Over a year has elapsed since that calamitous Hour, when the glorious Person of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá was veiled from mortal eyes and His Spirit ascended to the Kingdom of Glory; and I feel that the time is now ripe to take those fresh and momentous decisions which will enable us to fulfill, speedily and faithfully, the last wishes of our departed Master.

From the East and from the West, from the North and from the South, the unnumbered servants of Bahá’u’lláh, disdainful of the evil machinations of the enemies of His Cause, the breakers of His behests, have rallied to His Standard, and risen with one accord to carry on the great Work He has entrusted to their charge. All-hail to that undying spirit of fidelity which burns and shall burn unceasingly, in the breasts of His loved ones! Great shall be their reward, and blissful the hour, when after a toilsome life of service, they are gathered to the glory of Bahá, and partake in their Beloved’s Presence, of the joy of eternal Reunion.

But great achievements still await us in this world, and we feel confident that, by His grace and never-failing guidance, we shall now and ever prove ourselves worthy to fulfill His great Purpose for mankind. And who can fail to realize the sore need of bleeding humanity, in its present state of uncertainty and peril, for the regenerating Spirit of God, manifested this Day so powerfully in this Divine Dispensation? Four years of unprecedented warfare and world cataclysms, followed by another four years of bitter