June 17

This is the third time that I am in Chicago. It is now your turn to come and visit the Holy Shrine. Praise be to God that divine grace has encircled you! He has chosen you from among His creation and made you favorites of His court. How many are the divines who have called on God in their churches saying, `O our Lord! O our Lord!' Yet when their Lord appeared they remained veiled. You were neither ministers nor monks and you have attained this grace. This is what Christ meant when He said, `Many are called but few are chosen' [Matt. 20:16; 22:14]. Similarly, He said, `The people are entering the Kingdom from all directions but the sons of the Kingdom are leaving it.' Although from distant lands, you have become enlightened whereas most of the countrymen and neighbors of Bahá'u'lláh have remained veiled. Be thankful unto God! (‘Abdu’l-Baha, from an address in Chicago, October 31, 1912)