Speech and Report to the Members Tuesday night August 21, 2012, in New York.
“Thank you, brothers and sisters. How is everybody? Thank you for coming. I just arrived yesterday after spending time with our True Parents, and I’m sure all of you have heard the update and the report on my Father’s situation. Because we are truly a global family, this is my and True Family’s opportunity to thank you for all the prayers and all the well wishes.
“Truly, we could see the difference in the way Father responded to treatment the minute the word went out to all our brothers and sisters around the world. As each brother and sister prayed for our Father’s quick recovery, we could see Father gradually getting better and better. But in light of all the hope and well wishes that we want for our True Father, he is still fighting a very real battle; the morning I got on the plane yesterday to come back to America, Father’s situation had deteriorated quite a bit.
“We need to continue to pray as one family for our True Father’s quick recovery, but even as we do so, this is a very important time for all of us to remain focused on what is important in our life of faith, which is our relationship with our Heavenly Father and Mother up in Heaven and our relationship with our True Parents here. Father is putting up an incredible fight each and every day, and as you have heard from Lovey, he has 13 different machines hooked up to his body. Because the different procedures are incredibly painful, most of the time he is sedated and he is sleeping.
“We hear a lot of different reports coming from many, many different sources, but this is the time to be united with our True Mother, and this is a time to be united with our international president, Rev. Hyung Jin Moon. And even though we want updates every hour, because the situation is quite serious, it’s very difficult to give updates even on a daily basis. Our international president will give updates as often as possible, and those are the updates that are true, that are genuine, that really are going to share with the worldwide family what exactly is going on with our True Father. After all, he is not just our father, but he is your True Father as well. Just as it is important for us to know in our hearts and offer special jeongseong and prayer for our True Father, so must all of you understand the gravity of the situation so that you in your heart can offer the proper kind ofjeongseong and really offer prayers from you and your family towards our True Father’s quick recovery.
True Mother’s Intuition and Strength
“This is really an opportunity for me to share with you as an eye witness what incredible True Parents we have. Even though our True Father is in great pain, we know that he is fighting for his life because he wants to be here each and every day with all of us.
“I was truly inspired and moved by the strength and dignity of our True Mother during these last couple days. I think that when we think of our True Mother, we see her as this graceful, elegant woman who’s been at our True Father’s side for a long, long time, ever since they were married and Blessed in 1960. But she is a woman of incredible strength as well. She is somebody who has never left our True Father’s side. Even the best of us, the young leaders and the old leaders, can survive 13-, 14-, 15-, 17-hour Hoon Dok Hwes, but we do have a moment to go back into our rooms, catch our breath, and then go on to do the work at hand. Our True Mother has been with our True Father every step of the way, so whether he is with all of us or whether he is in his room, True Mother is always there.
“The incredible thing about this woman is that it was her intuition that saved our True Father at this incredibly dangerous time. It was her intuition to transfer our True Father from the Cheongshim hospital to the St. Mary’s Catholic hospital in Seoul. And as our international president shared with everybody, had we been even 30 minutes late, our True Father would not be with us today. It is this intuitive nature of our True Mother in this time of crisis, who made the right kind of decisions and allowed us to still have our True Father with us.
“Can you imagine what True Mother must be going through on a personal level at this time of crisis? She has been nothing but a vision of strength, a vision of character, a vision of integrity, and a vision of inspiration, not just to me, but to the rest of my family and everyone who visits our True Father at the hospital.
Visits with True Father
“Our True Mother holds a dedicated vigil each and every day, and she was so much with our True Father in the beginning days that the doctor said there was too much stimulation when our True Father needs to be healing and resting. So the family and True Mother’s visits were basically cut down so that we can visit Father in the morning and in the afternoon.
“These visits are very, very short, and the doctor prepares all of us: ‘You must not cry, you must not be emotional.’ You can communicate, ‘Father we love you, please be strong, we’re praying for you, the family is here,’ and you can introduce yourself, but the doctor prepares all of us in that this is not a time to overly display your emotions. We were given permission to massage Father’s feet for a brief moment and to hold Father’s hand. But as our international president so clearly explained to us, Father’s hands are tied down to the bed, and most of the time he is heavily sedated. There is not the kind of usual exchange that you would want with a parent. It’s a very one-way kind of a visit, a one-way kind of a relationship. Father can hear what we’re saying, but he cannot respond.
