The good news has come that the Will and Testament of 'Abdu'l-Baha,
may our lives be sacrificed for His meekness, has been read at the
meetings of the friends, and we here are rejoiced to learn of their unity
and their steadfastness and loyalty, and of their directing themselves
toward the designated Centre, the named and specified Guardian of the
Cause of God, the interpreter of the Book of God, the protector of His
Faith, the keeper of His Law, Shoghi Effendi. This news brought extreme
joy.

It is certain that enlightened and sensitive minds and spiritual hearts
will continually obtai