Sun Myung Moon
January 2, 1966
Photo date and location unknown
Oh Father who created the universe! Please allow us to realize deeply at this time how earnestly You have longed for the day when You could share Your glory with all creation.
You created Adam and Eve and raised them in Your embrace. By having them begin a life of eternal love, You sought to establish a blessed land for all humanity. We realize once again that You are the Father who hoped to find joy through Adam and Eve as they grew up. We now also realize once again that You, who had such an earnest hope, lost Adam and Eve and have had to face a time of sorrow instead.
Father! On this earth there are many nations and peoples. They have had separate histories, and their living circumstances and hopes are different. When we consider again that this is contrary to Your original Will, we come to understand that the separation of these histories is Your grief, the separation in circumstances is Your grief, and the separation in hopes is also Your grief. When we think of the human reality, Father, we know that it is retribution for the Fall.
The past had to come from You, the present must come from You, and the future must form a connection with Your ideal. But today, people are living the tragic reality of not having a common base for relationships, nor a common living environment, nor a common worldview. Please allow us to hear once again in our minds the ghastly screams and groans of all human beings, who are living in a chaotic place where things are going in the wrong direction, where each person's position contradicts that of others. Please allow us to contemplate this together with Your heart, Father, to feel Your heart, and to become aware of the mistakes of the past.
Father! You need to have sons and daughters weeping tears of sincere repentance and pleading You to allow humanity to have hope that is blessed by You. But the more we feel we have been unable to do this, the more unable we are to raise our heads before You.
Today, there are many religions and churches moving toward a common goal, but we know there are not many humbly bowing down before You while weeping over the mournful path You have had to go and over the sorrow of the ghastly judgment humankind must receive. The pitiable people who have gathered here today have continuously trodden a path of anguish. They are Your sons and daughters who have continued fighting up to the present while embracing the command You have given them, their tired footsteps having led them to this place today. Please remember them.
Please permit this hour to be one in which we can repent of our sins of the past that linger into the present. Let us do this before we desire to receive blessings during this year. Since this people was unable to do this, we earnestly hope and pray, beloved Father, that You will let this be a time for us to repent with tears before You as representatives of this pitiable thirty million people of Korea, as representatives of the many denominations, and as representatives of innumerable devout believers.
Now we want to become the sons and daughters who can hold onto Your care worn hands, feeling concern about Your situation. We want to become the true sons and daughters who can look at Your anxious expression and Your grief stricken appearance, rush toward You, calling "Father!" put our arms around Your neck and weep loudly. However, if we do not have the heart to do so, we sincerely hope and pray, our Father of love, that You will let this be a time for us to tell You truthfully of our own accord that we are sinners, and yet be embraced in Your compassionate bosom.
We know that this path of life is one that we need to walk while making atonement with tears. We know only too well that since You, our Father, have walked this path, we as Your sons and daughters also need to do so. This was our lot last year and the year before that. We have endured and remain to this day, so please remember us. Now that we have ushered in the new year, please guide us to become Your children who can tighten our belts once again, trim our hair short, equip ourselves with a new fighting spirit and heavenly armaments, and race out in obedience to Your commands.
Father! We do not want to be people who just follow. We earnestly hope and pray that You will let us become people who emerge as the vanguard in front of You, in front of this people, and in front of humanity. Since it is Your deep regret that You have had to labor for many years in sadness, and since it is Your deep regret that many people became traitors to Heaven, we know very well that it is up to us to shoulder the cross of Heaven that is burdened with all these years of sorrow and all these tales of grief. We sincerely hope and desire that You will let us become Your sons and daughters who can now take responsibility for that burden, and feel joyful, of our own accord, in being offered as the heavenly sacrifice for all created things in this universe.
At this time, we will report to You honestly about everything in our past and hope that, on the basis of our pure and clear heart, only our yearning and our adoration for our Father will fill our being.
We earnestly hope and pray, Father, that You will permit us to become true filial sons and true filial daughters who can serve You with devotion, regardless of the condition and the circumstances You are in at this time, as we welcome this new year, we know there are many people in lonely places facing toward this Seoul headquarters and praying with tears. Please give them hope. Please, Father, do not defer the day of hope that they are wishing for. We earnestly desire and pray that You will let them feel the grief of this Korean people, that You will let them become those who can surmount and go beyond the sinful history of this people, and that You will guide them under Your direct dominion.
We know You are listening intently to the contents of the appeals we make as we continue to persevere, and we know very well that You protect us when we are lonely and miserable. We know that You reside there with us when we are persecuted and under duress. Since You do so, Father, please take control of each of our circumstances. We cannot express how sad we have made You. We sincerely hope and desire, Father, that You will enable us to avoid adding to Your sorrow this year.
We sincerely hope that, at this time, You will let each and every one of us have earnest hearts, gathering and dedicating our sincere devotion to You, prostrating ourselves with humility, calling out to You and weeping endlessly in Your embrace.
The Father we have been seeking has not been anyone else's Father. Since we know that You are our Father, we earnestly hope and pray that You will once again embrace in Your bosom these sorrowful children, who are standing on the destined road of restoration where they need to create a bond with You, Father.
I now stand before these people on this first Sabbath day of the new year, but what words should I speak to them? Please allow the heart of the one who conveys and the heart of the one who receives to unite. We hope that You will appear in our midst together with the power of creation. Please let this altar be one on which our hearts can be joined and offered as a single sacrifice, and please allow this hour to be one during which we can make an offering of the incense of atonement as representatives of all people.
We beseech You, Father, to let us shed tears on behalf of all people and on Your behalf, and that You will make this a time when You can come and lay bare Your aching heart. Please let the glory and victory of all generations be with us during this year. Let them be with this people, with all humankind, and with all spirits. Earnestly requesting this, we humbly pray all these things in the name of the Lord. Aju!