26 / In Montreal

26

In Montreal

May Maxwell made extensive preparations for ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s visit to her lovely home on Mount Royal in Montreal, Canada. Long before He had arrived in New York, His visit had been publicized in the Montreal Daily Star. A newspaper article later invited people to telephone the Maxwell home at “Uptown 3015” to make an appointment to see Him. May and her husband Sutherland bought new furniture, and they offered Him the top three stories of their four-story house.

On the evening of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s arrival, Sutherland met Him at the train station with two carriages to take Him to the Maxwell home. A group of friends and the editor of the Montreal Daily Star were waiting to see Him. May told Him, “So many people have telephoned and sent letters about your arrival and I have replied to all. I have become very tired but I consider this fatigue the greatest comfort of my life.”1

159

VOYAGE OF LOVE

May had been interested in religion since childhood, though her family was not religious. She grew up in New Jersey, and she liked to go into the woods alone to pray. When she was eleven years old, she dreamed of a light so bright that she was actually blinded for a day. Years later, she dreamed of a man in Eastern clothing, beckoning to her from across the Mediterranean Sea.

As a young woman, she lived in Paris with her mother, grandmother, and brother for several years, while her brother studied architecture. She spoke French fluently. But May often suffered from poor health, though doctors did not know why.

A friend of May’s family, Phoebe Hearst, was among the first group of Bahá’ís traveling to ‘Akká in 1898, along with Lua and Edward Getsinger. May was twenty-nine years old, and had been bedridden for nearly two years. Phoebe asked Edward, a physician, to examine May. When he did, he suggested that his wife Lua had just what May needed. Lua visited May and told her, “There is a prisoner in ‘Akká who holds the key to peace.”

May cried out, “I believe! I believe!” Then she fainted.2

When she awoke, she told Lua about her dream of the Eastern man. Lua said, “This is ‘Abdu’l-Bahá.”3

In spite of her illness, May decided to join the trip to ‘Akká. She kept a journal of her experiences. She said that when she met ‘Abdu’lBahá, she felt overwhelmed by His pure and holy spirit.

‘Abdu’l-Bahá invited His visitors to meet Him one Sunday morning under the cedar trees on Mount Carmel, where He had often sat with Bahá’u’lláh. But May grew ill the next day. She wrote about ‘Abdu’lBahá’s response:

160

IN MONTREAL

He came directly to my room and walking over to my bedside took both my hands in His, passed His hand over my brow, and gazed upon me with such gentleness and mercy that I forgot everything but the love and goodness of God, and my whole soul was healed and comforted. I looked up into His face and said, “I am well now. . . .” But He smiled and shook His head and bade me remain there quietly, until He should return at noon. Although I had been suffering during the night, all pain and distress were gone. . . . On Sunday morning we awakened with the joy and hope of the meeting on Mount Carmel. The Master arrived quite early and after looking at me, touching my head and counting my pulse, still holding my hand He said to the believers present, “There will be no meeting on Mount Carmel to-day. . . . We could not go and leave one of the beloved of God alone and sick. We could none of us be happy unless all the beloved were happy.4

May and her friends were surprised that the plans were cancelled because of just one person. It was so different from their everyday world, where schedules were given more importance than people’s emotions. She felt that ‘Abdu’l-Bahá was showing them a different world where love guided everyone’s actions.

When it was time for the group to leave ‘Akká, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá left them with encouraging words:

Now the time is come when we must part, but the separation is only of our bodies, in spirit we are united. . . . Never forget this:

161

VOYAGE OF LOVE

look at one another with the eye of perfection; look at Me, follow Me, be as I am; take no thought for yourselves or your lives, whether ye eat or whether ye sleep, whether ye are comfortable, whether ye are well or ill, whether ye are with friends or foes, whether ye receive praise or blame; for all of these things ye must not care at all. . . . Behold a candle. . . . It weeps its life away drop by drop in order to give forth its flame of light.5

When May returned to Paris, she was the only Bahá’í in Europe. But she began to share her experiences and beliefs with others. She taught the Faith to many, including Hippolyte Dreyfus, the first French Bahá’í; Thomas Breakwell, the first English Bahá’í; and Juliet Thompson, who became her dear friend. Years later, May’s daughter said, “I don’t think I ever knew anyone who inspired the love Mother did. . . .” Another time she said, “I can truly say of her that I never knew anyone to cross her path whom she did not in some way benefit— and that is saying a lot.”6

It was in Paris that May met William Sutherland Maxwell, her brother’s best friend and a fellow student of architecture. Everyone called him William, but May called him Sutherland. They fell in love. But Sutherland was so shy that he had trouble expressing himself when he wanted to ask May to marry him. She finally said, “Sutherland, are you proposing to me?”

He said, “Yes.”

May said, “I accept.” 7 They were married in London in 1902.

