324. Building a World of True Love, True Happiness and True Peace
Book 3: Cheon Il Guk and Our Mission
Part 3: Our Mission for the Secure Settlement of Cheon Il Guk
Chapter 4: Building a World of True Love, True Happiness and True Peace
This speech was given at a rally commemorating the 40th Anniversary of the God Bless America Festival at the Washington Monument, on September 17, 2016, at the Washington Monument, Washington, D.C.
Distinguished leaders, UPF Ambassadors for Peace, members of the American Clergy Leadership Conference; beloved blessed families and members of the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification! Thank you for joining this very historic program in honor of the 40th anniversary of the Washington Monument rally, held in 1976 to help revive America on the occasion of America's bicentennial.
God and True Parents' hope for America
The speech that my late husband, the Reverend Sun Myung Moon, delivered 40 years ago at that rally was entitled ''America and God's Will.” This message conveyed the essence of God's Will for this nation and highlighted the core teachings that have been the focus of our shared ministry for well over 50 years.
Today, just as on that memorable evening 40 years ago, we have gathered to ask the most important question: What is the Will of God, our Heavenly Parent and of True Parents for America?
Respected leaders!
I remember that day, 40 years ago, as if it were yesterday. The words Reverend Moon so passionately spoke are inscribed deep within my heart. They truly are the remedy that this nation needs in order to heal itself. My husband poured his entire heart and soul into the message he delivered, believing that the very destiny of this nation was at stake. God had called us to America to awaken this nation to its true mission and purpose: to be a beacon of hope and guidance for the world.
So many nights I have prayed for this nation and its people, crying out in hopes that America and the American people can embrace the vision my husband shared on that day 40 years ago! Unfortunately, many have not had "eyes to see, or ears to hear;” and yet, we never gave up. I was always with my husband, especially during the darkest times. We lived each and every moment of our lives in service to the Will of our Heavenly Parent.
Beloved leaders! Tragically, our current world does not manifest God's original, heavenly ideal. On the contrary, the individuals, families, societies, and nations of our world continue to experience division and conflict. Terrorism, gun violence, broken families, poverty, injustice and the severe degradation of our beautiful planet that is threatening human well-being make the headlines on a daily basis.
When God, the vertical True Parent of humankind, sees the gap between His ideal and our current reality, and witnesses the suffering of His sons and daughters, His heart is burdened with grief and pain. As the horizontal True Parents of humankind, Reverend Moon and I profoundly understand and share in God's grieving heart.
Respected leaders! God longs to restore humanity and to establish one universal family under God, creating a global culture of heart and true love, centering on True Parents. The providence of God is fulfilled only on the foundation of the fulfilment of our own portion of responsibility. If we, as God's sons and daughters, respond to God's Will and take action, history moves forward toward restoration and, ultimately, the fulfillment of God's original Will. However, if we fail to recognize or respond to God's Will, God's providence is blocked and prolonged.
Each one of you, especially the religious leaders, must understand and remember this point. It has been the primary mission and purpose of religion, led by prophets and men and women of faith, to lead the way in fulfilling God's ideal. This was the mission of Jesus and the essence of what he taught.
As we know, even though Jesus was the only begotten son and Messiah, he faced fierce opposition and rejection. Ultimately, contrary to his original mission, he tearfully went the way of the cross, and the complete fulfillment of God's Will was not achieved at that time. The fulfillment of the providence that God had so lovingly prepared over 4,000 biblical years, with blood, sweat and tears, had to be postponed.
Nevertheless, as the original True Parent of humankind, God could not abandon his children. A new dispensation for the salvation of humanity began. Now, please understand that God does not have a magic wand that can simply transform this world. God's providence always demands indemnity and the fulfillment of the human portion of responsibility, which requires our understanding of and our dutiful response to His Will.
Respected leaders! When looking at the history of the providence, we see that no matter what setback or opposition it encounters, God's providence continues! This is because God's heart of true love for His beloved children is eternal and absolute. For this reason, even after Jesus' ascension, Christianity spread throughout the world with Heaven's blessing, laying the foundation for the completion of God's providence. Indeed, just as with Rome at the time of Jesus, this nation of America was formed, protected and guided by Heaven so that God's providence could advance toward that end.
Understanding God's purpose for America, my husband and I came to this nation in 1971 with a clear mission. We came and invested our heart and soul to awaken this nation so that it could fulfill its mission and responsibility!
We could see that America was losing its way; its moral and spiritual foundation was in decline. We came here with a heart of desperation, prepared to give our lives. God had called us to America as firefighters to put out the flames of suffering and corruption, and as doctors to heal its wounds. We gave up everything to focus on this mission. Our family faced relentless persecution and opposition. Our children paid a very high price. Yet, we were determined to risk our lives and everything we had for the sake of God's Will, centered on the ideal of sacrificial true love.
