The Words of the Hyun Jin Moon
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The Words of the Hyun Jin Moon |
The speech that follows is Hyun-jin nim's first as Chairman of the WCSF Organizing Committee, a position Father appointed him to earlier this year. During the course of WCSF 2007, Hyun-jin nim spoke at many of the major events, including at two new initiatives organized by the Youth Federation for World Peace-the Global Peace NGO Seminar and the Global Peace Festival.
Members of the Universal Peace Federation's Presiding Council, esteemed leaders of Cheon Il Guk and Ambassadors for Peace representing 120 nations, youth leaders from all the world's faith traditions participating in the Inter-religious Peace Sports Festival, delegates from YFWP and World CARP, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen: Welcome to World Culture and Sports Festival 2007, a festival of peace for heaven and earth. This is truly a momentous year in the history of God's providence, as it represents the seventh year of Cheon Il Guk. Accordingly, the founders of this event, the Reverend Dr. and Mrs. Sun Myung Moon, the True Parents of Heaven and Earth, have declared this year to be a "Jubilee year in God's providence... the likes of which humankind has never experienced."
As you are well aware, in the Book of Genesis, God created our first human ancestors and all things in six days and rested on the seventh, declaring it the day of Sabbath in celebration of His divine act of creation and the hope of establishing a true family centered on true love, true life and true lineage. However, because of the fall of Adam and Eve, mankind spiraled away from God and His original dream. This dream, which has eluded humanity for thousands of years, was brought to light on a cold, windswept hilltop in North Korea when my father, deep in prayer on an Easter Sunday, felt the anguished heart of God and was anointed by Jesus to carry on the messianic mission to create one family under God.
I am proud to announce that my father has stayed true to this promise to God and Jesus those many years ago, and upon the foundation of untold sacrifices and blood, sweat and tears, we stand at this watershed moment in providential history. Therefore, the theme for this year's festival, "Advent of the Era for the Beginning of a New Universal Civilization of Peace," is not only fitting but a necessary goal for this year. It represents a turning point in God's providence where the yoke of satanic dominion is lifted through the ushering in "of a new sovereignty of goodness, in which humanity can attend God as the central being."
Humanity has endeavored throughout the ages to create a world of lasting peace, yet peace has eluded us. To live in a world without war has been the dream of every good man and good woman since the beginning of time. You who have gathered here today, who have come to compete and contribute, are being tasked with the responsibility of developing your character, along with your athletic skills and intellect so that you may be the peacemakers of tomorrow.
During the Seoul Olympics in 1988, my father proposed the holding of a World Culture and Sports Festival. He envisioned a global festival that included sports, the arts and culture, academic conferences, and an inter-religious and international celebration of marriage and family.
It was his feeling that many sports competitions and international festivals have become overly commercialized and often political, losing the greater vision of peace upon which they were founded. Unable to live up to their lofty visions for peace, many succumbed to the worst attributes of market capitalism and unchecked competition, which only exacerbated the divide between political factions, ethnic groups, races and nations. For this reason, the World Culture and Sports Festival is being held as a venue for fostering harmony among the peoples of the world and thereby engendering the creation of a culture of true love, a culture of heart, rooted in the dream of building one human family under God.
Begun in 1992, the World Culture and Sports Festival is now being held for the twelfth time. It is an umbrella festival covering several related activities, all of which are affirmations of humanity as one family under God. These include the International and Cross-Cultural Marriage Blessing Ceremony, the Inter-religious Peace Sports Festival, the World University Students Assembly the Mr. and Miss University Pageant, and others -- making this a sacred gathering of God's extended family. The goal of everything we do is to realize a world of true peace and a culture of heart -- a dream cherished by humankind throughout the ages.
The International and Cross-Cultural Marriage Blessing, or "World Peace Blessing" is the spiritual center of this festival. Young couples pledge to join their lives together for the sake of true love and everlasting peace. Along with couples who are already married, they will dedicate themselves and their lives in the sacred bond of trust that is a God-centered marriage, not only for their own personal happiness, but for the sake of building a world of peace for all humanity one family at a time.
Throughout history God has spoken in different voices, revealing the appropriate faith tradition to the different cultures and peoples of the earth through their religious teachers, but firmly rooted in His eternal principles. In organizing the World Culture and Sports Festival, we recognize that every religious tradition honors certain universal principles that come from an absolute, unique, unchanging and eternal creator. Rooted in "the way of the Heavenly Father," these principles are rooted in the divine act of true love, or living for the sake of others and the creation of God-centered families, where three generations live in harmony and love, establishing the three great kingships and the four great realms of heart.
The World Culture and Sports Festival is a celebration of what humanity could accomplish together if it is to realize the dream of building one God-centered family. Let us break down the walls of separation and division through the embrace of true love on the athletic field or in the conference halls and in our very homes. Let us become the owners of this "jubilee year" during this providential age of Cheon Il Guk and pioneer the path to establishing lasting peace in our lifetimes. Remember, everlasting peace can only be realized within a family where the vertical order of love centered upon God unlocks the doors to our individual and collective conscience, where we could find contrition, forgiveness, understanding and -- most of all -- true love.
Ladies and gentlemen, today, we stand on that proverbial mountaintop looking to new horizons, which could be our reality tomorrow if we are bold enough to take that first step. Will you raise your aspirations today to the highest of peaks and dream the greatest of all dreams? Let us stand together as the owners of God's dream to build one family under God, Aju!
Thank you very much, and may God's abundant blessing be upon you and your families.