Newly-Weds Celebrate God’s Blessing
On August 27 thousands gathered at the Cheong Shim Peace World Stadium to commemorate True Father’s sixth Seonghwa anniversary and to celebrate the many couples participating in the Cosmic Hyojeong Blessing Ceremony. Sun Jin Moon read a heart-felt poem she wrote as a letter to her father, the Rev. Dr. Sun Myung Moon (True Father) entitled “A Night Without A Day.” Sun Jin Moon expressed how emotional it was to lose True Father and how everything became dark and lost until “in the pitch black of night like a super moon [True Mother] lit up the cosmos.” True Mother was the one who “bathed the world and heaven in divine light” and healed the broken hearts.
To celebrate all the Blessed couples, True Mother delivered a profound prayer stating, “True Parents know Heavenly Parent’s circumstances and they know humankind’s wish. Therefore, from that time on, for 58 years, True Parents have given birth to many Blessed couples and through them, children in their second and third generations are here today to receive the Blessing as good brides and good grooms.”
True Mother's Blessing Benediction
True Parent’s Benediction for the 2018 Hyojeong Cosmic Blessing Ceremony Officiated by the True Parents of Heaven, Earth, and Humankind, August 27, 2018, Cheongshim Peace World Center.
Our awesome Creator, God, our Heavenly Parent, the owner of true love!
How you have enduringly longed for this day to come!
You created all things for Your dream and through the first ancestors of humankind, Adam and Eve, whom You hoped would become the True Parents. However, due to the Fall, our Heavenly Parent had no choice but to carry out the resented providence of restoration through indemnity.
The providence of restoration through indemnity was filled with Your sorrow and toil. You struggled to establish a people and through them You finally sent Jesus, Your only begotten Son, for the first time, after 2,000 years.
Yet, human beings, ignorant of Heaven’s providence, anguished You once again. Central figures who had given birth to Jesus did not fulfill their responsibilities and Jesus had no choice but to die on the cross! He left a promise that he would come again and hold the Marriage Supper of the Lamb.
The Christian Church began based on earnest hearts and the revival by the Holy Spirit and in the desire to await the return of the Messiah, who had said he would return; yet, Christianity was unaware of his essence and of Heavenly Parent’s miserable providence. This is the reality of Christianity today.
Heavenly Parent, You have worked so hard! In front of You, I am filled with regret and remorse. After the long period of two thousand years, You succeeded in sending Your only begotten Daughter through the [Korean] people. Then in 1960, Your only begotten Daughter met Your only begotten Son and they rose to the position of the True Parents.
However, Christianity failed to provide an environment, leaving the True Parents to start from the very bottom with the Blessing of three couples. Fallen humankind cannot go in front of You without going through the True Parents.
True Parents know Heavenly Parent’s circumstances and they know humankind’s wish. Therefore, from that time on, for 58 years, True Parents have given birth to many Blessed couples and through them, children in their second and third generations are here today to receive the Blessing as good brides and good grooms.
Heavenly Parent! How much You have longed patiently for this day! Although we are unworthy, we know that through True Parents the path to go in front of Heavenly Parent has opened, as well as the way to Cheon Il Guk, which is the beginning of a new era and a new history.
Today, in this moment, we not only have those who are receiving the Blessing, but we are together with Blessed families, participating all over the world. We pledge centering on Heavenly Parent, together with all 7.6 billion people of the world, to fulfill our responsibilities by achieving Your dream, True Parents’ hope, and humankind’s hope, which is to build heaven on earth as one human family with absolute faith, absolute love, and absolute obedience as filial sons or daughters, loyal subjects to Heaven (Cheon Il Guk).
Heavenly Parent! Please receive this prayer with joy. We are undeserving, yet we promise until the day we leave earth, we will advance without ceasing to achieve Your dream. I pray and proclaim this in the name of the True Parents. Aju!
Local Blessing Ceremonies
While many couples were lucky to celebrate the Marriage Blessing Ceremony in Korea with True Parents, hundreds of other couples celebrated the Blessing Ceremony at home supported by their local communities.
The Wisconsin Family Church celebrated the Marriage Blessing Ceremony of one couple who was supported by 45 friends and family members. Three of the bride’s friends traveled from Thailand to join the celebration! They expressed their honor to be able to participant in such an event, and were deeply moved by the musical performance through the live broadcast from Korea.
The three communities in New Jersey, the Clifton Family Church, the Elizabeth Family Church and KEA joined together to celebrate and welcome the nine couples to the community of Blessed Families. The program concluded with a two-hour celebration banquet and dance in the well-decorated fellowship hall of the Clifton Family Church.
Approximately 50 guests attended the blessing of two couples from the Ohio Family Church who enjoyed a wonderfully decorated venue and a lovely sushi dinner.
In Houston, two couples celebrated the Blessing Ceremony, one a first generation Unificationist couple, where 25 people attended. The Houston Family Church worked hard to prepare the venue and set up the decorations to make the ceremony memorable.
The South Alabama Family Church honored True Father’s life with a Sunday Service followed by the Blessing of one couple. The room was organized and arranged with great attention to detail to honor the holy occasion.
In Washington, D.C. four couples received the Marriage Blessing which began with a pre-blessing on the significance and value of the holy wine followed by the Holy Wine Ceremony. Three of the four couples were invited as guests to be blessed. In accordance with the live broadcast, the ceremony continued with the Holy Water Ceremony, the Blessing Vows, the Blessing Ceremony and the Ring Ceremony. Before closing the program with three cheers of Og Mansei, Rev. Jean-Pierre Sonna encouraged the couples to complete the Blessing process by observing the 40-days of separation.
Approximately 70 people gathered to support the two couples from the Los Angeles Family Church who received the Blessing. Many volunteers decorated the Pasadena House and cooked the celebration dinner. Once the Blessing Ceremony was complete, the entire congregation cheered loudly for the newlyweds.
One lucky couple from the Tampa Family Church welcomed seven guests to a moving and cheerful Blessing celebration. Many of the guests felt the presence of True Parents with them which brought some to tears. The couple felt nothing but love and support from their community.
At the Kansas City Family Church, 46 Unificationist and guests gathered for a potluck dinner and the live viewing of the broadcast. One couple received the Blessing that day. A guest said, “I really enjoyed last night’s ceremony very much! The couple looked so happy and the live video presentation was excellent. Thank you for inviting me and congratulations on your new daughter-in-law, who seems to be a lovely person!”
In Kodiak, AK a young couple received the Blessing with 50 guests and Unificationists in attendance.
One young couple from Kona, Hawaii received the Blessing while being surrounded by loving family members including the bride’s mother who flew in from Japan! The intimate occasion concluded with the singing of holy songs by the bride’s mother accompanied by a piano played by the groom’s mother.
The Las Vegas Family Community had over 40 Unificationists work together as a team to bring a wonderful tribute to True Father. The International Peace Education Center was decorated to welcome over 250 people, including the 14 couples receiving the Blessing. A table was set up with photos and memorabilia from past Blessings and a presentation of True Parents’ life.
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Brenda Muraoka
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Thank you. Such beautiful testimonies from many places. Helps those less connected feel hope and energy to do more!
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