It was a rainy Thursday morning, August 24. Our family made our way to the Olympic Stadium by subway. When we exited the Sports Complex subway station, we climbed the stairs and, in a matter of seconds, we were walking towards the stadium, flanked on both sides by rows of flagpoles, which were flying the Unification flag along with the Korean flag. As we entered the stadium, it continued to rain. And as I looked around the huge stadium with the upper deck filled with brothers and sisters preparing for the Holy Wine Ceremony, I felt so small and insignificant. Reverend Kwak's familiar voice spoke strongly and enthusiastically, and it was only after the Japanese translation that Lynn Kim's clear feminine voice gave us the English translation.

Reverend Kwak's speech was extremely moving as he started out by reviewing the ideal of creation, especially emphasizing the meaning of the three blessings. He asked these about-to-be-blessed couples to look at themselves in relation to the world as it is today, a fallen world. He spoke of the law of vertical love which is the love God has for His children, or a couple has for their children. The love given by a parent to his or her child is given fully to one child, or many children. God can love all of His children fully.

But the law of horizontal love is that you love only one person 100%, absolutely, not 60% or 40%. In the Garden of Eden there was just Adam and Eve, the two of them. Their family was created after the Fall. There is an eastern saying that the "love between a parent and child goes on forever," but this is not so in the relationship between husband and wife many times. Rev. Kwak stressed that you cannot divorce now that you are receiving the Blessing. There is no child on earth who can accept the divorce of their parents. No child wants this.

After the speech ended, twelve representative couples entered the stage and the importance and significance of the Holy Wine ceremony was explained carefully in Korean, Japanese and English. The Holy Wine includes elements representing the earth, the sea and the sky, and through the Holy Wine ceremony, you can become one with the True Parents.

Each representative couple received the Holy Wine from Rev. and Mrs. Kwak, who represented our True Parents. As each bride received the cup from Rev. Kwak, she drank from it, and then gave it to her bridegroom to drink. The empty cup was then given back to the officiators.

As the couples on stage were partaking of this ceremony, all around the vast stadium, the couples were solemnly receiving the Holy Wine from elder blessed couples. This ceremony continued for a couple of hours, with a deep solemnity. One could see here and there tears of gratitude for this precious moment.

At the conclusion of this sacred ceremony, the couples regrouped to the lower tiers of the stadium and began the rehearsal for the wedding ceremony which would take place the following day.

And the torrential rains continued!

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