Chapter 28 - Attendance: Tears

Chapter Summary and Introduction

Filial sons and daughters of God, being one in heart with God, are God's eyes and shed God's tears. Such children of God shed tears of love, of sincerity, sympathy and empathy for the suffering of God and True Parents and for the suffering of mankind, past, present and future. Such filial children also shed tears in repentance for not having been able to do enough. They also shed tears of gratitude. Tears attract the Heart of love from God when they are shed for others.

What is the source of these tears? From where do the tears shed by sons and daughters of filial piety emerge? These tears come from the heart of love of filial sons and daughters who live in attendance of God and True Parents and for the sake of humankind, with absolute faith, absolute love, and absolute obedience and with no complaint. This depth of heart is the missing element in individuals who need to be restored. The difference between True Parents and us is this natural heart of love which sheds tears for the suffering and misfortune of others and for God.

The angelic world is a very high and bright spiritual realm. Yet they do not fully embody the heart of God. The heart of God is to be found in filial sons and daughters of God. On earth one can see very high and wealthy external environments. The angelic realm and the high and wealthy external environments on earth are lacking in the realm of the heart. It is from the realm of God's Heart that the tears of filial sons and daughter emerge. It is a most special realm of love. The purpose of restoration is to restore this heart of the love of God. The foundation of the Shim Jung Culture is the heart of love of parents and the heart of filial attendance. These are the pillars of the Kingdom of God on earth and in Heaven. Tears are an expression of the Heart of the Parental love of God and the heart of attendance of sons and daughters of filial piety.

Filial sons and daughters of God do not shed tears for themselves. Having embodied the heart of God, they shed tears for God, for mankind, and even for the creation. Embodying the heart of God, they have vertically established the Heavenly Parent and child relationship. They then multiply horizontally God's heart and love and establish an ideal family. Vertically, Moses had a deep love for God. Horizontally, that heart of love was expressed for his people. Moses had deep love for the Israelites. He shed tears for them. He suffered in agony in the wilderness waiting for the day when he could free his people. Jesus shed tears for God and for mankind. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Mother Teresa shed tears of love for the people. I have often wanted to understand why Muslims love Muhammad and the Quran so much. While looking at a picture of Averroes, the Muslim philosopher and physician, it suddenly came to me. Muhammad loves his people very much. He has shed many tears because of his love for them.

When an Abel person sheds tears for the Cain person, the elder son's birthright can be restored. This is the way of victory for the tribal messiah. Filial sons and daughters of God in their vertical relationship come to embody the heart of God. They then multiply the heart and love of God horizontally. The embodied heart and love of God in filial sons and daughters is the source of tears. They live a true life of filial attendance centered on the heart and true love of God.

The Words of Rev. Sun Myung Moon

You should understand that until the True Parents appeared on earth, there were so many unimaginably tearful situations. I don't know how many tears I had to shed in places of which you can't even conceive. I'm sure only God knows everything.

Throughout my life I have shed tears and blood while fighting Satan. That course was one of hardships and I cannot talk about it without shedding tears. God walked the path of tears, so I also had to go that path.

I did not go through that course shedding tears for my own sake. You should shed tears for God and True Parents. Without shedding tears, no one can go through the course of restoration. This is because God has walked this course of tears in order to save humankind. (Blessing Pt. 1 -- 151)

You should become the sons and daughters who, from the valley of tears, can receive a response when calling for the Father. You should become the people who, when you call, "Father!" from a place of tears, He will reply, "Yes! I am here." When you call, "Father!" from a place of piercing pain, shedding blood and sweat, He will reply, "I have endured, so you can too." When you call for Him even at the moment when death approaches, He will reply, "I am here, be at ease." The question is how much you attend the Father, how much you consult with Him and how much you live with Him in such situations. No matter how hard you call the Father from a place of self-centered glory it does no good because the Father has still not seen His day of glory. (11-102, 1961.2.12)

It was such a difficult job, that's why God has been suffering throughout history and His work has been prolonged until now. Otherwise why would almighty God have to toil like that? If He could teach us, He would have already done so long ago. It is Adam who was unable to understand something, so it is Adam who has to take responsibility and discover everything. He has to go through heaven and earth and discover everything. Then, how many tears he would have to shed for this!

Adam was chased out in tears, so how many tears should the new Adam shed in the course of restoration? In that sense, I am the king of tears. You should know that, representing history, I sought the way of truth and for that I shed many tears and prevailed over tremendous ordeals, tearing my flesh and shedding my blood. You must realize that you are attending that kind of incredible Parents. (222-241, 1991.11.3)

A nation will never perish if its leaders and followers communicate with one another in genuine tears in pursuit of one common purpose. Moreover, how could mankind ever perish if our tears and God's would blend as one? Men are destined to weep in the Last Days, whether they cry tears of sorrow or tears of joy. What sort of tears will you cry? (The Way -162)

You should not complain. There is no room for complaint. You should not think of yourself. Think about God with the heart, "If I complain, how much pain I will cause the True Parents! I understand their circumstances. If the moment comes when I can inherit their tradition, I will inherit it and while following them, I will comfort them." Then, if you shed tears with that kind of heart, God will share them with you. There is no doubt about that. You should shed tears for the sake of God and for the sake of the True Parents. You should know that this is the altar of the Unification Church. This is the life of attendance in the Unification Church. (114-281, 1981.10.20)

God has been shedding tears all these years, not for Himself but for humanity and the world. Therefore, we shed tears for God and humanity, not for ourselves. The secular world sheds tears, but heavenly tears should be greater than those tears. Knowing that the dispensational path had to be walked, I never cried for myself, or for my family and parents. I cried for God and humanity. My tears soaked all my clothes, even my thick winter clothes.

That's the only way I could inherit God's kingdom and lay the foundation for the Unification Church. Those tears are the root of the Unification Church. I would like to change the tears of people sorrowful for themselves into heavenly tears shed for God's circumstances. Neighbors and brothers tried to kill me by sentencing me to a prison where prisoners were worked and starved to death slowly. But I shed tears and overcame death. Even in prison I never complained. I never begged God to ease my pain. My only worry was that my blood and sweat were shed for God's sake.