May and Sutherland moved to Montreal, Canada, where he joined

162

IN MONTREAL

his brother Edward’s architecture firm. Their talents blended well, and their firm became the largest in Canada until World War I. Their work included the Church of the Messiah in Montreal and the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, along with many other important buildings.

Sutherland had an exceptional ability for fine drawing and design, and he designed the Maxwell home himself. He excelled at artistic details, and he liked to be involved in every aspect of his designs. He would sometimes take the chisel from the stone carver and make changes that he called “sweetening the lines.” The craftsmen who worked with him had deep respect for his talent.

Sutherland was passionate about art and architecture of every culture and time period. He loved to collect books, and eventually had about four thousand volumes in his library. He also met with other architects and artists on Saturdays to paint. His watercolors were included in shows of the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts.

Today the work of Sutherland and Edward is considered a treasured contribution to the nation of Canada. The library at McGill University in Montreal includes 16,000 architectural drawings and 700 photographs of their work.

Sutherland was not at all interested in the Bahá’í Faith in the early days of his marriage. He told May, “You have become a Bahá’í. Very well, you are responsible for this yourself. I have no hand in it.”8 But he later became a Bahá’í. His faith deepened significantly when he joined his wife on a visit to ‘Abdu’l-Bahá in 1909. In later years, Sutherland moved to Haifa and designed the arcade and superstructure for the Shrine of the Báb, one of the holiest Bahá’í shrines in the world.

163

VOYAGE OF LOVE

On ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s first day in Montreal, a reporter asked Him if He had a message for the people of Canada. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá said, “Your country is very prosperous and very delightful in every aspect; you have peace and security amidst you; happiness and composure are your friends; surely you must thank God that you are so submerged in the sea of His mercy.”9

The next afternoon, Sutherland invited ‘Abdu’l-Bahá to take a carriage ride around Montreal. When they reached the huge Notre Dame church, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá got out of the carriage and went inside. He gazed at the vast building, with its grand architectural details and exquisite sculptures. When the church opened in 1829, it was the largest house of worship in North America. It is an honored part of Montreal’s heritage, and was named a basilica by the pope in 1982. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá told His companions, “Behold what eleven disciples of Christ have accomplished, how they sacrificed themselves! I exhort you to walk in their footsteps. When a person is detached, he is capable of revolutionizing the whole world.”10

On September 1, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá spoke at the Unitarian Church of the Messiah, which had been designed by the Maxwell brothers. When He arrived at the church, the pastor met Him at the entrance and respectfully took His arm and walked with Him to the pulpit, where he offered ‘Abdu’l-Bahá his own chair. After the service opened with music, the pastor read from the book of Isaiah in the Bible about the Promised One appearing in the East. Then the pastor introduced ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, saying that His message was “the Message of God” and that “His presence in this church is the cause of eternal honor and the fulfillment of our long-cherished hopes and desires. . . . We extend

164

IN MONTREAL

Him a sincere welcome and offer the incense of gratitude for His teachings which are the cause of the recovery of hearts and are the source of eternal blessings and happiness.”11 Then ‘Abdu’l-Bahá spoke to the congregation:

God, the Almighty, has created all mankind from the dust of earth. He has fashioned them all from the same elements; they are descended from the same race and live upon the same globe. . . . With impartial love and wisdom He has sent forth His Prophets and divine teachings. . . .

Consequently, Bahá’u’lláh proclaimed that . . . the religion or guidance of God must be the means of love and fellowship in the world. If religion proves to be the source of hatred, enmity and contention, if it becomes the cause of warfare and strife and influences men to kill each other, its absence is preferable. . . .

I pray God that these western peoples may become the means of establishing international peace and spreading the oneness of the world of humanity. . . .

O Thou compassionate, almighty One! This assemblage of souls have turned their faces unto Thee in supplication. With the utmost humility and submission they look toward Thy Kingdom and beg Thee for pardon and forgiveness. O God! Endear this assembly to Thyself. Sanctify these souls, and cast upon them the rays of Thy guidance. Illumine their hearts, and gladden their spirits with Thy glad tidings. Receive all of them in Thy holy Kingdom; confer upon them Thine inexhaustible bounty; make them happy in this world and in the world to come. . . . O Lord! Make us brethren in Thy love,

165

VOYAGE OF LOVE

and cause us to be loving toward all Thy children. Confirm us in service to the world of humanity so that we may become the servants of Thy servants, that we may love all Thy creatures and become compassionate to all Thy people. O Lord, Thou art the Almighty. Thou art the Merciful. Thou art the Forgiver. Thou art the Omnipotent.12

“O Lord! Make us brethren in Thy love, and cause us to be loving toward all Thy children. Confirm us in service to the world of humanity so that we may become the servants of Thy servants, that we may love all Thy creatures and become compassionate to all Thy people.” —‘Abdu’l-Bahá

166