America must fulfill its responsibility
Beloved leaders! You have been witnesses to the lives my husband and I have led. You have witnessed the kind of lives we led to realize God's Will. You have also witnessed the lives we led in the midst of persecution to awaken this blessed land of America to its God-given mission and to help it overcome the challenges it faces. I believe that you know the truth, that you have "eyes to see and ears to hear" and know for whose sake and for what purpose we dedicated our lives. Who can deny that America today is in great need of a spiritual awakening? The Yankee Stadium and Washington Monument rallies we convened in 1976, along with countless others over these four decades, were designed to awaken America to fulfill its providential responsibility.
Ladies and gentlemen! One of my saddest memories I have is the fact that my husband was unjustly imprisoned in Danbury, as a result of prejudice and ignorance. The man who gave his life for this nation faced humiliation and rejection. Seeing this miserable situation, God, our Heavenly Parent, wept.
Respected leaders! God has abundantly blessed America, but not for its own sake alone. America was called to serve God's providence as a true "elder son" nation that lives for the sake of other nations; America was called to help usher in a worldwide awakening that would open the way for a global culture of heart to emerge, one family under God.
On this auspicious day, I have an urgent message to convey to this blessed elder nation of America: “America, I proclaim and call upon you today to arise once more! You must not fail in your responsibility to serve God's providence!" For the sake of all those patriots who died for this nation, for the sake of the Pilgrim fathers who braved countless hardships in search of religious freedom, and for the sake of your ancestors, America must not fail to live up to its responsibility.
Beloved leaders! Ladies and gentlemen! We stand at a very serious time in this nation's history. Indeed, we are at a very serious point in the history of our world. To overcome this challenge and help realize God's ideal, I call upon Christian leaders, and all other religious leaders, to awaken and stand firm on behalf of God's Will. We must join together, going beyond the boundaries of race, ethnicity, gender, status, culture, belief and religion to form one family under God. I also call upon the legislators of this nation to set aside partisanship, and to move toward collaboration for the public good of the nation and for the sake of the entire world. Public servants must be awakened in the same way that spiritual leaders must be awakened to a life of service, living for the sake of others. That is the essence of good governance.
Respected leaders! Recently, on the foundation of the Universal Peace Federation, I launched the International Association of Parliamentarians for Peace. UPF is currently carrying out a series of International Leadership Conferences to launch the parliamentarians' association in the Asia-Pacific Region, in Africa, Europe, the Middle East, and Central and South America, culminating in December with a world level ILC in Washington, DC. These ILC programs are igniting enthusiasm among parliamentarians, who are representatives directly elected by the people, calling each one to transcend national interests and work together to realize a global community based on interdependence, mutual prosperity and universally shared values. I hope that many members of Congress can encourage and support this initiative and will work with parliamentarians from 194 nations in a spirit of harmony and cooperation to solve our serious global problems, such as climate change, the rise of violent extremism and the growing divisions among nations, peoples and religions. America should be the elder brother in unifying the peoples and nations of the world into one family under God.
Let us pledge to work together for God's providence
Respected leaders! Everything my husband and I have invested in this nation is for the sake of God's Will. God is looking to us at this time. God has not given up on this nation. However, God cannot wait forever.
The world is moving 180 degrees away from God's Will. God needs not only individuals but an entire nation to stand on His side and be his agent of change and transformation, centered on true love. Therefore, let us pledge to work together for the sake of God's providence, and for the sake of all 7.3 billion people on this Earth.
Will you do that? Can our Heavenly Parent trust your resolve and determination? If your answer is, "Yes!" Let us show our determination by giving a big round of applause to God and True Parents.
Beloved leaders! We have gathered here today not just to honor the events of 40 years ago, but to bring that work to a conclusion. There is no time to delay. It is time for us to overcome any attachment to individualism. It is time to live and work to love, care, serve and harmonize together as one family under God. If we unite centering on God and True Parents and work together, we can build a world of true love, true joy and true harmony. This is America's mission! Let us build the kingdom of God, right here in America, and let us spread true peace throughout the world.
God, our vertical True Parent, is here with us today. Also, my late husband and our True Father is surely present here today. I would like to ask you once more to pray and reflect deeply on this message. Please search your heart so that you will come to know and follow the Will of God and True Father for this nation. Their hearts are aching, and they are hoping that each one of you will rise up to lead America in a new direction, that it may become one nation under God, a nation that liberates not only the suffering heart of humanity, but also the painful suffering heart of our Heavenly Parent, who has longed for the day when all His sons and daughters can be embraced as His true children.
Let us be the ones who fulfill God and True Parents' Will at this crucial time in history. May God bless you and your families, and forevermore, may God bless America. Aju!
