My father was supposed to be a priest.

My father was supposed to be a priest. In early 20^th century in France the 1^st son in a family would become a priest and if there was no son, the 1^st Daughter would become a nun.

So, my father was supposed to become a priest. But his health was not very good, he was considered “too fragile”, so, after his seminary education, he had to return to the secular life.

I was the oldest daughter of my dad. My younger sister and I, both, for the 1^st two years of our lives, were dressed only in blue and white colors in honor of the “Virgin Mary”. 

Sunday was very important, my sister holding my Father’s hand, and me holding my mother’s hand, we would walk to and from church, regardless of the weather. We did not have a car. We would also attend all the other rituals of the Catholic Church and walk to and from each of them, always.

My sister and I, both, enjoy every one of these rituals and were completely united with them.

Today’s morning devotion (March 14th, 2023) made me remember all these things, as Dr. Yong explained how important Sunday service is and our attitude towards it for the health of our spiritual self.

All About Race...

When I originally created OMS, I followed the pattern of and included most of the questions  from  the  paper  Matching  Application  available  at  the  time.  One question was about race. Because I wanted to make sure that everyone would be comfortable with the question asked, I went on the internet to find out the best words to use to describe someone’s racial origin.

When talking to a Caucasian sister a couple of years later, I was surprised that she was unhappy that the word “white” was used  to  describe  her  race.  I  was open to suggestions, but she had no good substitute. So, “white,” it stayed.

Throughout  the  years,  I  became  more  and  more  uncomfortable  about  this particular question, so I changed the “word” race to the words “Parental Heritage.” I thought that would work. It did for a while, but then the discomfort returned.

In  addition  to  my  own  reticence  about  this,  as  I  worked  with  many  different candidates  throughout  the  years,  I  discovered  that  many  individuals  would, unconsciously perhaps, begin to read a profile but stop after reading the answer to that particular question. That disturbed me....a lot.

At  the  beginning  of  2019,  my  colleagues  and  I  were  preparing  for  yet  another Online Matching Meeting, something we do four times a year for 1st Generation members as well as Blessed Children. While reviewing someone’s profile I was again reminded about the sensitivity of this particular question.  Right then and there I decided to simply eliminate it.

From the 1960’s to 1990’s True Parents chose our spouses, and accepting their choice was easy. Faith in God and True Parents was virtually all that was needed.  Today,  however,  those  choosing  their  own  spouses  need  to  also  have  faith  in themselves, something that requires a lot more personal effort.

Applicants  on OMS,  are  no  longer  asked  to  indicate  their  race  or  parental heritage. This question is entirely irrelevant in God’s eyes and, at this point in human history, should be irrelevant for us all. I believe that in the future, we will be proud of our own and others’ cultural heritages and be unafraid to answer questions of who we are. But today, some walls are still high.

Do you believe in God? (1)

Which one? There are many Gods in this world. I cannot say for sure that I believe in the God of the person who is asking the question, unless, this person, first, tells me who God is, for him or her.

Yes, I believe that I am a created being and therefore there is a creator, someone who gave life to humanity on the onset. I also believe that the earth and the whole universe was created by a being who was capable of planning and executing a very complex creation.

Why do I believe?

I was born that way. I believe before I was conceived. I have the feeling that my ancestry, for many generations, were strong believers in a Christian God, therefore the whole spiritual atmosphere surrounded me from the start.

I never wavered in my belief in God, but I did modify it as I grew. My own thoughts, reflections, spiritual life gave me a different understanding of who God is, his motivation for creating, and his way of thinking and loving. So, the God that I believe in today is not the God that I was born to know. So, if I was asked by someone from my Parents generation who believed the way they did if I believed in God, I will have to say, no, I do not.

So far, the best definition of God that I have come across is this one:

God, the Creator of all things under the sun, is the true parent of all humanity. He is not a parent in the parochial sense, existing only for a certain religion, a certain race, or the residents of a certain region. You may call Him by any name, be it Jehovah, Allah, or any other. What is important is that He certainly exists, lives as the true parent of all people, and is carrying on the great work of Creation. He governs everything in the universe, and He carries out His providence through history in accordance with the principles and laws of nature that He set up at the beginning of time. 

[Rev. Sun Myung Moon, April 10, 2006, Peace Message # 3]

Convergence not Conversion

The point of prayer for conversion of the entire world to their particular brand of faith couldn’t be further from what would really help: to move out of religion. But move out of all of it. In other words, the man-made aspects of every religion are impeding parts of the spiritual growth of the believers, and impeding the communication and direct channeling of God to individuals and from individuals, both on earth and here, in the “heavens.”

