Gratitude brings about heavenly fortune, forgiveness opens people’s minds, and love moves people’s hearts.

Hak Ja Han Moon

Let Us All Be Grateful

Topic: Gratitude

Gratitude brings about heavenly fortune, forgiveness opens people’s minds, and love moves people’s hearts. Let us all be grateful for everything, forgive our enemies, love our neighbors as we love ourselves, and work in oneness for peace.

Hak Ja Han Moon

Hak Ja Han Moon, born on February 10, 1943, in Anju, South Pyeongan Province, now part of North Korea, fostered a deep connection with God from an early age, which significantly influenced her life's direction. At the age of six, she and her family undertook the daunting task of escaping to South Korea to avoid the challenging conditions in North Korea. This testing journey, early in life, instilled a resilience within her, underpinning her dedication to peace and unity.

In 1960, she wed the late Rev. Sun Myung Moon. Their union was more than a marriage; it was a partnership of shared goals, dedicated to creating bridges across divides. Together, they laid the groundwork, notably through the Unification movement, addressing reconciliation and unity across sectors such as education, politics, arts, and human rights. However, following the transition of her husband to the spiritual world in 2012, Dr. Moon faced the challenge of not only preserving but also expanding upon their shared legacy. With determination and vision, she took up the mantle, advancing global initiatives with renewed emphasis on education, environmental conservation, and humanitarian outreach.

Beyond her role as a wife, mother, and grandmother, Dr. Moon's leadership has been marked by her ability to continue building on the foundation she co-laid with her husband. The Marriage Blessing initiative, which they began with three couples in 1960, has grown exponentially under her stewardship, influencing millions worldwide. Her founding of the Sun Hak Peace Prize and the "Peace Starts With Me" global tour are testament to her independent initiatives post-2012, which have garnered international respect. Amid challenges and headwinds, Dr. Moon has emerged as a significant spiritual leader, both continuing the work she began with her husband and charting a distinct path forward.

Heavenly Parent's Holy Community
Cheon Il Guk and Our Mission

Moon, Hak Ja Han. Cheon Il Guk and Our Mission. First ed., vol. 3 of 4, Sunhak Institute of History, 2017 [Part 1 The Road to a World of Peace] p. 90.

Hak Ja Han Moon

Theme: Gratefulness

Hak Ja Han Moon, The Road to a World of Peace [Excerpts]

Yes, first we must lead a life of gratitude. Even though it is not easy to be grateful for everything at all times, but a grateful heart brings unity of mind and body. When we empty out our hearts and repent, a life of gratitude can begin. We must always train ourselves to experience and remain awake to the fact that our Heavenly Parent is constantly with us, dwelling with us and sharing our joys and sufferings. Always be joyful; pray unceasingly. By so doing, those around you will find happiness, whether in the tiniest thing or in the greatest adventure…

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Hak Ja Han Moon, The Road to a World of Peace [Continued]

Second, we must live a life of forgiveness. When my husband was unjustly incarcerated at the prison at Danbury, he said not to pray for him but to pray for the United States. He invested all efforts to move the people of the United States, in order to save the world. As a result, many American leaders and Christian pastors took the lead in bringing about an end to the Cold War; later on, they also joined hands for the interreligious peace movement. When we forgive the sins of others as you would forgive yours, amazing blessings are given to us from Heaven.

Third, we should live a life of love. True love is a love by which we continuously live for others, investing in others and forgetting that we have done so. Those people that live for their own sake may fare well in the beginning, but they will face decline in the end. This is the law of nature…

Fourth, we must live a life of unity. Our original minds and conscience, and our bodies and minds, must become one centered on Heaven’s true love. When parents and children live in harmony within the family, when nations live in harmony within the world, and when the spiritual world and physical world harmonize, then and only then can an eternal ideal world of peace come about. There is no unity where there is no center. It is easy for siblings to fight when parents are not present. This happens because the siblings do not fully appreciate or understand the parents’ desire and do not understand the parents’ deep heart. Only by establishing a connection of heart-centered on true love can we understand our parents’ desire and heart. Only in this way can we become one in heart, one in body, one in mind, and one in harmony, with our parents. This occurs when our thoughts, emotions, words, and actions are one. When this takes place, we can attend God in our lives as our Parent. When this happens, you and I won’t be separated people. We will instead become one family, brothers and sisters of the same lineage. Then, we can heal and bring an end to the numerous agonies and struggles within ourselves, and, at the same time, we can bring an end to wars between nations, which are actually brothers in this one world under God…

Gratitude brings about heavenly fortune; forgiveness opens the hearts of people, and love moves people’s hearts. Let us all be grateful for everything, forgive our enemies, love our neighbors as we love ourselves, and work in oneness for peace.”

—Hak Ja Han Moon, The Path To The Future World Of Peace, Global Youth Festival, September 23, 2014 [Speech delivered by Rev. Sun Jin Moon, Director General, FFWPU International, Chiba, Makuhari, Japan].

Additional Hak Ja Han Moon Quotes

“To have true love is to love that which cannot be loved. A person living in true love cannot help but love even his worst enemy. True love is a sacrificial love that enables a person even to lay down his life for another. Thus, within true love we are able to completely transcend all dissention and conflict, not only among individuals, but also in societies and nations. These will all pass away, and we will have true peace,

—Hak Ja Han Moon

“Racism, religious intolerance, the desecration of nature, and other misfortunes of our world are the result of serious problems in the human heart. That’s where we should approach the solution of world problems. The hatred in the heat of man must be replaced with love”

—Hak Ja Han Moon

“It is very important that voices of truth and goodness are not silent. if we are to transform our world, we must teach and practice Truth.”

—Hak Ja Han Moon

“Become sparks that light up this dark world.”

—Mother Moon, July 2017

“I have but one life goal: to live in utmost gratitude. Today I will be more grateful than yesterday; tomorrow I will be yet more grateful. However, I must confess to all of you, that even though I feel I must be strong, determined, and constantly moving forward, it is sometimes inevitable that I feel rather weak and emotional, and that is the truth of the matter.”

—Dr. Hak Ja Han Moon [1984.04.31, Leaders Conference].

Let Us All Be Grateful

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