“True Mother is there for every visit. And everyone from Ye Jin Onni [“older sister”] on down to Jeong Jin was there. Kook Jin and Hyung Jin, who are there at the hospital almost all the time, are supporting our True Mother so beautifully and really taking care of our True Mother in the best way. And so, even as we make our daily visits and we receive different guests, Hyung Jin is incredibly kind and welcoming and Kook Jin is always doing the same together with Lovey and being a wonderful and a comforting influence on every one who visits our True Father.
The Future Leadership of True Mother and Rev. Hyung Jin Moon
“So at this time, brothers and sisters, maybe some of us are overcome with fear, perhaps some of us are overcome with questions, perhaps some of us are wondering what is really going on because so many people are trying to say so many different things. But we need to understand that our True Parents are here with us. The incredible thing about True Parents is that Father comes as the Messiah, as the Lord of the Second Advent, to share in the breaking news at this time with all of humanity. And the incredible thing about a messiah is that his mission is to find this beautiful wife who can stand together with him as perfected Adam and perfected Eve in the position of True Parents.
“Many times, people may think, ‘Father is the Messiah, Father is the only important component in True Parents.’ But no matter how great Father is, Father cannot be True Parents without True Mother and True Mother cannot be True Parents without True Father. In a way, both of them are incredibly important in that both together make up True Parents. A lot of people, in an attempt to understand what the future of our church is going to be like, are wondering, ‘Father is an incredible masculine, charismatic, dominant leader. What is it going to be like with True Mother? She’s just a wife.’
“We have to realize that our True Mother has been prepared by God to play an incredible role at this time in history. When Father talks about the dawn of the Pacific Rim Era and the emergence of women leadership, Father is preparing all of humankind for a new kind of leadership to emerge. Even though Father lies in recovery at this time of healing, our True Mother will come into her own as the future leader of our movement, and together with the youngest son, who is the spiritual heir of our movement and of our family, will work together to guide the next millennium into that world of peace and harmony.
“For those of us who come from Asian cultures, we’re always looking for male leadership. I know that there’s a lot of talk about different people, different men who might be better than our True Mother as the future leader of our movement. But we have to understand that our Heavenly Parent, in choosing True Mother, who is 23 years younger than our True Father, is helping us transition in this time of difficulty into the future that will be revealed to us through the leadership of our True Mother and the leadership of our international president, Hyung Jin Moon.
“This is a time when we should not be confused. I can see very clearly that some people might use this as an opportunity to project themselves into new powers or positions of leadership. But this is not a time to do such a thing, because we still have our True Parents here. A lot of people are thinking, ‘What if something happens to True Father?’ Well, we hope that Father can live until 120 years of age. But even if he doesn’t, isn’t it wonderful to know that perhaps our True Mother will live 23 years longer than our True Father? So, there should be no confusion about what is happening to our True Parents. Even if Father ascends earlier than we expect, the True Parents will then be a symbol of the unity of Heaven and Earth.
“Brothers and sisters, regardless of the fears we might have, wondering how long Father will be with us in this physical world, we all know and believe in the existence of Spirit World. Perhaps this is the reason we have a True Mother who is 23 years younger. Perhaps this is a chance not only to have our True Parents here physically with us, but also – something that’s never been done before – to have True Parents who unify Heaven and Earth. And at the same time, have an incredibly youthful, inspired and compassionate leader in our international president Hyung Jin.
Transitioning into the Age of the Settlement
“The age of the Wilderness is encapsulated in a very masculine, militaristic type of a leader, but as we move towards the age of Settlement, this leadership type will change. Because our True Mother is a woman, more of the feminine qualities will now be revealed and be experienced as we continue to do the good work of the providence. As our True Mother gave a speech (see here) encouraging all of us to never give up, what she is reminding us is to not give up our belief of True Parents, because True Parents are still here with us, whether Father is here with us physically or not. That point needs to be made very, very clear. In the presence and the physical form of our True Mother, True Parents are with us today and will be with us, accompanying our True Father through his recovery, and helping us transition into the next phase of leadership with so much to look forward to in the future.