This does not mean to say, though, that faith is not a component that is helpful and useful to some, (but not necessarily everyone). But it is in the separation of one’s individualized faith capsule and the intentional shunning of those who do not have the same mindset or thinking and belief that creates the divide, the chasm between individuals and God, between nations, and between individuals.

That does not mean to say, too, that being in community with other individuals who share common knowledge or beliefs isn’t beautiful. It is! This can be and is of tremendous comfort and solace. But, at the same time, it can be narrowing.

So there is a problem here – how to balance these factors:

For examples, if Christians would pray that they could understand the words of Confucius and the Taoist beliefs, those of the Baha’i faith, or the Mennonites, etc. without the idea of conversion but to really pray, sincerely without such a thought as “oh those poor people who believe differently” from what they do (or vice-versa) as a gesture of spreading light, that would open the way for the spiritual world to infuse more light on earth.

Simple, straight forward and right? Not done easily, though. I will say this:

Conversion should never be the goal, but convergence should be. I say convergence of light-in-one’s soul to another’s light-in-their-soul.

Seeing and respecting God’s light in each other without the objective of converting them. Humbling sharing one’s belief is encouraged if it fosters the idea of ecumenism, of the union of peoples. Not just tolerance, but coming to accept, and perhaps even love others, as one’s brothers or sisters.

Doing that, the world around would make for a whole new world culture, wouldn’t it?

Do you Believe in God? (2)

If someone were to ask me if I believe in God, I would not know how to answer. 
Why? If I answer YES, would this person assume that my belief of God is the same as him or her?  If I answer NO, would this person think I am a non-believer?

Because of my place of birth and my race I probably have a long line of ancestors who believed in God before me.  They may have been indoctrinated by force way back but soon incorporated their belief of God into their way of life.

I do not remember ever doubting of God’s existence. God is part of me, He exists within me.  We are inseparable.  By the time I reached my late teens, I very much questioned the rules and rituals of my church and argued about their logic; however, I never argued about the existence of God.  Just because I was not accepting all of the dos and don’ts in the Catholic Church doctrine that did not mean that I was able to assume that God did not exist.  What I knew, however, is that I did not necessarily understand how the world worked and what the history reported in the Holy Bible really meant.

As a young person I was upset about the attitude of many of my contemporaries towards one another.  I never understood religious groups killing each other or the necessity to dominate another group of people by force.  My confusion and rebellion made sense, since most humans are religious and believe in some kind of ethical behavior towards one another.  Why could they not apply them?  I could!

In my twenty-first year I came across the Divine Principle, a book written about Rev. Sun Myung Moon’s revelations concerning God, the Bible, and the history of man.  I was not forced to believe in it, I was not indoctrinated; I did not even go to any weekend workshops like many others.  I read it on my own, and I liked it.  It answered basic questions that could not be answered by my Priest.  It was not complicated for me.  So, I adopted the rules and regulations that were attached to these revelations.

Forty plus years later, younger people questioned why they should belong or remain as the case maybe within my “church”.  How should I answer this?  It seems that when one belief in a particular set of thoughts then one has to incorporate all of the rules and regulations that come with it.  It may be true if one wants to become a Boy Scout, or a Mason, or the citizen of a particular country.  But in the case of religious belief, in the case of God, I don’t think so.  Why?

God has tried to reach out to man from the beginning of time.  He has used many different people and many different ways to do so.  Religions are just one of the tools that God is using to reach us and teach us who we are in relationship to each other, to the creation, and to Him.  Understanding how to live in harmony with one another and the creation is one of the goals.

It is obviously very difficult to live our lives for the sake of the whole.  It is difficult to love people who are unlovable.  It is difficult to forgive and to be compassionate.  It is difficult not to be envious of those who have more than we do.  It is difficult to overcome anger.  I guarantee you it takes a lifetime to understand what living for the sake of others means, and how to apply it in one’s daily life.  But it is a lot more important to do so, than questioning with which group of people am I going to worship today.  Remember, rituals should never lead your life only support it.  God and you lead your life.

Yes, I believe in God, "the creator of all things under the sun.  He is the true parent of all humanity.  He is not the parent in the parochial sense, existing only for a certain religion, a certain race, or the residents of a certain region.  You may call Him by any name.  What is important is that He positively exists, lives as the true parent of all people, and is carrying on the great work of creation in accordance with the principles and the laws of nature that He set up at the beginning of time. Sun Myung Moon."