My path has been nothing but a way of misery, many tears and much hardship. Do you think I am insensitive or dumb? Any time I take a beating or see some sorrow, I must shed tears for God. When those situations come to me I always think of God first, that I am the person to liberate Him. Then I cannot help but comfort Him and tell Him I am fine. I know also that God has shed many tears because of me, and that is why He cannot forget the Unification Church. (God's Warning II -- 127-128)

You have to long for God until your eyes feel like crumbling and your nose is full and stuffy. If a person cries excessively, his chest aches. That's how much you have to long for God. Even when crying out, "Father," you have to say it as if you were a son who is being dragged to the execution ground or as a son who is leaving for a far off country. In order to call out "Heavenly Father," we must have a higher standard than that. (50-288, 1971.11.8)

Who on earth can understand the life of Reverend Moon? His has been a life of misery, which he has endured by biting his tongue, for the sake of comforting God, and for the salvation of the fallen people of the world who are suffering in the realm of death. Even now, if one person were to look into my heart and speak a word of sympathy, I would burst into tears and they would flow like a great waterfall. (Messages of Peace 3 -- 55, 2006.4.10)

Thus, you have entered onto the restoration course which gradually elevates your heart and along which you then cannot go without shedding tears. Whatever good things you may have, when you eat, don't think about yourself first. It is supposed to be like this along the paths of a filial child and loyal citizen. In this way one should think of Heaven and humanity; so, when you eat, don't eat as if you were eating alone, but always eat as if you were eating through God. (Public Venue, 1999.1.5)

Your eyes lack tears. You who claim to be walking the path of filial son and patriot, facing heaven and attending the father who is alive and full of emotions, have eyes that do not shed tears. This is not how it is. (155-34)

It has been a path of indescribable pain and suffering. At each climax of indemnity, sacrifices were made that led to pools of blood, sweat and tears. It was the path of a lonely man. I swallowed desperate tears of blood and hid them within myself to comfort the heart of God, who was grieving over the tragic situation of the son He had sent forth. (Public Venue, 2004.5.1)

I cannot count the days I spent in tears and lamentation after I came to know this world of God's inner heart. Who could even dare to imagine the grief-stricken God? He has carried out His providence for thousands, even tens of thousands of years after the first human ancestors, whom He created as His children and tried to place in the eternal position of His object partners in true love, fell into the path of the human fall. God was sorrowful and mortified. Anger exploded within Him, and His heart overflowed with grief as He walked this course. He came as the Father and King of glory, but the enemy Satan stole His throne and His position as Parent. Though He was clearly alive and carrying out His providence, people said He's dead, and they mocked and mistreated Him. Still, He persevered on the path with patient endurance, waiting for the day when human beings would themselves understand the truth. Please understand that it is because God conducts His providence on a foundation of true love, which lives for the sake of others, and on the basis of eternity, that He did not just annihilate the universe and begin again after witnessing His children descend into the bottomless pit of the human fall.

With the power of His omniscience and omnipotence, He could have judged the world and Satan at once, smashing them to pieces. Though He has this power, He has chosen until now to absorb all the contempt and accusation into Himself. He has placed Himself in a prison-like environment, because He is our Father. Ladies and gentlemen, have you spent even one day before our Father God, shedding tears of sincere sympathy and repentance? Can you stand before God and close your eyes as if to block out how He bites His tongue and endures humankind that inherited the lineage of the devil and became the tool of Satan, and how He waits impatiently for the day of His liberation and release? (Public Venue, 2004.5.1)

Since these words came through tears, you have to give them through tears. You have to implant truth in this earth where there is no truth. (11-268)

How many tears have you shed for the sake of the nation, members and brothers, how much did you practice true love? This is the problem. Inasmuch as we, the Unification Church, are seeking the history of heart centering on this type of question, our standard cannot be lower than the heart of Jesus of the historical times. Centering on God's heart, we must be higher. (60-145)

When a mother feeds her children on her breast, do they think, "I am feeding them because I want to take back many times more from them in the future?" They are uneasy because they cannot give any more. What lasts for eternity is the heart of parents which sheds tears after giving something to the child because they cannot give something better. After doing so, although they want to give more but they cannot because they simple don't have any more, they will be moved to tears by this uneasy heart; this type of parent will surely educate their children to be filial. The process of restoration is the place where this heart is. Restoration becomes impossible when one leaves this course. (46-173)

The only way that a public figure in the Unification Church can help this world, full of tears, to make a transition into the kingdom of heaven is by possessing the heart of restoration and shedding tears.

Now, all of you understand, a true member of the Unification Church is someone who sheds tears, and a true leader is someone who sheds tears. Therefore, since there was much shedding of tears at the fall, restoration requires tears to be shed, and in doing so one should not be centered on oneself, but should cry a lot for the sake of God and humanity. The more one sheds tears the closer one will be to the realm of God's heart, and according to the laws of cause and effect this is how it must be.

So where is the cause of the tears? If it originated from the individual, then the tears are on the individual level. Based on the victorious foundation of that, they should progress to the family level, and centering on victory at the family level they must be further developed out towards the clan, people, nation and the world. Do you understand what I mean? [Yes] You have not been thinking about this. However, as you find it to be true by listening to these words, those that pledge to shed tears for the sake of humanity and follow the heart of God with tears raise you hand. Please put them down. (94-324)

The eyes of the church leaders should never be dry from lack of tears. Those that are really pitiful in this world are the church leaders. Church leaders are always in sorrow. When you think about the heart of God and the course of dispensation of restoration, then you would often feel that God is really miserable. When you think about what you should do to follow the path of restoration, when you think about how you cannot but walk this road because you are like that, you will often experience overwhelming sorrow and misery. Sometimes it is so overwhelming that you feel like you are going to faint. Without this kind of heart you cannot become someone who can live and work for the sake of God. When you see something bad, as you are walking around the village, you should become someone who can think, "This time I am passing by without doing anything, but just wait until the next time. I will clean up this place with my own hands." (46-298)

Your eyes must not be dried of tears. The eyes of leaders must always be filled with tears. Think about it. If you really understand me clearly and think about me, can your eyes be without tears? I was not supposed to go through suffering. I am suffering like this because the time was not ripe and the people did not fulfill their responsibility. (33-118)

A path leading to the valley of hell was created due to the failure in Adam's responsibility. No one knows how miserable the restoration course was, turning this situation around and re-establishing a path of life, while digesting humiliation, persecution, and a heart filled with bitter grief. Only God knows such things.

