Authors
1. The literal meaning of our word for the Blessing, chukbok, is “praying for blessings.” If you analyze the word chukbok, chuk means to pray or wish for something. When you are praying for blessings, what is most precious? The blessing of love is most precious.
The core starting point of the universe's promise is a man and a woman creating harmony. So the Blessing is the most wonderful thing. Because the Blessing is the greatest blessing you can receive, the Unification Church refers to the wedding ceremony as “the Blessing.”
When we in the Unification Church say we have received the Blessing, we do not mean we have received some worldly, present-day blessing. When we speak of the Blessing, we mean that we have been joined in holy matrimony by the leader of the Unification Church. (83-226, 1976.02.08)
The purpose of marrying
2. We marry to resemble the form of God. God exists with dual characteristics of masculinity and femininity. He is a unified being in whom both characteristics exist together in harmony. Men and women were created to reflect the dual characteristics of God.
Therefore, a man and a woman should come together in complete unity and harmony, become like the seed, and return to the state of the original nature of God. (290-055, 1998.02.02)
3. Men and women are each only half of a whole entity. Therefore, women must conquer the world of men and men must conquer the world of women. That is how they are perfected. They come to resemble God by joining their separate manifestations of God's dual characteristics back together through love.
God and people are to unite based on the love between subject and object partners. The reason God has dual characteristics is also because of love. The most precious things for people are their sons and daughters, their brothers and sisters, their spouses, and their parents.
You cannot perfect your love unless you go through the progression of child, sibling, spouse,e, and parent. That is why you must marry and give birth to sons and daughters. This is a formula. It is a cycle that repeats. (260-242, 1994.05.19)
4. Why do we marry? For Adam and Eve, it was not so that they could discover their mutual love. It was to make the vertical love of God the nucleus and, centered on that, create a spherical form as the embodiment of the Father.
God's ideal of creation is also fulfilled by focusing on such love, and only through the union of a mature man and a mature woman can love to be fulfilled and connected to life.
The connection cannot be made through life but rather through love. Based on vertical parental love, the seeds of original love can be connected for the first time through horizontal conjugal love. (173-288, 1988.02.21)
5. People marry to give love to God. We love God because we need to become one with God. When we become one with God based on the eternal love of the absolute God, we can realize eternal life. This is not all.
The world created by God through love belongs to Him, of course, but that world can become mine through the right of inheritance. At the place where we come to meet with God, He bequeaths to us the right to inherit the entire universe.
(136-040, 1985.12.20)
6. If a man and a woman want to achieve individual perfection, they need to do so by perfecting their partner and that is why they must marry. They cannot enter the realm of love if they are not married. The reason people need to marry is so they can relate to the love of God.
A man and woman cannot fully connect to the love of God if they are not married. When they marry, the love of God resides with them, and they become one through this love. God can then bequeath the whole universe to them, including God Himself, His love, and everything that is his. (135-327, 1985.12.15)
7. People marry to perfect their love while at the same time perfecting the love of their partner. Doesn't it feel good to know you marry to perfect both your love and the love of God? Men and women have to marry to prepare the foundation on earth through which God can love.
The love of God cannot reside there until a man and woman unite together based on the foundation of love. In the final analysis, people marry for the sake of God's love, that is, to possess the love of God. (165-087, 1987.05.20)
8. A man should know that the woman standing in front of him is God's daughter and the feminine aspect of humanity. Before she was my wife, she belonged to humankind.
Only if you can love her as a woman who is loved by humanity and love her as God's beloved daughter, are you qualified to be her husband. Women are the same.
Do not think, “He is my man.” Think of him as God's son and as a man representing all humankind. You have to love and serve him more than humanity does and more than God does. (88-318, 1976.10.03)
9. God desires for husbands and wives to say, “The man will become the right foot and the woman the left, and we will find happiness through making a family that leaves footprints of love for humanity and God.”
The right foot is the husband and the left foot is the wife. Do not become lame! You have to think, “We will surely move forward!” You also have to progress straight ahead.
Only then are you qualified to be married? You have to think, “When I think admiringly of my husband, I am thinking admiringly of all people and thinking admiringly of God. When I love my husband, I am loving all humanity and loving God.” (88-318, 1976.10.03)
The significance and value of receiving the Blessing
10. In the Unification Church, we call marriage the “Blessing.” The life of a married person is such that a man and woman who had been alone on their path to seeking love abandon that path and stand as complements to each other-comforting each other when they feel lonely, sharing joy when they feel joy, and giving each other strength during difficulties.
In this way, one becomes the right foot and the other the left; one becomes the right hand and the other the left. Together, they praise God, saying they are moving forward with God's love superimposed on the theater of their lives.
(101-033, 1978.10.28)
11. From the time of the Fall of Adam and Eve, our first ancestors, people have waited eagerly for the day when God would bless them. Religion has played the role of mediator between God and humankind until the day the Blessing is given.