Missing Japanese Man Suspected Victim of Kidnapping and Faith-Breaking

The 32-year-old man from the Nagoya, Japan has not been seen by fellow Unification Church members since September 5. Both the church and his place of work have reported his disappearance to the police.

GREENBELT, MD, October 02, 2011 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Religious freedom activists expressed concern over a new case of a suspected kidnapping and secret confinement of a Unification Church member in Japan. The International Coalition for Religious Freedom (ICRF) announced the disappearance of the 32-year-old man from the city of Nagoya in Japan's Aichi Prefecture. Mr. "K.M." has not been seen by fellow church members since September 5. His place of work as a caregiver also reported him absent, and colleagues from the local Okazaki Unification Church, with which he is affiliated, found his residence empty.

Local church leaders plan to report Mr. "K.M." as a missing person to the police. However, Japanese police routinely reject such reports on the grounds that a church pastor is not a relative. The situation is exacerbated by the fact that in hundreds of such cases, it is the victim's relatives who kidnap and confine him, with the intent to force him or her out of the church.

The practice of kidnapping religious believers for "deprogramming" was widespread in the U.S. in the 1970s and 80s, but came to an end after courts made it clear that such actions were illegal, even when committed by family members. Scientologists, Krishna devotees, Pentecostal Christians and Unificationists were among the victims. Today, the Unification Church remains highly controversial in Japan, and the nation's traditional values hold that "family matters"--such as spousal abuse, rape, incest and forcing an adult relative to renounce his religion--should be kept private.

The issue of religious kidnapping in Japan has recently gained international attention as the result of the case of Mr. Toru Goto (Photo on the left), who was held against his will in a secret location in Tokyo for 12 years because he refused to renounce his Unificationist faith. He sued the alleged perpetrators, who include relatives and a Christian minister, and the case is currently being tried in a Tokyo court.

Out of respect for his privacy the church is not releasing the current victim's full name, but accredited researchers may learn additional details by contacting ICRF.

The International Coalition for Religious Freedom is a non-profit, non-sectarian, educational organization dedicated to defending the religious freedom of all, regardless of creed, gender or ethnic origin.

Website: http://www.religiousfreedom.com

NOTE:  The picture above is of Mr. Goto, from Japan. He was held in captivity for twelve and half years. He was finally released by his captors because they could not break his faith. The picture above was taken shortly after his release.

The Divine Principle

The greatness of the Divine Principle taught by the Unification Church is that it explains creativity in concrete terms and serves us in our understanding of the process of creation. Next, it provides a substantial explanation of how the Fall came about and then also presents a view of history. It clearly explains how God, rather than abandoning human beings in their fallen state, has been working diligently for their re-creation throughout the course of history. It logically and plainly reveals that through this process of restoration we will arrive at the world He purposed to achieve. (Sun Myung Moon,1990.11.20)

The world today is more aware of its surrounding than it was many years ago. The ability to study various thoughts, theologies, and religions is at the finger tips of many. There are no excuses for ignorance. I will not make excuses for what I believe is true but will put it out there for anyone to read. It is up to each of us, educated being to make the effort to understand how to create and maintain a peaceful world. By looking at the history of mankind we do realized that, so far, every single method used failed, so the importance of finding a different route for peace and the wellbeing of humankind should be one of primary study.

Divine Principle

What is Faith Part 1

My daughter, then 17 years old, filmed a lot of our local church sermons. She took the best ones and posted them on Youtube and forgot about them. Recently, this particular short movie was watched and commented on. It reminded her of what she had done and she felt very good about it. Enjoy and feel free to comment as well. Mahalo!

The faith is the same, only the ritual is different

In the newspaper a pastor wants to burn the Koran. What is the difference between him and other extremists who burn the Bible and the American Flag? None. Their faith is the same, only their rituals are different. Their faith is based on fear, hate, and ignorance. They have not taken the time to pray. They have not taken the time to look at mankind from God's point of view. They have not taken the time to develop their parental heart. Living for the sake of others is not in their vocabulary.

History has proven that hate will not bring us a peaceful world. "Eye for an eye" will not bring us a peaceful world. "I before they", will not bring us a peaceful world. Therefore we must search for another route.

Rev. Sun Myung Moon says, “You might be driven by the conspiracies of your enemies to die as a great traitor, or you might die as a result of your comrades, friends, or loved ones, or others, plotting to harm you, but when you die, do so with the heart of benefiting the world. Die without enemies. If you are to die anyway, die after planting something, and without making any enemies. Be resolved to die while loving the enemy as a friend rather than otherwise. Jesus’ prayer on the cross for his enemies was great in this way. (34-45,1970.8.29)

Serving and educating all nations in good economic principles, in good health care, in good education, in good reporting, and in good government, will allow the masses to overcome the few who today lead us into destroying ourselves.

