arthra

From my limited experience I'd say that this is one of the Baha'i Holy Days that is sometimes overlooked and I'd like to know how other Baha'is have experienced this day.

It would seem to be an excellent to have programs about the Covenant..

It follows Thanksgiving in the US..so as I recall sometimes a potluck using T-day leftovers occurs.

This year the Holy Day happens to fall close to the first of Muharram a month when fighting is prohibited...that's pretty good.

Muharram - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

'The Day of the Covenant Nov. 26th and the Day of the Ascension Nov. 28th, anniversaries of the birth and the Ascension of Abdu'l-Bahá must be observed by the friends coming together, but work is not prohibited. In other words the friends must regard observance of these two anniversaries as obligatory--but suspension of work not to be regarded as obligatory.'

"The explanation of how 26 November came to be substituted, in relation to the Birthday of Abdu'l-Bahá, for 23 May is related by the late Hand of the Cause Hasan M. Balyuzi in his book, 'Abdu'l-Bahá', on page 523:

'Abdu'l-Bahá told the Bahá'ís that this day was not, under any circumstances, to be celebrated as His day of birth. It was the day of the Declaration of the Bab, exclusively associated with Him. But as the Bahá'ís begged for a day to be celebrated as His, He gave them November 26th, to be observed as the day of the appointment of the Centre of the Covenant...'

"The House of Justice hopes that this will assist your understanding of the significance of this important date in the Bahá'í calendar."

(From a letter written on behalf of the Universal House of Justice to the Administrative Committee for South Zaire, January 23, 1984)

arthra

There's an entire section in the new Australian Prayers and Readings on the Covenant.. this could be an appropriate source of readings for that day.

This prayer would seem appropriate:

O God! O God! From the unseen kingdom of Thy oneness behold us assembled in this spiritual meeting, believing in Thee, confident in Thy signs, firm in Thy Covenant and Testament, attracted to Thee, set aglow with the fire of Thy love and sincere in Thy Cause. We are servants in Thy vineyard, spreaders of Thy religion, devoted worshipers of Thy countenance, humble towards Thy loved ones, submissive before Thy door, and imploring Thee to confirm us in serving Thy chosen ones, to support us with Thine unseen hosts, to strengthen our loins in Thy servitude and to make us submissive and adoring subjects communing with Thee.

O our Lord! We are weak, and Thou art the Mighty, the Powerful. We are lifeless, and Thou art the great life-giving Spirit. We are needy, and Thou art the Sustainer, the Powerful.

O our Lord! Turn our faces unto Thy merciful countenance, feed us from Thy heavenly table with Thine abundant grace, assist us with the hosts of Thy supreme angels and confirm us through the holy ones of the Kingdom of Abhá.
Verily, Thou art the Generous, the Merciful. Thou art the Possessor of great bounty, and, verily, Thou art the Clement and the Gracious.

—‘Abdu’l-Bahá

Fadl

Arthra,

I LOVE day of the Covenant!

Do you know what we do? We roll it together with Thanksgiving, because they are near in occurrence and, in my opinion, near in spirit. I love to have a feast on this occasion, while sharing in the gladness of the covenant, and also having prayers of gratitude, and thankfulness. This is one of the prayers I love for the occasion before sharing in the feast:

This prayer is wonderful with good friends and family around, seated at a table with a wonderful turkey feast (if you are lucky enough to be somewhere that turkey can be obtained )

arthra

"We roll it together with Thanksgiving" right..

There's also the Firmness in the Covenant section of the US Prayer Book..currently on p. 67.

A special deepening program on the Covenant is something that we could benefit from..

Fadl

You see, I don't live in the US and think Thanksgiving is a nice family holiday but it is not international. I also think as Baha'is we could stand being more celebratory and joyous for certain occasions, so I have chosen to make this one of the joyous ones for me.

A good joyous feast, friends, family, some prayers, sharing food and love, these things are all very appropriate for the day of the covenant as an occasion to celebrate. I don't think doing this minimizes the importance of it, rather, I think it exalts it, and makes it memorable and something even anticipated every year.

arthra

O ye friends of my heart and soul! Slumber not for a moment; relax not nor linger for an instant. In a spirit of exceeding joy and gladness, with unswerving constancy in the Covenant and the Testament of the ever-forgiving Lord and in anticipation of attaining His luminous horizon, make the greatest effort to diffuse His sweet savours and bend your energies to promote His Cause.

Be ye heralds of the Covenant, and bearers of the glad-tidings of His Testament. Receive your portion from the breast of His grace, and with high resolve exert your utmost endeavour. Be set aglow with the fire of the love of God, and raise the anthem of jubilation with the full enthusiasm of your heart and soul, so that ye may become intimately familiar with His Call and be initiated into divine knowledge and wisdom.

This world is the empire of the spiritual sovereignty of the Abha Beauty, and this realm is the seat where the mighty throne of the Kingdom of the Exalted One [the Bab] is established. Its effulgent sun, its shining moon never set, its brilliant stars never fade, its bright horizon is never overcast. Its oceans surge and its birds soar in the heights. Its streams are living waters, soft-flowing rivers of immortality. Its trees are saplings planted in the orchard of the Lord of Glory.

Its dominion is the immensity of the realm of the placeless, and its territory the domain of the heart. Its abiding joy is attainment unto the presence of the ever-forgiving Lord. Its sustenance is the liberal bounty that His adored Beauty hath bestowed. Its chalice is the cup tempered at the Camphor Fountain, its designation, the Expanse of Eternal Life, a life that transcendeth the limitations of countless ages.

O my friends! This is the Call of the Covenant. This is the Dispensation of the Well-Beloved of all mankind. This is the gift that the Day-Star of the world hath graciously given. This is the revelation of His incorruptible grace, the manifestation of His perpetual assistance, the evidence of the power that is born of God and the potency of the bestowals proffered by the All-Merciful. What else do ye want? What else do ye expect? Which path do ye tread? Be quick, be quick! O companions! hurry, hurry! O ye loved ones! And upon ye be His glory!

~ Abdul-Baha

(Compilations, Fire and Light, p. 22)

Fadl

That is a magnificent quote.