Ridvan 1992 will mark the inception of a Holy Year, during
which the Centenary of the Ascension of Bahá'u'lláh will be observed by
commemorations around the world and the inauguration of His Covenant will be
celebrated, in the City of the Covenant, by the holding of the second Bahá'í
World Congress.
(The Universal House of Justice, message to the Baha’is of the World,
January 2, 1986; ‘A Wider Horizon, Selected Letters 1983-1992’)
For the purpose of the Holy Year is not fulfilled by public
memorials alone, befitting as they will be. Essential to its purpose is the
opportunity it offers for inner reflection on the part of every Bahá'í
individual. Indeed, this is a special time for a rendezvous of the soul with
the Source of its light and guidance, a time to turn to Bahá'u'lláh, to seek to
obtain a deeper appreciation of His purpose, to renew allegiance to Him. This
is a time of retreat to one's innermost being, to the dwelling-place of the
Spirit of Bahá, that interior to which He summons us when He says: "Turn
thy sight unto thyself, that thou mayest find Me standing within thee, mighty,
powerful and self-subsisting." This is a time for recommitment to the
Covenant, for rededication to duty, for revitalizing the energy for teaching,
the "most meritorious of all deeds."
(The Universal House of Justice,
message to the Baha’is of the World, Ridvan 1992; ‘A Wider Horizon, Selected
Letters 1983-1992’)
