Respected and beloved blessed families and members around the world,
I pray that this will be a blessed week in which we keep Heavenly Parent’s love and the words of True Father and True Mother deep in our hearts, and carry their will into our daily lives.
The Words of Those Who Remember
When do we come to understand a person’s life most deeply?
Sometimes, after that person has left us, the words of those who knew them best help us see the meaning and value of their life more clearly.
The Roman centurion who witnessed Jesus’ execution saw him die on the cross. And he said, “Truly this was the Son of God.” Jesus had said many things during his life, yet this short statement from a man who saw him die was a powerful testimony to who Jesus was and how he had lived. In the same way, when Jonathan died, David wrote a song of mourning that expressed his love for Jonathan and the beauty of his life. Through David’s eyes and heart, that song became a lasting testimony to Jonathan.
In this way, the words of those who remember someone who has passed on are more than memories. They become a testimony to who that person was and what they lived for. When such words come from someone who shared that life most closely, they carry deep love and heart. Through them, we can understand the person’s life and purpose more deeply.
Meeting True Father Again through True Mother’s Words
In this sense, as we approach the 14th anniversary of True Father’s Seonghwa, it is especially meaningful to remember him through the words of True Mother, who walked beside him throughout his life and mission. Her words at Cheon Jeong Gung soon after Father’s Ascension reveal her deep heart and guidance on how we should remember True Father’s life and teachings, and how we should carry on his will.
Therefore, let us reflect this week, through True Mother’s words, on the purpose and value of True Father’s lifelong path, the teachings and true love that he left for us—and how we should live today. This should be more than a time of just remembering True Father. Through True Mother’s words, let us each meet him again and decide what we will carry forward from his will.
A Life Based on the Word and True Love
Right after True Father’s Seonghwa on the 17th day of the 7th month by the Heavenly Calendar in 2012, True Mother spoke at Cheon Jeong Gung about his life:
“The Word and true love! The Word is truth. It is the Principle. You promised together with Mother, ‘Through love, we will build one world of the culture of heart.’ I hope you will do your very best for this. In your families and as individuals, you already know how to live according to Father’s teachings. I do not need to tell you what to do. You know. Pledge that you will stand as mature sons and daughters.”
In this way, True Mother explained that the heart of True Father’s life and teachings was “the Word and true love.” She asked us to practice them in our personal lives and in our families. She also asked us to pledge to become mature sons and daughters who live by True Father’s words and true love—in short, true sons and daughters of Cheon Il Guk.
When we look back on True Father’s life, we can see that he devoted his life to teaching the truth through the Word and building a culture of heart through true love. Therefore, the best way to honor True Father is not simply to remember his life, but to practice his words and true love in our lives today.
The Blessed Families Who Will Carry On the Will
True Mother then said:
“Do you know that in front of future generations, as sons and daughters in the True Family, you are unique in history? You are the first and the last of your kind. You were born under the name of the True Family. This is the first time this has happened in 6,000 years. You must live according to Father’s words.”
Through these words, True Mother clearly explained what kind of people blessed members are. As we can also see through the teachings of the “Great Epic of the Chosen Han People of Korea,” which True Mother has recently emphasized, blessed families have a special place and mission in human history and the providence.
On this day, True Mother urged the blessed families, vertically connected to Heaven, to now expand true love outwardly to others, practice “life in the kingdom of heaven on earth,” embrace one another, and build one world of the culture of heart. She continued with these words:
“In the early days, Father raised many members through the Word, through love, and through close bonds of heart. I believe that, going forward, the Korean church and our worldwide church should become like this.”
“Even without explanation, we can feel and understand everything through the bonds we share and the deep affection that ties us together, centered on God. When we become one, everything connects and comes together. I will continue to nurture the bonds among the blessed families of the Unification Church, bound together by such deep affection, and their bond of unity with the True Family.”
Ultimately, our mission as blessed families is not limited to ourselves and our families. We must expand the bonds of heart formed centering on Heaven to our neighbors, churches, communities, and the world. For this reason, True Mother also spoke specifically about our demeanor, and about what we do and say:
“In your actions, words, and attitude, you should first be considerate of and care for others, and for the environment.”
True Mother gave us very practical guidance. In the end, our identity as blessed families must be shown through our lives. It is not enough to know the Word and speak about love. When we think of others first, care for them, and our lives are connected based on heart, the value of the Blessing we have received will be revealed.
This Week’s Practice: Meeting True Father One on One
Let us close by once again reading from the words True Mother gave that day.
“This is a very good time. It is a good time for you to meet Father one on one. Make your pledge and determination before Father. Pledge to him that, no matter how difficult things are, you will unite with me and go all the way to the end.”
She then said:
“It seems Father is listening to everything you are hoping for.”
Beloved members,
We will soon mark the 14th anniversary of the Seonghwa of the True Father of Heaven, Earth and Humankind. This week, as True Mother said, please take time to meet True Father in your heart, one on one. Quiet your mind and attend True Father at the center of your heart. Reflect on the path he walked and the words he left us. Then ask yourself: If True Father asked me one thing today, how would I respond?
This week, rather than a grand resolution, make one promise to True Father. Do not keep it only in your heart. Put it into practice in your life. Remembering True Father means more than calling out his name. It means living today in the way he hoped we would live.
Finally, we must remember that True Parents did not come to this earth only to teach the Word. They came to live it. As their children, our mission also cannot stop at sharing the Word. We must resolve to live the values of true love and true family ourselves. I believe this is the truest way to honor True Father.
In particular, True Mother’s words from detention center—“Do not pray for me. Pray for yourselves, your families, and for world peace!”—clearly show us where the practice of true love and true family should begin.
The week ahead has deeper and more solemn significance in our life and faith than perhaps any in our lives.
In all the years we have lived attending True Parents, we are now, for the first time, facing the unprecedented reality that neither of them is physically present among us. True Father is guiding the providence from the heavenly realms, while True Mother, bearing alone the cross of suffering and trials, remains in confinement.
At this time, when the warmth of True Parents, who have always embraced and guided us, feels further removed, our hearts are filled with an indescribable tenderness and an aching longing for them.
Yet the emptiness we feel at this time must not remain merely one of sadness or loneliness.
Just as, in the absence of their parents, children come to understand the true meaning of filial devotion and the weight of responsibility, this time of silence, with neither of our True Parents physically among us, is a providential moment calling us to resolve to fully demonstrate our true love and devotion.
I earnestly pray that throughout this week we will use this as a sacred time to pray and reflect in the depths of our souls on the significance of feeling such profound longing, and on what kind of sons and daughters we must become as we stand before our Parents’ tears and suffering.