“In the time of the Settlement, it’s not going to be this masculine, testosterone, arrogant type of leadership that is going to win and revolutionize the hearts of people to be better men and women. It’s going to be the compassionate kind of leadership that we see in our True Mother, that we see in our international president Hyung Jin that is going to help all of us unveil the true divinity within as eternal sons and daughters of God.
Liberating Our True Parents
“Brothers and sisters, when our True Father gave us the motto at the beginning of this year of ‘liberating’ our True Parents, our True Parents are asking all of us to own up and step up to the plate, to be the owners of our own destiny, to be adults who can really steer the horns of our own destinies and together, work with our True Family, with our international president, to make flesh all the dreams that our True Parents have had and continue to have in all the things they do.
“The incredible thing about our True Father is that for the last 93 years, he has never wavered in his dedication to God, in his dedication to his mission, in his dedication to humanity, in being that spiritual guide, consistently and continuously inspiring all of humanity to be the best we can be.
“But what does it mean to liberate our True Parents? If we want to be the kind of children who liberate our True Parents from all their burdens, it means that we need to be responsible brothers and sisters, responsible sons and daughters, meaning we have to be responsible for ourselves, for our families, for the work at hand, and then continue to contribute in the great work of providence. This is not a time to be thinking about the different questions of future leadership, because our leader has always been our True Parents, and our True Parents are still here, brothers and sisters.
“The Family Awaits Unity”
“All the things that need to be worked out in the True Family will be worked out in the True Family. There are a lot of different people saying different things about the brothers: ‘This is a fight between the brothers,’ ‘This is Father having a special relationship with a particular son, but Mother not recognizing that special relationship with the son,’ and so on and so forth. That is not the reality of the situation. We have to understand that all the True Family is totally united with our True Parents and with our international president and anyone that says otherwise, is not facing reality.
“We have to realize that there is no battle between siblings, there is no battle between brothers. The family awaits unity. In a way, a special situation like this could be a beautiful opportunity for reconciliation, unity, and harmony. But in order for reconciliation and unity and harmony, we have to approach the situation with a humbleness of heart, totally surrendering ourselves to our Heavenly Parent. We cannot seek reconciliation pushing our own agendas, we cannot demand harmony pushing our own opinions; true reconciliation and true harmony come through surrender, humbleness and repentance. The True Family sits ready, Father and Mother sit ready, for such a reconciliation. This is not a war between brothers. In fact, Hyung Jin and Kook Jin are the most compassionate brothers waiting for harmony, waiting for reconciliation, waiting for unity. But we all know that unity takes both parties. And if one party approaches and demands reconciliation with arrogance, opinions, and judgment, then that reconciliation is not going to be the beautiful one we are waiting for.
“There are a lot of stories being spun out there about how the brothers are the gatekeepers that are keeping this whole movement from that kind of unity and reconciliation. We must understand that that is not the truth. We want as a family to be united, we want as a family to come together as a movement and work under the guidance of our True Parents.
Supporting Our International President and Our True Mother
“A child who is inheriting the tradition and the heritage of the movement must understand the value of the True Parents that has brought forth that tradition and heritage. A child cannot be prepared for leadership when the child does not accept True Parents as True Parents. A child cannot be ready for leadership when the child cannot respect True Parents as that successful man and woman who have accomplished incredible things and continue to guide our movement.
“But a child that understands where that tradition comes from, where that heritage comes from and continually respects and honors the True Parents – that’s the child that is ready for leadership. That is why, in the wisdom of our True Father, Father appointed his youngest son Hyung Jin as the spiritual heir of the movement. There is no ambiguity.
“The only thing we need to do is support this brother, support our True Parents, support our True Mother. We cannot look at True Mother with physical eyes. Maybe some of us are thinking, ‘She has no PhD, she has no qualifications for leadership.’ But what are the qualifications that make the messiah the messiah? What are the qualifications that make Father and Mother the True Parents? We must not judge them with our physical eyes, because it is not us who decide who they are. It is God who decides who the True Parents are.
“Just as we look at our True Father with spiritual eyes, we must also look at our True Mother with spiritual eyes and realize that she has been anointed and blessed and appointed at this crucial hour to be our True Mother.