When spiritualists pray asking who Rev. Moon is, the heart of God can only respond in tears. Whenever I hear this, I simply say, "Father, it was nothing…." How many tears of gratitude He will shed! After I lived with this heart and showed the world these things, God was freed from His imprisonment. You must all be aware of this. My life goal was to revive Heavenly Father's heart, so that when I enter the spirit world, He will want to welcome and receive me with great joy, as someone worth tens of thousands of times more than Adam. (302-250, 1999.6.14)

Have you ever shed tears of gratitude? You should weep tears of gratitude to the extent that they flow down endlessly, falling down all around you and giving the impression that the spot that you are standing on has just been rained on. (181-217, 1988.10.3)

You may sometimes unconsciously feel lonely. At those moments you should realize that the loneliness is not your own loneliness but the loneliness that God is suffering through, the loneliness that the angelic world is experiencing, and the loneliness that our ancestors are going through. Every time you have this experience, you should cry on their behalf so that you can penetrate into their heart. (14-9)

Before doing anything else, a patriot will wail on behalf of the people. You have to understand this, are you clear? When a patriot looks at the people, the first thing that happens to him is shedding of tears. When a filial son thinks about his parents, his eyes will swell with tears. When one buys presents for the parents, if one's tears fill their eyes as they choose the gift, then no matter how evil a parent is, he will be melted by the tears of the filial son. Isn't this how it is? True love between brothers also follows the path of tears. This is how it works.

Therefore, a religious worker cannot be short on tears. You should experience shedding tears of joy as a member comes to visit you. Then see if his shadows will disappear from the grounds there. It will not disappear. This is an indisputable reality. Those who possess love will first shed tears before anything else. (50-317)

There is only one path of survival for this nation. It will turn around when the thirty million people weep loudly and shed tears. There is no way to survive without weeping. Then who is going to move them to tears? The history of our past, when we were fighting with dripping sweat, this historical material will move them to weep. Why? Countless people have beat us, driven us out, did all sorts of evil things, ordered us around as slaves according to their whims. When the time comes, the thirty million people will come to the realization that they cannot but support the will of God because of this fact. If ten people went through suffering in some village, then the ten people will talk about the past. As they report to all those who gather around, "Our past experience in the village was like this. Some grandfather chased us out like this, and so and so beat us brutally with a stick the people in the village will break in tears, and from this moment on, the road to rebirth will be opened. (155-330)

This Family Pledge is filled with the pain and suffering of God and True Parents, and it should not be recited without tears. It is something that people should recite forever, long after they discard the mask of religion in the fallen world and attain liberation. This is because the family is the basic unit of the kingdom of heaven. (Messages of Peace 14 -- 205, 2007.6.13)

Your eyes are dry and without tears. While you are walking the way of faith, you must go through the experience of crying with tears, drippings from nose and mouths join together and hang down like noodles, weeping violently and panting heavily. Do you understand what I am saying? [Yes] When you wait like that your lips will swell up. You have to shed such sad tears to the extent that the inside of the mouth all swells up. (56-36)

You should shed tears when you see a poor person in the village and as you pass in front of the house after having a meal. This should be your attitude. As you pass the house you should call out to God and pray in tears with your head cast down, "The reason that he is so poor is because the ancestor of mankind made the mistake and fell. Since I came with the parental mission to this village, I must be responsible for them, yet how much was I able to give you during over one year that I have spent in this village. I have not benefited you in any way." Ladies and gentlemen, have you ever had such heart? This is the Principle way.

Moreover, when you see the children in the village underfed and poorly clothed, your heart should be in agony. You should be engulfed by the thought and attitude day and night, "Who is responsible for causing you to suffer like this? It is because of me. In order for this village to go before heaven, the bridge to Cain cannot be laid down unless the foundation is built around me who came as a parent. Without this foundation, without making the connection to the parents, they cannot go to the kingdom of heaven. Since they, the village and I have some common bond, I should fulfill all of my responsibilities as a parent regardless of whether I live or die." This is the attitude of heart that the leaders in the regions who stand in the position of parents should have.

When you pick up your spoons to eat, as parents you should only be able to eat after being told by the starving people in the village that you should not worry about them and eat your meals because you always visit them and share all your food with them. This is how a parent is. Can parents with children eat alone? As parents divide the food among their children, telling them to eat, a mature child among them will say, "Father, mother, we are all right now, so please have some as well." As parents, this is the time that they can begin to eat. When you eat from this position, then you are able to eat with a hopeful and loving heart. That meal is not a sad meal but a happy meal, and is not a meal of hopelessness but of hope. The place that the parents and children eat that meal is not where they will meet a dead end, but a position in which bonds of moral laws and bonds of heaven and earth will be newly established. Therefore, that meal is a blessed meal, and that foundation is the basis of happiness. Shouldn't the parental heart wish that they would not fall away from such state?

As you see the gaunt children playing on the street who are underfed and poorly clothed, you should embrace them like your children. If you cannot do that, you should feel more shameful than a parent who is not being responsible for the child that you have given birth to, or who has passed the responsibility over to a nanny or perhaps is passing by the house that is taking care of your children on your behalf. This is the bond of heart. If your own children are that gaunt, then won't you grab on to them and shed tears until your bones melt and flesh become twisted?

This is the heart that you should possess. It is the same when you look at a person or look at a cow. You should have the heart to even grab on to the ears of cow and placing your forehead against its, cry in tears and say to the cow, "How wonderful would it be if you are tilling the land while being hit with the whip of True Parents? I have pity on you who are in the position of a miserable orphan and slave who cannot escape that fate."

It should be the same as you look at the fields and trees. You should tell them, "If you have historical resentments, you should resolve it while looking at me today. If you have some desire that you want to achieve, then you should tell me. I will connect you with the dispensation of God." Even as you look at the plane or the mountains and rivers, "How can I abandon you? I will go and visit every valley." You should go seeking for trees deep in the mountains who were never visited by their owners until now, "The reason that I came into the mountains looking for you is because I felt that the trees like you in this mountain are feeling lonely. So, I came to you considering you as their (the other trees) representative." Then, you should pray on behalf of the trees in the mountains of the village, or district, or county. You should pray that they could maintain the happiness felt today and by resolving all the sorrows by today. Free those coming after them from such agony.