Part 3: Our Mission for the Secure Settlement of Cheon Il Guk
Chapter 4: Building a World of True Love, True Happiness and True Peace
This speech was given at a rally commemorating the 40th Anniversary of the God Bless America Festival at the Washington Monument, on September 17, 2016, at the Washington Monument, Washington, D.C.
Distinguished leaders, UPF Ambassadors for Peace, members of the American Clergy Leadership Conference; beloved blessed families and members of the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification! Thank you for joining this very historic program in honor of the 40th anniversary of the Washington Monument rally, held in 1976 to help revive America on the occasion of America's bicentennial.
God and True Parents' hope for America
The speech that my late husband, the Reverend Sun Myung Moon, delivered 40 years ago at that rally was entitled ''America and God's Will.” This message conveyed the essence of God's Will for this nation and highlighted the core teachings that have been the focus of our shared ministry for well over 50 years.
Today, just as on that memorable evening 40 years ago, we have gathered to ask the most important question: What is the Will of God, our Heavenly Parent and of True Parents for America?
Respected leaders!
I remember that day, 40 years ago, as if it were yesterday. The words Reverend Moon so passionately spoke are inscribed deep within my heart. They truly are the remedy that this nation needs in order to heal itself. My husband poured his entire heart and soul into the message he delivered, believing that the very destiny of this nation was at stake. God had called us to America to awaken this nation to its true mission and purpose: to be a beacon of hope and guidance for the world.
So many nights I have prayed for this nation and its people, crying out in hopes that America and the American people can embrace the vision my husband shared on that day 40 years ago! Unfortunately, many have not had "eyes to see, or ears to hear;” and yet, we never gave up. I was always with my husband, especially during the darkest times. We lived each and every moment of our lives in service to the Will of our Heavenly Parent.
Beloved leaders! Tragically, our current world does not manifest God's original, heavenly ideal. On the contrary, the individuals, families, societies, and nations of our world continue to experience division and conflict. Terrorism, gun violence, broken families, poverty, injustice and the severe degradation of our beautiful planet that is threatening human well-being make the headlines on a daily basis.
When God, the vertical True Parent of humankind, sees the gap between His ideal and our current reality, and witnesses the suffering of His sons and daughters, His heart is burdened with grief and pain. As the horizontal True Parents of humankind, Reverend Moon and I profoundly understand and share in God's grieving heart.
Respected leaders! God longs to restore humanity and to establish one universal family under God, creating a global culture of heart and true love, centering on True Parents. The providence of God is fulfilled only on the foundation of the fulfilment of our own portion of responsibility. If we, as God's sons and daughters, respond to God's Will and take action, history moves forward toward restoration and, ultimately, the fulfillment of God's original Will. However, if we fail to recognize or respond to God's Will, God's providence is blocked and prolonged.
Each one of you, especially the religious leaders, must understand and remember this point. It has been the primary mission and purpose of religion, led by prophets and men and women of faith, to lead the way in fulfilling God's ideal. This was the mission of Jesus and the essence of what he taught.
As we know, even though Jesus was the only begotten son and Messiah, he faced fierce opposition and rejection. Ultimately, contrary to his original mission, he tearfully went the way of the cross, and the complete fulfillment of God's Will was not achieved at that time. The fulfillment of the providence that God had so lovingly prepared over 4,000 biblical years, with blood, sweat and tears, had to be postponed.
Nevertheless, as the original True Parent of humankind, God could not abandon his children. A new dispensation for the salvation of humanity began. Now, please understand that God does not have a magic wand that can simply transform this world. God's providence always demands indemnity and the fulfillment of the human portion of responsibility, which requires our understanding of and our dutiful response to His Will.
Respected leaders! When looking at the history of the providence, we see that no matter what setback or opposition it encounters, God's providence continues! This is because God's heart of true love for His beloved children is eternal and absolute. For this reason, even after Jesus' ascension, Christianity spread throughout the world with Heaven's blessing, laying the foundation for the completion of God's providence. Indeed, just as with Rome at the time of Jesus, this nation of America was formed, protected and guided by Heaven so that God's providence could advance toward that end.
Understanding God's purpose for America, my husband and I came to this nation in 1971 with a clear mission. We came and invested our heart and soul to awaken this nation so that it could fulfill its mission and responsibility!
We could see that America was losing its way; its moral and spiritual foundation was in decline. We came here with a heart of desperation, prepared to give our lives. God had called us to America as firefighters to put out the flames of suffering and corruption, and as doctors to heal its wounds. We gave up everything to focus on this mission. Our family faced relentless persecution and opposition. Our children paid a very high price. Yet, we were determined to risk our lives and everything we had for the sake of God's Will, centered on the ideal of sacrificial true love.
