The person who expects death and then is given life dwells in the fullest gratitude.

Sun Myung Moon

In the Fullest Gratitude

Topic: Gratitude

A wise person thinks like this: “I have only a short time to live. Within this time I must prepare myself for eternity. The way I live in the next two years will be the model for my eternal life.” Then explode your sense of love. Love God, and love another person as God. For an entire day, 24 hours, pour out your entire energy for someone. If you love a person like this, even though you may die early, you will have made the highest accomplishment in all eternity. Then when God gives you more time to live, your response will be immense gratitude. Push yourself to live more fully. The person who expects death and then is given life dwells in the fullest gratitude.

Sun Myung Moon

Sun Myung Moon, born on January 6, 1920, was a spiritual leader and luminary hailing from North Korea. He founded the Holy Spirit Association for the Unification of World Christianity, better known as the Unification Church, in 1954. Drawing upon direct Prophetic revelation, influenced by the major faith traditions—especially Christianity, but also Judaism, Islam, Confucianism, and Buddhism. He also developed a political philosophy to resist the spread of the anti-religious Communist ideology. Reverend Moon's teachings centered on love, unity, and peace. He aimed to spark a global spiritual movement that transcended religious and cultural divisions, and his vision resonated with followers all over the world. Through the Unification Church, Sun Myung Moon also promoted interfaith understanding and collaboration, striving for harmony among diverse religious traditions.

Reverend Moon's teachings went beyond the realm of the spiritual to touch on the universal human themes of love and family. He emphasized the importance of nurturing strong, loving families as the cornerstone for a harmonious and peaceful world. To this end, he conducted mass wedding ceremonies known as the 'Blessing', symbolizing the unity of all people under God, regardless of their cultural or religious backgrounds. Moon also stressed the value of community service and encouraged his followers to actively contribute to their local communities.

Sun Myung Moon's partner in both life and work was his wife, Hak Ja Han Moon. As co-leader of the Unification Church, she is a pivotal figure in spreading their shared vision of a world unified by love and peace. Affectionately known as 'True Mother', she embodies the ideal of nurturing and unconditional love in their teachings. After Reverend Moon's passing in 2012, Hak Ja Han Moon assumed sole leadership of the Unification Church and changed the name to Heavenly Parent's Holy Community. In her leadership role, she has tirelessly carried forward their mission, upholding the church's emphasis on peace, interfaith dialogue, and strong, loving families. Under her guidance, the church has continued to flourish, spreading its message of unity and love to people around the globe.

(1920-2012) Heavenly Parent's Holy Community
How To Gain Spiritual Help

Moon, Sun Myung. How To Gain Spiritual Help. HSA-UWC Publications, 2008. [Reverend Sun Myung Moon, How To Gain Spiritual Help, Nov. 27, 1978].

Sun Myung Moon

Theme: Gratefulness

Sun Myung Moon

Sun Myung Moon (25 February 1920 – 3 September 2012) was the founder of the Holy Spirit Association for the Unification of World Christianity—which became the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification and the Universal Peace Federation. [Click Show Bio for a brief biography].

Gratitude and Prison

“My motto in life is ‘How can I live today with more gratitude than yesterday?’ I have tried to live a life in which I am more grateful today than I was yesterday, and in which I will be even more grateful tomorrow than I am today. It has been my life’s goal to have gratitude in my heart every day. Right before I left for Danbury, I said, Please never complain. You should be grateful for the position you have been placed in, for when you become completely one through your gratitude, great miracles can take place.”

—Sun Myung Moon [2010.07.08, Cheon Jeong Gung. “May You Blossom My Beloved”] p. 284

Senator Orrin Hatch

“We accused a newcomer to our shores of criminal and intentional wrongdoing for conduct commonly engaged in by a large percentage of our own religious leaders, namely, the holding of church funds in bank accounts in their own names. Catholic priests do it. Baptist ministers do it, and so did Sun Myung Moon.
No matter how we view it, it remains a fact that we charged a non-English-speaking alien with criminal tax evasion on the first tax returns he filed in this country. It appears that we didn’t give him a fair chance to understand our laws. We didn’t seek a civil penalty as an initial means of redress. We didn’t give him the benefit of any doubt. Rather, we took a novel theory of tax liability of less than $10,000 and turned it into a guilty verdict and eighteen months in a federal prison.
I do feel strongly, after my subcommittee has carefully and objectively reviewed this case from both sides, that injustice rather than justice has been served. The Moon case sends a strong signal that if one’s views are unpopular enough, this country will find a way not to tolerate, but to convict. I don’t believe that you or I or anyone else, no matter how innocent, could realistically prevail against the combined forces of our Justice Department and judicial branch in a case such as Reverend Moon’s.”

—US Senator Orrin Hatch, on the tax fraud and conspiracy charges against Sun Myung Moon.

Heungnam Labor Camp

In 1948, when Sun Myung Moon was a young preacher, the communist regime of Kim Il Sung in North Korea sentenced him to five years of hard labor at the Heungnam prison camp for “bringing disorder to society.” After arriving at the camp in May of 1948 he quickly realized that he and other political prisoners had been sent there to die. He decided that his defiance would be spiritual… His weapons would be prayer, discipline, and love. He determined to maintain a loving attitude toward God, his fellow prisoners, and the communist guards.

“I realized very clearly how God loved me and knew how much I was suffering. Since He knew it, I could not ask Him to relieve or remove the suffering… I did not pray for this. I prayed ‘God, do not worry about me…’ I examined myself to see if I could be grateful under such circumstances, and could carry on the high ideals of establishing His kingdom on earth.”

—Sun Myung Moon [Michael Breen, Edit., Sun Myung Moon: the early years 1920-53] p. 95.

Two years and eight months later, on October 15, 1950, Sun Myung Moon was liberated when the Heungnam labor camp was bombed by United Nations [USAF] forces after General Douglas MacArthur led the amphibious landings and decisive victory at the Battle of Incheon. Seven days out of prison, Moon composed a song of gratitude to God, which he called ‘Blessing of Glory.’

BLESSING OF GLORY

Now the light of glory arises like the sun that shines on high;
Now awaken into freedom, O revive, you spirits, O revive!
Wake the mountains and the valleys; bring alive the springs of the earth.
Light the world forever with the Light of your rebirth.
Light the world forever with the Light of your rebirth.

We are called to bring back the glory to the life of God above;
Now the Lord in His greatness fills the universe with tender love,
Ever seeking souls awakened, ever calling them to be free.
How shall I attend Him who is calling to me?
How shall I attend Him who is calling to me?

From the dark of death I awaken and rejoice to live in grace;
When the one who came to save me holds me tenderly in His embrace;
I rejoice to feel the comfort of the love He has for me;
What a blessing of glory to rejoice eternally!
What a blessing of glory to rejoice eternally!

Now He lifts me up to embrace me in the blessing that is mine;
What a blessing to receive Him in a love so tender and divine;
How can I return the blessing though in all my life I will try;
I can never stop feeling how unworthy am I.
I can never stop feeling how unworthy am I.

—Sun Myung Moon [Michael Breen, Edit., Sun Myung Moon: the early years 1920-53] pp. 113-114.

Resources

Michael Breen, Sun Myung Moon, The Early Years: 1920-53

In the Fullest Gratitude

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