As you look at a rock, before the rock expresses sorrow, you should manifest sad expressions in your face, which is full of tears, and say, "What kind of wishes did you hear from numerous people? Many people resented you and cursed at you, having all sorts of thought while looking at you, but I am not like that. How long have you been waiting for the day that you can meet me and express your joy?" If you can come to possess this type of heart, then your path will never be doomed.

Your good ancestors will come and intervene when you are about to face difficulties. Because the good ancestors stand in the position of servant of servants, when you, the servants, go, then they will go before you to prepare the way. Accordingly, there will emerge phenomena in which the spirit world is mobilized and help their descendants. Do you think this will take place or not?

This is the same when we view it centering on God. If God, who loves the archangel and Adam with the parental heart were being injured, wouldn't the whole spirit world mobilize to help God? It's the same logic. If you possess the heart of parent then such things will take place. Do you understand?

Everything is your responsibility. You should toil with the attitude, "I will be hit before you are hit, I will suffer before you do, and I will endure tribulations before you do. The failure to clean up this village is also my responsibility, and the failure to build the starting point of heaven in every place in the village is also my responsibility." Having done that, you should come back at night and pray for their blessing. You are not to lament for your own life but for the sake of the village and the descendants in it. Isn't such a person with the parental heart someone that the village would want to welcome as their ancestor? Won't this be true? [Yes] (46-280)

Human history started in misery, and God's history was also miserable. There was no sound of joyful laughter, only tears. The echo of those tears has resounded throughout history down to the present day. The sound of tears began history, continued through the centuries, and will be the future agenda of history unless we bring total change. This is the universal atmosphere surrounding our life…

If you are trying to be comfortable in a religious life, it cannot work. You have to shed tears; your eyes should not be dry, for there is no such thing as a true religion without tears. You do not know how much I have shed tears in prayer, like the flowing of a stream. You have to cross that creek of tears to meet God. If you shed tears out of self-pity, there is no way God can connect with you, but if you shed tears for humanity and the sorrow of God, He will be linked with you. (God's Warning II -- 110-112)

It is significant that tears come to our eyes on two different occasions -- when we are utterly happy and joyful, and when we are utterly sad and sorrowful. God has been crying as a broken-hearted God. When He suddenly finds absolute joy, will He start laughing or keep crying? Imagine lovers who have been separated by war, tearfully searching in hopes of finding each other. They shed tears because of sorrow at having lost each other, but suddenly upon finding each other their tears become tears of joy and they cry even harder.

Then in what circumstances does God want to meet His loved ones? God will meet His loved ones in a tearful place, in a tearful way. If you are absolutely sorrowful and are shaking with sobs then you are not only shedding tears, but fluid is coming from your nose and mouth as well. Have you ever cried in that fashion? If you have never experienced such tears, you have not yet tasted true love. If your expression of tragic sorrow is so deep that it cramps your insides and almost chokes you, in the moment you find your long-lost loved one, what happens? The shock of his return might be so dramatic that you would pass out! That is truly a dramatic encounter. Is that the most dramatic love of all, or is it still not quite at the center of true love? (God's Warning II -- 116-117)

Who here has experienced tears during prayer? Which kind of tears did you shed -- sad tears because you were tired and felt you couldn't go on? Have you shed tears for God? How do you know God has shed tears? Your experience with God has been indirect. How can you relate to God? How can you change and be linked directly to God? (God's Warning II -- 123-124)

Can you overcome what your eyes tell you? You weren't given eyes so you could look at the world in a secular way, but so you could shed God's tears. That's the most precious way to use your two eyes. (God's Warning II -- 126)

Those tears are the root of the Unification Church. I would like to change the tears of people sorrowful for themselves into heavenly tears shed for God's circumstances. Neighbors and brothers tried to kill me by sentencing me to a prison where prisoners were worked and starved to death slowly. But I shed tears and overcame death. Even in prison I never complained. I never begged God to ease my pain. My only worry was that my blood and sweat were shed for God's sake.

My path has been nothing but a way of misery, many tears and much hardship. Do you think I am insensitive or dumb? Any time I take a beating or see some sorrow, I must shed tears for God. When those situations come to me I always think of God first, that I am the person to liberate Him. Then I cannot help but comfort Him and tell Him I am fine. I know also that God has shed many tears because of me, and that is why He cannot forget the Unification Church.

People who communicate with the spirit world sometimes ask to know about me, and the answer comes to them in the form of desperate crying for days and nights. I cannot be described without tears. If you are without tears in the Unification Church, you cannot successfully go this way. I cannot feel close to people who do not know the taste of tears. Only those people who know tears can understand me.

Fallen humanity has been burdened by a debt of blood, sweat and tears. If you ask God to tell you some of His experiences since the fall, there is nothing else He can tell except a story of sweat and tears and blood. He has no other history but that. Today's Christians truly don't know what God is all about. They imagine Him sitting on a glorious throne enjoying life, but that is not true at all.

Someone has to liberate God, and He cannot do it Himself. The agony of parents, or of husband and wife, cannot be solved by themselves alone. The agony of parents can only be solved by children; the agony of a husband can only be solved by his wife, and the agony of a wife by her husband. The only way to liberate God from His sorrow is by becoming a son of filial piety to take over His agony…

A true son of filial piety will move his parents' heart to tears. The true loyal subject will move his king to tears. If many subjects can give their lives for their king and queen, they will certainly be moved to tears. That is my goal -- I am giving all my devotion to the task of liberating God from tears of sorrow and moving Him to shed tears of happiness. That is the root of the Unification Church…

We shall overcome the stony path of death and find life. This is why Jesus said that he who would save his life would lose it, and he who would give his life would save it. When we cross over that path of tears and the people of the world can shed tears of happiness, God will finally be able to shed tears of happiness. God is looking at this room, with five colors of skin gathered in one common love, for one common goal, shedding tears of joy and hope as parents and children, and that scene brings God tears of joy and hope. (God's Warning II -- 128-131)

Be filial sons and daughters who can console the Father with tears, since He cried for us first. (2004.5.1)

