plendid gathering, a meeting of the maidservants of the
Merciful and the beloved of God. Whenever such gatherings have taken place
in this world, the results have been very great. They have exerted an
influence upon the world of hearts and minds. Wherever a lamp is lighted
in the night, naturally people are attracted and gather around it. When
you see such an assemblage as this, you may know that a light is
illumining the darkness. There are lamps the light of which is limited.
There are lamps the light of which is unlimited. There are lamps which
illumine small places and lamps which illumine the horizons. The lamp of
the guidance of God, wherever lighted, has shed its radiance throughout
the East and the West. Praise be to God! It has been lighted in this
country; day by day its radiance is becoming more resplendent and its
effulgence more widespread. This is not known now, but later on its traces
will become evident. Consider the days of Christ: how the light of
guidance brightened twelve hearts. How limited it seemed, but how
expansive it became afterward and illumined the world! You are not a large
body of people, but because the lamp of guidance has been lighted in your
hearts, the effects will be wonderful in the years to come. It is evident
and manifest that the world will be illumined by this light; therefore,
you must thank God that--praise be to God!--through His grace and favor the
lamp of the most great guidance has been ignited in your hearts, and He
has summoned you to His Kingdom. He has caused the call of the Supreme
Concourse to reach your ears. The doors of heaven have been opened unto
you. The Sun of Reality is shining upon you, the cloud of mercy is pouring
down, and the breezes of providence are wafting through your souls.
Although the bestowal is great and the grace is glorious, yet capacity and
readiness are requisite. Without capacity and readiness the divine bounty
will not become manifest and evident. No matter how much the cloud may
rain, the sun may shine and the breezes blow, the soil that is sterile
will give no growth. The ground that is pure and free from thorns and
thistles receives and produces through the rain of the cloud of mercy. No
matter how much the sun shines, it will have no effect upon the black
rock, but in a pure and polished mirror its lights become resplendent.
Therefore, we must develop capacity in order that the signs of the mercy
of the Lord may be revealed in us. We must