The following link http://www.upf.org/ brings extensive information about the life and work of Rev. Moon, the man. He and his wife have invested a tremendous amount of energy and time in teaching and educating about the love of God and the purpose of creation.

I believe in God

If someone asked you, “Do you believe in God?” It is not a yes or no answer. There are many interpretations of God and unless the person asking the question to me has the same interpretation as I do then my answer will have to be "no". The best definition of God I have ever encountered is the following:

"God, the Creator of all things under the sun, is the true parent of all humanity. He is not a parent in the parochial sense, existing only for a certain religion, a certain race, or the residents of a certain region. You may call Him by any name, be it Jehovah, Allah, or any other. What is important is that He certainly exists, lives as the true parent of all people, and is carrying on the great work of creation. He governs everything in the universe, and He carries out His providence through history in accordance with the principles and laws of nature that He set up at the beginning of time." Rev. Dr. Sun Myung Moon, April 10th, 2006 Korea 3rd peace message

I can relate to the God describe above. I respect him and yearn to know him well. What about you, would you?

In Christianity God has been portrayed as a fearful God, an authoritarian God, a God of judgment, and also a God who knows everything past, present, and future. Only in recent history does God become a God who loves.

Rev. Moon says that first and formost God is a parent. As a parent, would you want your children to be afraid of you? As a parent would we want our children to be condemned for eternity to suffering if they break our rules? There is another way, and punishment by eternal fire is not it.

My life had just changed forever

When I was 7 years old, my priest was convinced that I would become a nun. At fifteen I wanted to lock all the heads of state in a single room and only free them after they had created a plan for peace.

At 20 years old and already a practicing registered nurse in France, I met with my priest and asked him questions that he could not answer. Confused about my future I prayed to God on a regular basis, especially on my way to and from work.  While driving I sang the same song over and over and I would cry as I sang.

Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccáta mundi: miserere nobis.
Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccáta mundi: miserere nobis.
Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccáta mundi: dona nobis pacem.

One evening in September of 1972, feeling lonely, I drove for a couple of hours after work to see Monique, a friend of mine who also a nurse. When I arrived at midnight she had a guest, Genie, an American girl. Genie was speaking about God in ways that I had never heard of before. Cautious, I nevertheless purchased the book she was promoting and promised her I would contact Jacques, a friend of hers in Paris, if I had any questions.

A month later, after having read a couple of chapters, I went to Paris. It is a very big city; I had never been there before. It was an adventure, a little scary. I went by train on the first weekend of November. I arrived on a Saturday and managed to arrive safely at the address Genie had indicated. Even though I had read beyond the second chapter, Jacques wanted to go over it again for some reason. So, we did. 

At that time, I had a boyfriend; I was going to stay with him that night. Jacques knew that. So, chapter two we read. That day I realized that my life was forever changed. The questions that could not be answered by my priest started to get answered. I was overwhelmed yet calm at the same time. I had wanted to live a life that would create a peaceful world, and I had found the person and the teaching that could make it happen.

That night I found myself alone in the corner of a closed train station at midnight.  I was trusting that God would take care of me if I would make the effort to understand and live my life as He wanted. Four dangerous youths noticed me and started to come in my direction. Then, a man came forward slowly, determined to reach me. The punks took note and walked backwards as they disappeared in the dark. The man told me not to stay there because it was dangerous.  He directed me toward an open diner where I could safely wait for the morning light. After several decades I still remember this man walking towards me. God sent him to protect me and to tell me that He was there.

To this day, I have never read a more powerful revelation than the one revealed in the book Genie gave me titled "The Divine Principle". Having been a Unificationist since 1972, I have never met someone more stubborn and more determined to make this world a better place, than the Rev. Sun Myung Moon. I look at our world and wish that an effort was made individually and collectively to study his teaching. What do we have to lose? We live in a world of conflict that we do not seem able to resolve. Those of us who are kind and compassionate feel powerless to relieve the pain of millions, so why not listen to a teaching that may give us the tools we need to build an everlasting peace?

From the time I joined, I saw the light at the end of the tunnel; I knew the path forward to peace. I did not understand everything. I would learn later but I had glimpsed a revelation that would forever change my world view of who we are as individuals and collectively as societies. The key to a peaceful world, a loving world, was in this book, “The Divine Principle” by Rev. Sun Myung Moon. Of this fact I had no doubt.