When you create a powerful resonance by shedding tears for God, the entire spiritual world will be mobilized. You should be able to inspire God with tears so that He thanks you and considers you better than Adam and Eve; otherwise you cannot touch the spiritual world. Only when God says in tears, "As betrayers' descendants, how can you be so good!", will the spiritual world come to your assistance. That is the point where spiritual world starts to open; anything below that standard absolutely will not work. This is the Principle. (96-262)

Parents are drawn to a person who, even while he bleeds and is in pain, says, "Please forgive my lack," and does not hesitate to shed his blood and work hard with agony. (Tribal Messiah -- 105, 1965.10.10)

True love between brothers also follows the path of tears. (50-317)

God would offer a hundred thanks to the brave man who would confess that he has not fought enough, that he lacks the qualifications to shed tears, or that he is concerned that the Father would shed tears if He saw him in sorrow. God would offer those thanks to the brave man who, in the unbearably bitter position of being whipped, would worry that God would be in a miserable position or who would be concerned that God would shed tears when he cries through clenched teeth, "My grief is nothing, my pain is nothing, my sorrow is nothing." God would offer those thanks to the brave man who would cry out and raise the flag of victory as the vanguard on the path to take vengeance upon the enemy. God would express His gratitude one hundred times, saying, "Should I call you a patriot, should I call you a son of filial piety, or should I call you a virtuous person? In all the history of the world there has been no person more precious than you." (153-269, 1964.3.26)

Blessed parents tell their children to study. Your sons and daughters do not become children of filial piety and loyal citizens just because you tell them to study. There is no way that could happen. They could say, "Although our parents have suffered in the Unification Church, we will not walk such a path." You must teach them the way of love that can assimilate that. Thus, parents should take their children around, loving the people in their village and praying and shedding tears for the nation, even if they have to skip meals. The children may think of it as bad when they are little but when they grow up they will say, "Our Dad and Mom are the best." They will understand that their mother and father do not shed tears for them. The more mature they become, the more they will come to realize that their parents tried to love the nation, serve God's will, and save humankind even though they had to abandon them. You should not live as you please. If you are only worried about your children, they will not succeed.

Raise them by feeding them the food of love. Give them a sense of the direction they can take with love. As they grow in age and wisdom, when they discover a gold mine, they will think it is a mountain with just a small gold nugget, but as they dig deeper, they will realize that the mountain itself could be made of gold. (139-77, 1986.1.26)

The truly filial son is the one who obeys. The truly loyal subject, even if falsely accused of being a treacherous vassal, does not speak ill of the king as an incompetent leader. Even if he is framed as a villainous courtier and faces death, with unswerving loyalty the truly loyal subject harbors sympathy for his king, sheds tears of compassion for him, and wishes him a long and healthy life. That is absolute obedience. The one and only path that can bring success through absolute obedience is the path of true love. (164-48, 1987.5.3)

We have to realize that we have the responsibility to fulfill our duty as filial children and patriots, even if it entails walking the path of suffering and tears in the place of God, the Lord of Heaven. Even if we collapse while trying to block God from walking the path of tears, we must pick ourselves up again and go this way in His place. The duties of loyalty and filial piety must be accomplished from this position. (41-157, 1971.2.14)

So what must be done to make you patriots, virtuous women, and filial sons and daughters of the Unification Church? You have to be separated. Do you think that one year is enough to do this? There is a saying that patriots are born to be so. If they are born with this kind of nature, then they have to remain faithful to their cause until they die. Then what must you do? The only way is to go along the path of suffering. That is the closest, shortest way. What is the shortest way to become patriots, virtuous women and filial sons and daughters? The only way is to live a public life with tears. I have no other recourse but to make you walk the path of hardship with tears. (155-259, 1965.10.31)

People generally tend to become dejected by the difficulties they encounter. A patriot cannot do that. A filial child also should not do this. If your spouse dies, or your child dies, you should not grab hold of them with tears. A true leader cannot do this. A true patriot cannot disclose his sorry situation. Therefore, even if your sadness is piercing your heart, you cannot show your tears.

You may not have the opportunity to commiserate with the king, but if you stand in the position of goodness with the mind of beings who are more than parents and who feel greater sorrow than the king then Heaven will then teach you what to do. When we think about this from the position of filial sons and daughters, then even if you are sad, you should not be sad because of your own sadness. If you feel resentful, you should not decide to take revenge on your enemy. (18-252, 1967.6.11)

Noah could overcome intense persecution amidst troubled circumstances by pouring every ounce of energy into his work. He went forth with a humble heart merely to obey God's laws as His faithful and filial child. The more Noah went before God, the more sorrow he felt from his heartless environment, and he would go to God shedding tears of repentance with a sorry heart. No one could block his path.

Just think about Noah who endured for 120 years. The satanic world set all sorts of schemes in motion to attack that one person, Noah, opposing him in every way possible; but he did not deviate in the slightest from the standard God had set. That standard established the absolute center of the cosmos, the man of righteousness of the universe, and the victor of truth. As such, God wanted to eliminate all elements of His enemies who opposed this standard. (18-159, 1967.6.4)

No matter how much evil we encounter in our social environment, we still have loving parents; how happy we are to be able to go to them and shed tears in their warm embrace! No amount of money could ever buy that feeling of embrace or comfort you receive from your father and mother while leaning your heavily burdened body, letting tears flow over their bosom and feeling their hands quietly caress you. It is in those times that you can have a heart of thankfulness, and feel joy that surpasses even that of an earthly commander who has just won a victory over the enemy forces. That is why I am asking you to become filial sons and daughters. (175-207, 1988.4.17)

Parents behold their devoted children with tears in their eyes and wish them eternal blessings. Such a background exists in the realm of the heart. It is fearful. In this world, there are many types of people who compare themselves with others; they may pray with those others, but in the end become isolated and finally leave. But when the true filial children become the center, then tears will flow in their home between them and their parents. They will become the devoted children of parents who wish that the blessing of the future nation will be with their family. (247-32, 1993.4.21)

In order to fulfill your duty of filial piety to your Parent who has been toiling strenuously for you, you must first console Him with your tears and then take the cross off His back and go forth, bearing it with dignity. With the heart of proclaiming the fact that the path of the cross God trod for His children has been miserable, you must stand in the position in which you are able to say, "Father, please don't suffer anymore. Father, please don't worry about me anymore!" Don't you think this is the face of the filial child who can stand before God, our Parent, who has been agonizing sorrowfully until now? When I think of it this way, I realize the fact that we, today, have been too brazen and arrogant before God. (31-35, 1970.4.12)