America must fulfill its responsibility
Beloved leaders! You have been witnesses to the lives my husband and I have led. You have witnessed the kind of lives we led to realize God's Will. You have also witnessed the lives we led in the midst of persecution to awaken this blessed land of America to its God-given mission and to help it overcome the challenges it faces. I believe that you know the truth, that you have "eyes to see and ears to hear" and know for whose sake and for what purpose we dedicated our lives. Who can deny that America today is in great need of a spiritual awakening? The Yankee Stadium and Washington Monument rallies we convened in 1976, along with countless others over these four decades, were designed to awaken America to fulfill its providential responsibility.
Ladies and gentlemen! One of my saddest memories I have is the fact that my husband was unjustly imprisoned in Danbury, as a result of prejudice and ignorance. The man who gave his life for this nation faced humiliation and rejection. Seeing this miserable situation, God, our Heavenly Parent, wept.
Respected leaders! God has abundantly blessed America, but not for its own sake alone. America was called to serve God's providence as a true "elder son" nation that lives for the sake of other nations; America was called to help usher in a worldwide awakening that would open the way for a global culture of heart to emerge, one family under God.
On this auspicious day, I have an urgent message to convey to this blessed elder nation of America: “America, I proclaim and call upon you today to arise once more! You must not fail in your responsibility to serve God's providence!" For the sake of all those patriots who died for this nation, for the sake of the Pilgrim fathers who braved countless hardships in search of religious freedom, and for the sake of your ancestors, America must not fail to live up to its responsibility.
Beloved leaders! Ladies and gentlemen! We stand at a very serious time in this nation's history. Indeed, we are at a very serious point in the history of our world. To overcome this challenge and help realize God's ideal, I call upon Christian leaders, and all other religious leaders, to awaken and stand firm on behalf of God's Will. We must join together, going beyond the boundaries of race, ethnicity, gender, status, culture, belief and religion to form one family under God. I also call upon the legislators of this nation to set aside partisanship, and to move toward collaboration for the public good of the nation and for the sake of the entire world. Public servants must be awakened in the same way that spiritual leaders must be awakened to a life of service, living for the sake of others. That is the essence of good governance.
Respected leaders! Recently, on the foundation of the Universal Peace Federation, I launched the International Association of Parliamentarians for Peace. UPF is currently carrying out a series of International Leadership Conferences to launch the parliamentarians' association in the Asia-Pacific Region, in Africa, Europe, the Middle East, and Central and South America, culminating in December with a world level ILC in Washington, DC. These ILC programs are igniting enthusiasm among parliamentarians, who are representatives directly elected by the people, calling each one to transcend national interests and work together to realize a global community based on interdependence, mutual prosperity and universally shared values. I hope that many members of Congress can encourage and support this initiative and will work with parliamentarians from 194 nations in a spirit of harmony and cooperation to solve our serious global problems, such as climate change, the rise of violent extremism and the growing divisions among nations, peoples and religions. America should be the elder brother in unifying the peoples and nations of the world into one family under God.
Let us pledge to work together for God's providence
Respected leaders! Everything my husband and I have invested in this nation is for the sake of God's Will. God is looking to us at this time. God has not given up on this nation. However, God cannot wait forever.
The world is moving 180 degrees away from God's Will. God needs not only individuals but an entire nation to stand on His side and be his agent of change and transformation, centered on true love. Therefore, let us pledge to work together for the sake of God's providence, and for the sake of all 7.3 billion people on this Earth.
Will you do that? Can our Heavenly Parent trust your resolve and determination? If your answer is, "Yes!" Let us show our determination by giving a big round of applause to God and True Parents.
Beloved leaders! We have gathered here today not just to honor the events of 40 years ago, but to bring that work to a conclusion. There is no time to delay. It is time for us to overcome any attachment to individualism. It is time to live and work to love, care, serve and harmonize together as one family under God. If we unite centering on God and True Parents and work together, we can build a world of true love, true joy and true harmony. This is America's mission! Let us build the kingdom of God, right here in America, and let us spread true peace throughout the world.
God, our vertical True Parent, is here with us today. Also, my late husband and our True Father is surely present here today. I would like to ask you once more to pray and reflect deeply on this message. Please search your heart so that you will come to know and follow the Will of God and True Father for this nation. Their hearts are aching, and they are hoping that each one of you will rise up to lead America in a new direction, that it may become one nation under God, a nation that liberates not only the suffering heart of humanity, but also the painful suffering heart of our Heavenly Parent, who has longed for the day when all His sons and daughters can be embraced as His true children.
Let us be the ones who fulfill God and True Parents' Will at this crucial time in history. May God bless you and your families, and forevermore, may God bless America. Aju!
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