My
father died on Friday, and I lamented his loss with questions of why. On
Saturday, I moved in a haze of numbness seeking distraction from reality. On
Sunday the tears seem never-ending
because there are so many unanswered questions.
My
father was an enigma. In anger, he sought vengeance, valued beauty and wealth, and yet seldom recognized it. He threw away
those most needful of him and therefore denied himself a blessed life.
We were estranged for many years, but age and ill health
erased many of the reasons, and I am thankful for the reconciliation, but now he’s gone, and I can only pray. . .
***
O Lord! In
this Most Great Dispensation Thou dost
accept the intercession of children in behalf of their parents. This is
one of the special infinite bestowals of
this Dispensation. Therefore, O Thou kind Lord, accept the request of
this Thy servant at the threshold of Thy singleness and submerge his father in
the ocean of Thy grace, because this daughter
hath arisen to render Thee service and is exerting effort at all times in the
pathway of Thy love. Verily, Thou art the Giver, the Forgiver and the
Kind!
‘Abdu’l-Bahá
O my God! O Thou
forgiver of sins! Bestower of gifts! Dispeller of afflictions!
Verily, I beseech Thee to forgive the sins of such as have abandoned the
physical garment and have ascended to the spiritual world.
O my Lord!
Purify them from trespasses, dispel their sorrows, and change their darkness
into light. Cause them to enter the garden of happiness, cleanse them with the most pure water, and grant them to behold Thy splendours on the loftiest mount.
‘Abdu’l-Bahá
THE LOVE OF GOD
Bahá'í prayer booklet is published by the
Bahá'í Publishing Trust
27 Rutland Gate,
London SW7 1PD
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