You should know that for tens of thousands of years, even millions of years, God has cried out for us, "My son and my daughter!" Have you ever ardently called out to God, "Father!" until your throat becomes hoarse and your tongue dry, until you cannot breathe and your eyes cannot open? How earnestly have you struggled to embrace that standard, which is that of the Subject of life? Your character is measured in proportion to your efforts to do this. (184-219, 1989.1.1)

Have you ever cried, longing to see God? Have you ever cried until your vocal cords ruptured and fluid streamed from your eyes and nose? Have you ever felt so mistreated and sorrowful that tears come to your eyes this way? This experience is crucial for entering the world of heart. (49-291, 1971.10.17)

You should shed tears and enter a serious state of mind that melts the bone marrow and calls for a one-to-one showdown. You should enter a state where you can have give and take with God with such an obedient mind that God cries when you cry and you cry when God cries. Whatever happens, you should be able to do that. To do so, you need to pray. You need a root and that root is prayer. (31-290, 1970.6.4)

How many tears have you shed for God? Have you ever struggled to seek out the path upon which you would suffer God's own pain and toil on His behalf, even though your own limbs might be torn off? You have never tried. In seeking to become God's children, you have to shed tears for the purpose of the whole. When you meet Him, your tears should gush out without ceasing as you comfort Him, saying, "Father, how great was Your sorrow upon losing me, Your son, and our first ancestors! Too many times throughout history until the present day have You suffered humiliation, pain and extreme hardship from their descendants!"

God could have judged the entire world and even Satan by His all-knowing and almighty authority. Our hearts break when we think of God crying out over the fact that even though He has toiled so long and is capable of pronouncing judgment, He still could not do so even if He wanted to. Our hearts break when we understand God's lonely, desolate position, not surrounded by the environment that should have existed, accused by Satan, robbed of His rightful place by the satanic world…. How much have you wept in sympathy with God's situation? It all comes down to this. (51-111, 1971.11.18)

I have sorrow and regret from times past. But my pain and grief are nothing compared to God's. God has not been able to fulfill His role as God. We should know that God's bitter tears which melt the marrow of His bones, and His bloodstains that spread throughout the course of history are crying out from the ground. I have been doing this work because I know that my remaining mission is to liberate God from His anguish. (137-175, 1986.1.1)

Human beings today are not God's children. No matter how much God weeps, we pretend not to see His tears. No matter how sorrowful He is, we pretend not to see. This is because the human race springs from the flesh and blood of Satan. They even celebrate to see God in sorrow, and they ridicule His ruin. How much trouble God takes to guide such people and teach them about the path they must forge! God could not guide providential history if He did not have a caring and sympathetic heart. (42-257, 1971.3.21)

When I ask God, "God, are You not this kind of person? The God I know is like this." God would take my hand and weep profusely, asking, "How did you find that out, my son?" When God hears this He will weep. Then how loud the sound of His weeping will be! God knows that this situation cannot continue for a thousand more years. Thus, He wipes away His tears, stops His weeping and says, "My son!" You must understand God's need for such a son and daughter. (176-263, 1988.5.11)

You should not let this historic teacher's anguish and God's historical pain flow by unnoticed. You should gently retain love in the deepest part of your heart. When you meet God in the other world, you should embrace Him and shed tears, saying, "I knew of Your grief and I tried to align myself accordingly, but I could not. Please forgive me." If that kind of heart leads you, even if you weep while grasping God, He will weep together with you and embrace you. (184-246, 1989.1.1)

You should shed tears for God and True Parents. No one can follow the path of restoration without shedding tears. This is because God has been walking the path of tears until now in order to save humankind. (God's Will -- 163, Korean Edition)

If your child does not accept it well, in order to bring him to repentance, you should love him with a greater love than you have shown him in the past; then even a delinquent child would be able to repent and turn around. However, if you scold your child repeatedly, and speak loudly about how well you have raised him, he will begin to pack his bags. But if you love them with a greater love, shedding tears as if your heart would melt for them, they will turn around. Greater love tends to take the lead in assimilating and integrating all other lesser forms of love. (Blessed Family -- 1027, Korean Edition)

Do not give egotistical sermons. Speak while shedding blood and sweat. Go through the pain of giving birth. Do that while shedding tears. If your eyes are not wet with tears, your sermon is contrived. (230-25, 1992.4.15)

The tears God has shed and the suffering He has endured until now were not for Him. God is still shedding tears for this universe that He created, and for fallen humankind. Why is that? Because He is a God of heart. (97-171, 1978.3.15)

The tears you shed and the amount your heart ached for the sake of love will constitute your assets. (103-27, 1979.1.28)

In order to realize the hope of tomorrow you should devote yourselves while shedding tears. You should exert your entire effort and mind, passion and devotion. (49-303, 1971.10.17)

Those who, in the course of their lives, experience the heart of God, who is guiding the providence amidst historical sorrow, cannot behold Him without tears, wherever they may be. Being in such a position, they understand God's will and struggle to become His children. When He finds such kindred spirits, God will come to that place and shed tears.

God's sorrow is embedded within us, and at the same time, within this nation, world and within all things. We should liquidate this sorrow and develop a movement to restore His joy. Experiencing God's sorrow is central to our life. (75-193, 1975.1.5)

You must witness even when it does not go well. It is like throwing stones into the sea. You keep on doing it and do not stop until the stones fill the sea and form a mountain. Through this, your heart grows. Even if your body remains unchanging, your heart grows.

Get up at dawn and pray with tears for your neighborhood and your mission area. This is the way of the heart and the way of establishing a spiritual bond with the spirit world. You should feel that if God were to look down upon this neighborhood, He could not help but shed tears because they are all destined for hell, and you would feel like shedding tears yourself in His place, in empathy with Him. When the force of sympathy enters you, enabling you to shed tears based on God's heart, the entire spirit world will be mobilized.