“Brothers and sisters, this is a chance for every one of us here in the United States to say, ‘Mother, we’re with you every step of the way. Father, we’re with you, every step of the way. True Parents, we’re with you every step of the way.’ This is a chance for all of us to pledge to work in support of our True Mother at this incredibly difficult time. This is our chance to pledge to our international president that we will do our utmost to unite with his leadership and fully support the providence with all that we can.
Extending Thanks on Behalf of True Family
“Brothers and sisters, this has been truly a difficult time for those of us in the True Family, but we also know that you share our hearts even as you continue to offer jeongseong to our True Father. Knowing that all the brothers and sisters are continually praying in different districts to cover every hour of the day and all the different Ambassadors For Peace, all our friends in the American Clergy Leadership Conference, and all the newly minted Lovin’ Life members, all of them offering their hearts in full support of our True Father’s quick recovery, has been an incredibly, incredibly wonderful thing to know. I could feel the sheer power of our prayers as members of my family kept our vigil next to our father. Really, your prayers have been an incredible source of strength and comfort for our True Father and especially, for our True Mother.
“So, this is an opportunity for me, representing my family who could not thank you in person, to do just that, to really thank each and every one of you as members of our extended family for all your prayers and well wishes. I encourage you to continue to pray in support of our True Father’s quick recovery, and I hope that as you give that prayer to our True Father, we can also pray to be unified at this time with our True Parents and especially with our True Mother. I hope that together with our international president, we can really show Father and Mother that we are their children, and we are not immature children, but we are their mature, young-in-spirit children who love them, aspire to be like them, and want to thank them for being our True Parents each and every day of our lives.
“We must realize that, for those of us who have children and those of us who have families, we would not have our families or children without our True Parents. They have touched our lives in the most beautiful of ways in helping us to grow, to be that kind of a person who can work on creating ideal families of our own. We know that as we continue to walk the road of our journeys in becoming the divine people that we are, we know that our True Parents, and especially our True Mother, is with us each and every step of the way. Just in the little ways that she always asks me, ‘How is America? How are the brothers and sisters there? How are the little kids?’ She is always approaching all of you with a mother’s heart. Now we have not just a chance to see our True Mother as a mother, but also an opportunity for Mother to play more of a leadership role in our movement and in our lives. And I, as a woman, very much look forward to this.
Bringing True Father’s Handshake to the Nation
“So, brothers and sisters, please continue your jeongseong and our international president, just as he did last Sunday, will keep all of you updated on Father’s progress. Even as I was there for several days, I was getting texts and calls from Rev. Cotter, ‘In Jin Nim, can you update me today? What’s happening? Can you update me this morning? Can you update me this afternoon? This evening?’ I think the most important thing that I can say is that Father’s situation is under control, and we have the best doctors in Korea working on him. It’s very difficult in Father’s situation to update every hour or every day even because the fluctuation is sometimes quite severe. But we will update you and Hyung Jin will update all of you as much as we possibly can. You need to know you are part of this family, you are included, and you’re being given just as much information as the rest of the family who are in close proximity to True Father. Please, continue with your prayers, continue in the different districts praying and taking turns to make sure every hour of the day is covered and wishing Father the American love that we can send at this time. So brothers and sisters, can I have your dedication?
“We need to support our True Parents, which means really supporting our True Mother at this time and uniting under the guidance of our international president to become a one-bodied movement, a one-bodied church, not a church or a movement missing a limb or a hand or a foot. We need to work as one, we need to be united as one, and we need to be focused on one, which is our Heavenly Parent up in Heaven and our True Parents here with us.
“Brothers and sisters, thank you so much. This is my chance to share with you my handshake with my father. In my heart I told my father, ‘I’m going to take your handshake to every brother and sister in America and thank them for their prayers and encourage them to continue praying and dedicating themselves to the work of providence in unity with our True Parents. Once again, brothers and sisters, thank you so much, and our True Mother wishes all the love to you and your families, and our international president wishes all of his love to you and your families. God Bless, and thank you very much.”
Contributed by Ariana Moon courtesy of unification news!
http://unificationnews.com/article/rev__in_jin_moon_launches_national_tour_to_report_to_members