Book Seven - Etiquette And Ceremonies
Chapter Four - Tradition and Daily Etiquette of Blessed Families
Section 13. Ancestral Rituals for Blessed Families

13.1. Laws on ancestor worship were originally part of heavenly law.

A long time ago, when the families of loyal subjects received something good, they first offered it to the king of the nation. That was the rule of the life of loyalty in Korea. From that perspective, Korean courtesy reflects something central to heaven that cannot be fond in any other nation. Confucians follow the teachings of Confucius, and there is quite a lot of traditional conduct prescribed in Confucian teachings that is close to heavenly law. You should ask your descendants to perform a sacrificial rite for you in the future. So far, the regulations of life and the procedure for holding a funeral have not been established centering upon the Principle. but once the standard is established in the future, you should follow it.

You should develop and protect the vitality of life in order to survive and grow, no matter what kind of storm comes, overcoming your environment and taking root deeply, centered upon the belief that God is always with you in every situation. If you become like that, it will not be a problem for God to set up His laws. But if you do not develop like that, it becomes problematic. (31-292, 1970.6 4)

What will you do in your hometown? First of all, you must devotedly take care of the graves of your ancestors. Because the Korean custom is to honor them, if you have not been able to fulfill your responsibility as the eldest son of the head family in your hometown, you should erect a headstone, plant trees in this desolate land that your grandfather loved, create an ideal environment on the hillside that your grandmother enjoyed, and clean up the village so that all the mountains and streams in your hometown can praise you. If you can do this, how would you feel? After doing this, would you become the head of your hometown or not? In the past, being the head of a group meant something had, but now it means that you have to become a king and chief in doing good works. (219-148, 1991.8.29)

You are all historical reincarnations, wearing the faces of your ancestors, how long is this history? It is known to be hundreds of thousands of years old, the long course of history was intended to eventually create one person, yourself. In order to create one such person, for example, from the Kim family, countless ancestors came and went. Therefore, we are the fruits of human history. (46-154, 1971.8.13)

You have to live life in such a way that you are not ashamed in front of your ancestors. You must love the nation more than your ancestors did. Love is such that if you give one hundred percent, 120 percent returns. The more you practice true love, the more it accumulates. It has been moving history. (179 93, 1903.7.22)

If your grandparents are deceased, you should visit their graves. When you visit their graves, you should pay your respects to them as if God were buried in that grave. On that day, you should repent for not attending your grandparents during your lifetime. (220-89, 1991.10.20)

Your ancestors come on the anniversary of the day that they passed away. Prepare an offering table and hold a memorial service for them then. If you do it in a room that has True Parents' picture, bowing to your ancestors would not be a sin. It is not a sin to prepare offering food and perform memorial services for your ancestors. (212-100, 1991.1.2)

The Unification Church allows the honoring of ancestors. We should carry on that tradition. In the future, this will be done in the opposite way from the secular tradition; instead it will be centered on True Parents. This is not a secular tradition from the secular world. If we attend the heavenly Parent, kingdom, and ancestors, a royal domain can emerge, where we can eternally attend the realm of tribal messiahship as part of the mainstream lineage, which can bequeath the way of attendance to succeeding generations. It will be a nation where you can attend the King and sing praises for the eternal reign of peace and prosperity. You, your mother, father. family, and tribe can go directly to heaven only after having lived in such a nation. (220-221, 1991.10.19)

You should value the right of the chosen people and their lineage. The right of the chosen people is the right of the firstborn son. Korea is the eldest son nation. The purpose of Koreans becoming a people that love their genealogy was for the sake of carrying on the lineage. It is not wrong to honor your ancestors and perform annual memorial services on the day they departed. In the future, there will be a time when we revere our parents more than do those who belong to Confucianism. (226-477, 1992.2.9)

Is it all right for the Unification Church to offer ancestral rites? It is liberating for us! From now on, you will be allowed to perform ancestral rites. Formerly, God did not want us to hold ancestral rites. Korean laws on honoring ancestors are the heavenly law. Koreans are a unique race in the world. Only Korea is practicing this way. (240-94, 1992.12.11)

On the day of the memorial service, the firstborn son of the eldest son decides the time of the service. That is why you can hold the service at five o'clock in the morning, even if previously it was done at one o'clock. Depending on the circumstances, the time can be changed again from five to seven o'clock in the morning or even sometime during the day. The person who decides this is not your grandfather or ancestor who has passed away but the firstborn son. The offering table can be presented to the grandparents who passed away only when they come at the time designated by the firstborn son of the eldest son. If the grandparents do not like that time, they will not be served. The earth is the center. It is the same logic as Jesus said "What is unbound on earth is unbound in heaven." That is why the two must become one. (231-166, 1992.6.2)

When you perform ancestral rites, you have the firstborn son of the eldest son stand at the head even before his uncle, cousin, third-cousin, and even his great-uncle. In reverence to the ancestors in traditional Korean culture, the firstborn son is at the front. Thus, we can see that it is a race that attaches importance to the right of the eldest son. (197-440, 1990.1.20)

If you were pious toward your parents, you do not have to offer ceremonial rites for them after their death. You should just place their picture before. you and commemorate that day as if your mother and father were alive. What boundary lines are there in the spirit world? Now instead of going to the burial ground, you can attend your parents in your house, as if they were alive, and you can feast and celebrate. Even though you do not go to their graves, it will still be a celebration. You should make your parents' grave site on a hill near where you live. In the West, do you not bury your dead in a churchyard? You should not behave shamefully in front of your parents' graves; your deceased mother and father would admonish you. If you do anything that deviates from the right meaning of love, your ancestors will personally come after you and reprimand you. (206-294, 1990.10.14)

There is some element of truth in Christianity's ban on the performance of ancestral rites up until the present day. This rite should be offered to God and the True Parent of all humankind. The ancestors in the spirit world should originally have been served by us. However, due to the Fall, this has been prohibited until the present time. In the age of restoration, because you have received the Blessing, you should attend your ancestors from now on. (223-210, 1991.11.30)