As human beings, you should be moved to tears in God's presence. Inspire Him to be grateful to you and able to shed tears, saying that although you are the descendants of fallen Adam and Eve, you are better than them. Otherwise you cannot communicate with the spirit world. Only when God is moved to tears and says, "As the descendants of fallen Adam and Eve, and as the descendants of traitors, how can you be like this!" Only then will the spirit world come to your assistance. The spirit world opens from there. Anything below that standard will never work. This is the Principle. (96-280, 1978.2.13)

In order to pass through the twelve gates in the spirit world, you will be asked how many people on this earth have you restored and retrieved from the satanic dominion to become citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven. You have to shed tears, sweat, and blood to do this. Based on a heart of true love for re-creation, you have to invest yourself more than parents do in the satanic world -- more than husband, wife, and children -- and go through the course where your tears, sweat, and blood intersect. Without doing so, you cannot claim your people in the Kingdom of Heaven. You should be aware that your position of glory in the spirit world and the degree to which you will be close to God will be determined in proportion to this result. (211-352, 1991.1.1)

What counts is how much a person received pain for the sake of heaven, how much he received pain for this world, and how many tears he shed. That is the ticket to pass into the next world. Make no mistake about this. It is absolute. This fits the theory. (97-172, 1978.3.15)

From now on, a long line of people will form to offer their property to heaven. It will be the longest line in the world. In other words, everyone should become a penniless person who has offered everything. Then there are only tears, mucus and blood left to offer. I was like that. There was nothing else left to offer. I offered all my life and property. If you have a savings bankbook for your sons and daughters, should you use that for them? Or should you use it for the salvation of the world? Only if you think in that way and act upon it can you participate in the ranks of the Messiah's chosen ones. You should live for others. Live for the whole and for the greater good. Live for the world, for God, and for the liberation of humankind. You have to motivate people to change to the new lineage through your efforts. (203-187, 1990.6.24)

You should get up early in the morning and pray in tears for your neighborhood, for the area of your responsibility. This is the way of the heart and the way of establishing a spiritual bond with the spirit world. You should feel that when God looks upon this neighborhood, He cannot help shedding tears because they are all destined for hell, and you would feel yourself shedding tears on behalf of God, feeling that you just had to weep. When a powerful resonance sets in, enabling you to shed tears based on God's heart, the entire spirit world will be mobilized. (96-282, 1978.2.13)

Since the spirit world has now moved extremely close, the age has come where good spirits will settle down on this earth. They will come and live here. To this day, Satan and evils spirits have divided up this earth and taken charge of it. But now, the good spirits will take over the earth and be in charge of it. For this to happen, members of the Unification Church must shed tears, sweat and blood, and offer devotion. You should pray with a fervent heart greater than the devotion offered by Christians and more than that of the Islamic faith, Buddhism and all other religions. You should pray, saying, "Since the substantial foundation has been restored on the earth through all of you spirits, the Unification Church will march forward through all the realms of spirit world based on this spiritual foundation!" (169-10, 1987.10.1)

When I prayed, I would weep so deeply that my cotton trousers would be drenched with tears, even in the depths of winter. Yet, how have you treated the Principle I found through such labors? When you come to find out about this reality in the spirit world, how will you approach me? Even Mother should be careful in dealing with me. There are many things that you do not know. Once you do know, you must join me on this path. When you go through the pass of deep sorrow, and even resolve to die wherever you are, with a loving heart, only then can your death be accepted as a heavenly death. That is how you can overcome death. It is a realm where death does not intervene. (253-325, 1994.1.30)

When I would pray kneeling on the floor, my tears never dried. I even had calluses on my knees. In Korea there is a saying, "A tower that is made with lots of care will never collapse." We have to be devoted to God. We have to enter into the state of mind where we feel pain in our heart to such an extent that we crazily love and long for God. If God could dwell somewhere on earth, His heart would visit that place a thousand times a day. But because there is no such place, God had no choice but to send me. Since this is the situation, you cannot help but love me. Can you simply love me so easily? In my case, when I prayed shedding tears during the three months of winter, sometimes my entire clothing would be completely soaked. Think about how desperate I was. On many occasions I prayed to God so seriously to demand a response, as if burying the blade of a dagger in the table. (60-212, 1972.8.17)

Because Adam was separated from God with tears, and was unable to feel God's heart, there must be a reunion with tears. Our tears must liberate the resentment of Cain and Abel who separated with tears. There is no other way to become united. Throughout the world, there are even grown men who cry wanting to see me. However, are there such people here? You terrible people! A long time ago, everyone was like that. In the early days of the church, everyone was like that.

Because women came to the Unification Church and followed me, their husbands complained that their wives were not coming to them. On the other hand, because men followed me, women complained that their husbands were not coming to them! It must be that way. If men want to see me, they should also shed tears. Those who cannot shed tears cannot enter heaven, even when the kingdom is established through the Unification movement. (31-332, 1970.6.7)

When you look in the mirror, you should ask yourself how much your eyes have shed tears in longing to see the Parents; how much your mouth cried out for the assuaging of the Parents' grief; how much your hands toiled while shedding blood for the land of the Parents; and how much your body has labored, until it shattered, for the foundation that the Parents are seeking. If you seek that path while feeling in your heart, "My grief is in not having been able to do those things!" it will become a path of happiness. A happy person is one who establishes a relationship with Heaven on that path. No one can dominate such a per-son. The only one that can move him is the Parent; the only one who can touch his heart is the Parent; the only one who can make him happy is the Parent. And the son is the only person who can make the Parent happy. The Parent's wishes lie in their son rather than in the parents themselves. (78-35, 1975.5.1)

Jesus says, "He who loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; and he who loves sons or daughters more than me is not worthy of me." He reached this conclusion for everything. Later, he also says, "Take up your cross and follow me." He said to take up your own cross. Overcoming the power that pulls you in the opposite direction means taking up the cross. There you must shed tears of bitterness. (178-97, 1988.6.1)

To become a leader, you must truly stand in the position of the doctor who cures the sick. If an ill person's spiritual situation begins to deteriorate, you will have to make an effort to cure that person's heart while you shed tears day or night, oblivious to time. That is a spiritual leader. How many nights have you stayed up trying to save lives? How busy have you been trying to save lives? If such deeds go up to the spirit world with you, then you will be the object of commendations and you will set an example of good character. (69-165, 1973.10.31)

You should be sweating when you give a sermon. Sweat should be running down your spine. It has to be done with tears and sweat. This is an ironclad rule. (160-194, 1969.5.12)

