The First Blessing
held outside Korea
This Blessing was held in three
separate stages in 1969. The first stage, on February 28, was a
Blessing of 13 couples in Washington Church, USA. On March 28, at
Essen in Germany, 8 couples were blessed, and on May 1st, 22 couples
received the blessing in Tokyo, Japan - a total of 43 couples.
True
Father said: "I blessed Japanese, Americans and Germans this
time. Originally, I wanted to bless some Japanese in 1967, but I
couldn't. So I blessed Kuboki as a representative of Japan in the 430
Couples' Blessing in 1969. At first I blessed Japanese, next
American, and then I let the anchor of Blessing land with four
nations centering upon Germany. Therefore, you should know that a
victorious foundation, with representatives of the world's nations
setting up indemnity conditions, has been established."
"This
time everyone was blessed internationally. In order to restore the
world, you should have a universal feeling, transcending any national
feeling or thought. That's why everybody received an international
blessing. Father felt joyful because the Couples were happy. So
Father asked them what they can do for Korea. They answered that they
can do anything.
No Asian man in human history has done such work
in Europe. We can feel the awesome power of the Principle.
If
Korea is the champion nation, which is the object nation? It is
Japan. That's why many Japanese members want to get married to
Koreans, who are the ones closest to Father. They are digging into
Korea. International marriage automatically becomes a great success
because it is the only way. Why? Because it is the shortcut to
heaven.
We are to organize the victorious dominion of the
individual, family, tribe, nation and world from the remnants of the
satanic world. I plan to arrange many international marriages this
time. If that happens, people will be able to change their concept
toward the other nations, going over national barriers and limits.
There was a matching among members from 27 different European
nations; only two percent of the people were matched to the same
nation. Others were matched to unexpected partners. Some had language
barriers, and some were matched to an enemy nation; but everyone was
joyful. Difference in customs might have made them a little awkward,
but it was no problem. So the wedding became a topic of interest
among the European nations. People started a rumor that Reverend Moon
escaped from the United States to England; but actually he gathered
European young men and women and arranged their marriage. The members
were matched to persons of whom they had never even dreamed. But they
were so happy, even though they were matched to total strangers,
because Father led them. Outsiders may wonder about those young
people!"
The International Marriage
Blessing
BlessingThe centerpiece of the semi-annual World
Culture and Sports Festival is a wedding blessing of thousands of
couples, ranging from newlyweds to octogenerians, who pledge before
God their commitment to form a family centered on God. In 1992,
30,000 couples from all races and cultures took their vows in the
Olympic Stadium in Seoul. Major Marriage Blessings were held in 1997
at RFK Stadium in Washington, DC, and in 1998 in Madison Square
Garden. In 1999, Seoul’s Olympic Stadium was filled to capacity
with 150,000 people, most of them brides and grooms for the Blessing
Ceremony.
Happy Blessing Anniversary to the
43 Couples!
13 of the 43 Couples were blessed on this day,
February 28, in 1969, in Washington, DC. The couples blessed in the
United States were
Vernon Pearson and Maxine Adamson,
George
Norton and Sylvia Rogndahl,
George Fernsler and Diane
Giffin,
Edwin Ang and Marie Leckrone,
Philip Burley and Vivien
Barron,
Carl Rapkins and Linna Miller,
Ken Pope and Orah
Schoon,
John Schmidle and Marie Laux,
Galen and Patty
Pumphrey,
Jon and Sandy Schuhart,
Wesley and Gladys Samuel,
Bob
and Vivian Oswald, and
Fred and Jacque Stock.
Marriage as a Way to Bring Peace
between Enemies
Reverend Moon teaches that the one of the most
effective ways to bring world peace is through intermarriage between
people of “enemy nations.” Therefore, many Unificationist
couples are interracial and international. Among Reverend Moon's
greatest accomplishments in peacemaking through marriage are the
thousands of Korean/Japanese couples who have wed under his guidance.
Japan and Korea have a long and painful history as enemy nations, and
these couples have pioneered a new way to solving age-old conflicts
by winning the hearts of each other, their in-laws and extended
family and being models of the peaceful world to come.
The
Family as the School of Love
The family is the school of
love. The patterns of behavior established in the family determine
the patterns of behavior in society at large. According to Reverend
Moon, in a world of God-centered ideal families, lawyers, policemen,
courts, military forces and the like will hardly be necessary.
Promoting the values that make for strong families is a central
mission of the works of Reverend Moon. This means married couples who
practice fidelity, parents who love and care for their children,
protecting them and educating them to uphold the highest moral
standards and to fulfill their individual talents, and children who
love and respect both their parents and their grandparents.
“The
cross-cultural, international blessing marriage is optimal method of
establishing true families that will purify the lineage of the fallen
human race and build the peace kingdom. In the end, reconciliation
and peace will come about through lineage. When blacks and whites,
people from the East and West,
Buddhists and Christians, and Jew and Moslems intermarry and carry on
the blessed marriage tradition that True Parents have established,
this world will naturally become one family. An ideal, heavenly
kingdom based on the ideal of "One Family under God" will
come about. As we melt out guns and cannons to make plows and hoes, a
world of peace will open up before us.”
- Pyeong Hwa Shin
Gyeong[Messages of Peace] 17-
True Father’s Words on
Matching
“The ideal partner (ideal mate) in Father’s
mind is completely different from the ideal partner we imagine. The
ideal partner that True Father thinks of is a match of completely
opposite types, such as spring and fall types, summer and winter
types, etc. True Father says, “When a North-pole type person is
matched with a South-pole type person, then out of such a couple a
child will be born who has a huge capacity to embrace the entire
globe.
“In order for a spring-like woman to pass through
summer and winter, she has to meet an autumnal man. A woman who
corresponds to spring has to pass through summer in order to meet an
autumnal man, and the autumnal man has to pass through winter in
order to meet the spring-like woman. Therefore both ultimately pass
through all four seasons.
“When I am matching people one
after another, I try not to look clearly at the contours of a
person’s face, if possible. I rather look at two persons for a
while, and check what kind of feeling comes. It is as if there is a
measuring device for minds, and I compare the two without delay. If
when I look at the two, instantly and without self-awareness, I feel
as if they are becoming one, then it is precisely a match made in
heaven, a perfect match.
“More than anything, one’s
love partner should establish an ideal harmony and balance. You
should think that the person who appears as your beloved spouse is a
son or daughter of God, whom He truly loves, and that therefore He
may come disguised as the ugliest person. If you love your husband or
wife with those eyes, it has the same significance as loving God’s
son and daughter.
“Why do you marry? It is to inherit
the foundation of thousands of years and of ten thousand generations
of chosen people; it is for the future generations. If you marry for
the sake of yourselves, you will destroy everything. That kind of
decadent trend is sweeping over the world, and all of it has to be
cut off. If you have that selfish thought, you are my enemies.
“Let’s
say there is a good looking person among the blessing candidates. He
or she might look splendid on the outside. But what is important is
whether or not that person has the value to exist in the future in
front of the will of God. That is the primary question for the
partner whom that person meets.
“Therefore, our marriages
are for the sake of our descendants. Thus, even though candidates
might appear unsuitable in some way, the problem is how to match
people so that their children inherit only their parent’s good
points.”