Even when I was tortured to the point where I threw up blood and collapsed, I prayed, "Dear Heavenly Father, please do not shed tears over my blood. This is going to be shameful blood, and any tears will be soaked in lamentations and resentment. I do not want heaven to sympathize." Therefore I did not pray for myself, even when I went into prison. In the light of the world of heart, this is what one must do. (26-20, 1969.10.14)

Abel must love Cain. He must subjugate him naturally with love. He must stand in the position of loving him with tears and blood. He must give love that is the loftiest. Otherwise, Cain will not relent and restoration cannot be carried out. (34-283, 1970.9.13)

In order to become good, you should not think that you have nothing to do with the evils of others. You should suffer for them, and pray throughout the night with tears for them, and live with the determination to offer a sacrifice of atonement for their sins. Such a person will surely become their central figure. (34-130, 1970.8.30)

In the future, as parents, you are to embrace your children and follow heavenly law. You should never shed tears in front of your children even if your living conditions become terribly difficult and you have to live in hardship. (23-182, 1969.5.18)

I did not cry even when my son Heung-jin passed away. Our departure for the spirit world is not a sad occasion. You should raise the flag of heaven amid the trumpet call for liberation. Go on boldly, unbeaten, while raising the flag that signals your glorious return to your homeland. This is the path that lets you proudly enter your hometown, where the nation and all of humanity will welcome you with cheers. It is not a sorrowful occasion. We do not shed tears in the Unification Church. What do we call this? We call it the Seunghwa Ceremony. (227-260, 1992.2.14)

All of you, why don't you try offering a prayer? The more you pray, the more you will find yourself in tears. The closer you get to Heavenly Father, the more you will grieve and lament. (8-114, 1959.11.22)

Since True Father knows the heart of God very deeply, just one word from anyone will restart the flow of tears from his eyes. The fact that God, who should rule freely over the whole universe and govern all the nations, had His ideal trampled upon, the ideal of His being the sovereign of all sovereigns and reigning over all of humanity in the parent-child relationship with the authority and power of the king of all ages is a truly mortifying reality. At this time, the day of glory on which we will rise up, defeat all the evil powers of this world, and restore the sovereignty longed for by God is now right before our eyes. (164-216, 1987.5.16)

People living in this present age have inherited the lineage of Satan. For this reason, they need to repent. It is a disgrace, for which they cannot show their faces before the Great Owner of the universe. They are shameful children who cannot call out to God, and instead need to hide behind rocks lest He sees even their backsides. They inherited the blood of the enemy of love. They must crawl on their stomachs, shed tears with runny noses, and be able to admit, "I deserve to be punished," even at the risk of their lives. They must find their true selves and be able to give out a cry of gratitude from the bottom of their hearts, even if they face certain death. They are piteous beings who are ignorant of the fact that they have fallen into a pit of eternal resentment where there is no love.

I came to realize that the fundamental issues of human life cannot be resolved without understanding the problems manifested throughout history, the true nature of the universe, and the grief of God. You do not know what trials I had to go through to find this path, unknown by anyone. You cannot even begin to fathom the hardships I went through in my youth, groping blindly in the dark in the quest for answers. However, I was triumphant in the end, built up an organization that can accomplish this task, not just in words but in deeds, and now the worldwide foundation testifies to it. Now the era has arrived in which anyone who comes running to us, holds fast to the banner, and turns around can enter the Kingdom of God. (209-292, 1990.11.30)

Those who yearn to love God must shed tears. In fact, their tears should not cease to flow. Those who are seeking God must shed sweat. Then, with parental hearts and the bodies of servants, they must sacrifice and serve from the position of Abel for humanity, and give everything they have with utmost devotion. In giving, they should not boast of it to others, but instead feel ashamed that they cannot give something better. This is what Godism is all about. (38-328, 1971.1.8)

When your ancestors crossed the Atlantic, they did not have a leader. They were just following God. During the War of Independence, though your army was weak, they followed God and fought on. You should know that they attended God as their captain, praying and shedding tears with Heaven. (131-315, 1984.5.19)

When you go out to your Home Church, you should welcome being cursed and treated with contempt. When you are mistreated, there is a reason. The reason you are being cursed and mistreated is so you can save your wife and children. You must cry ceaselessly through the night, clinging to your wife and children. You must cry out, "What is this? How can they oppose us when we go this way?" To shed tears is not a miserable thing. You should stand in a position where you can cry more than all the grieving people crying in this world. You should cry earnestly for the values of heaven. Then Home Church will become a valley and things will flow into it from the heavenly world. Their sympathy will be aroused and the whole world will move forward and unite into one. (181-286, 1988.10.3)

What is the source of God's bitter sorrow? It lies in the fact that, though He has shed tears for His people and the earth, He had no occasion to hold on to and shed tears of joy over His victorious son, the son for whom He always yearned.

God's anguish and sorrow stemmed from not having anyone whom He could acknowledge as His victorious son. Not only that, though He wandered endlessly to find His lost sons and daughters, none came to God and wept together with Him. (4-290, 1958.9.14)

You must cry, feeling an irresistible yearning for True Parents, who stand in the position of substantial God. You must want to see them over and over again. You must want to serve them after preparing a bowl of rice or a cup of water, however humble it might be. You must have that kind of sincere desire. You will be alright if your tears flow freely. In such a case, your heart and my heart will be united, and you and I will act in concert with one another. You will get to know my standard, the past that explains it, and the reasons and circumstances tied to it. Furthermore, you can inherit it and take it over. (38-75, 1971.1.1)

Is it just an ordinary thing for the spirit world to cooperate with me? However, now I must deal more severely with the spirit world and all other issues. When I see red, I can be fearsome. When I see red, I am merciless. I will wipe away all the historical indemnity, many times over. There is no way to comfort God who has seen blood spilled throughout the course of history. My idea is to stop this with my tears. (207-175, 1990.11.9)

God shed many tears for me. You did not know that, did you? Among all of you, where are the filial sons and daughters who make me shed many tears? That is what I desire. I have not been able to find such people until now. This is a serious matter. (256-26, 1994.3.12)

Once I turned to look back, and God, who was following me, embraced me in tears. When I turned to say, "You are the center of my love; I submit to You; I will absolutely follow You," God embraced me again. How great it is to be in such a position! Just as God gave me His position, I must also give God's position to all of you. (215-341, 1991.3.1)