The Unification Church seeks legitimate children to whom everything can be bequeathed. Because of Satan, people cannot receive the Blessing without going through the process of indemnity.
Even the lives of ancestors in the spirit world are determined by how much-blessed couples on the earth are aligned with God's Will. I have been making the utmost effort and fighting for the sake of this day.
The Blessing means we can inherit a relationship with the True Parents. That is why True Parents conduct the Blessing under the same banner they used while fighting against Satan's world. (19-023, 1967.11.14)
12. The era in which the Blessing is given is the most important time. It is the time when God's wishes can finally be fulfilled and His grief of the past six thousand years can be resolved. It is also the time when the wishes of Jesus, who came to earth as the Son of God for all humanity, can be fulfilled.
Moreover, it is the moment when people can truly love for the first time since their creation, and receive respect, honor, and joy from the rest of creation. On that day, all evil will disappear, and we will usher in a new era with the bright rays of the ascending sun.
Nature will rejoice, everything in the universe will dance with joy, and we will welcome a bright new morning, the new morning of victory. (19-106, 1967.12.31)
13. The time of marriage is the time when one inherits the love of God. It is also the time we inherit the authority of re-creation. The joy God felt after He created Adam and Eve appears through marriage. Thereafter, the right of dominion commences.
Through receiving the Blessing in the realm of perfection, things of the highest value are inherited. What we call our wedding ceremony therefore refers to the manifestation of love; it refers to our being given the right to create, and it refers to us as subject partners and object partners receiving the right of dominion over each other. (76-047, 1975.01.26)
14. God's reason for creating man and woman and giving them the three great blessings was to complete a family. The three great blessings — that is, to be fruitful, to multiply, and to fill the earth — are not something that an individual can fulfill alone. They can only be fulfilled within a family.
Therefore, the family is a secure environment in which individuals can establish themselves. It is the ideal foundation for that. No matter how great a man or a woman may be, there must be a father and mother, a husband and wife, and brothers and sisters in their family. (261-044, 1994.05.22)
15. Why is it that women are needed by men and men by women? It is for the sake of absolute love. Why is absolute love needed? It is to possess God. If someone possesses God, God belongs to that person.
Within that love is the right to inherit from God, the right to live together with God, and the right to participate with God. Therefore within love, God becomes ours, as does everything of God's creation. (222-025, 1991.10.27)
16. The purpose of marriage is self-perfection and dominion over the universe. When one perfects himself, he seizes control of the universe and embraces the world of the future.
Marrying is a statement that we will perfect ourselves and come to possess God. Thus, we will eternally remain as a counterpart of God, one who has assisted Him in realizing His ideal of creation. Since God created good sons and daughters, we should also give birth to and raise many good sons and daughters. Having children is a serious matter.
Through giving birth to children, we infinitely expand the world that God governs, the world that God created. And we create the ideal world that God can enjoy. This is the content of the three great blessings. When we perfect our nature, we attain the right of ownership of the world that God governs. When that happens, our joy is multiplied. When we produce children, joy overflows in the horizontal world. (246-253, 1993.04.18)
17. If you look at a woman in the spirit world, you will see the smiling face of a man within her. If you ask, “I see the face of such-and-such a man within you. Who is he?” She will answer, “He is my husband.” When two are united into one, they cannot be separated afterward.
They live together for eternity after they die. In this way, the man whom the woman loved remains one with her in her heart. Likewise, within a man is his beloved wife. That is happiness. Eventually, this happiness will be shared with God. The right of substantial beings with dual characteristics is to stand as God's counterparts through true love and to return to God.
This is the meaning of origin-DI-vision-union. The united internal nature and external form divide and then come together again as substantial beings. This is the Blessing of a man and a woman. God comes to dwell in them, becoming one with them. The man and woman become one, and everything is brought into unity. (250-108, 1993.10.12)
18. You did not realize that a man's perfection is impossible without a woman. A man and a woman are each half of one being that is only completed when they serve each other. The two become one and live for each other, and thus return God's grace, and they become the object partners of God's love.
This is the reason that the woman brings perfection to the man, the man brings perfection to the woman, and the love of the two of them brings perfection to God's love. Thus, they are in a sense greater than God. All of us wish that the counterpart of our love would be greater than we are.
We wish for our counterpart to be not just a thousand times greater but ten thousand times greater! Not ten thousand times but one hundred million times greater!
Instead of one hundred million times, one hundred million times infinity times greater than we are! Instead of being one hundred million times infinity times greater than we are, we want the counterpart of our love to be eternally one hundred million times infinity times greater!
From where does this desire come? It comes from our ancestors. Since the root of our ancestors is God, it comes ultimately from God. Even God wants the counterpart of His love to be many hundreds of millions of times greater than He. This is the imperative of heaven and earth. (268-155, 1995.03.31)
19. If Adam and Eve had not fallen and instead had become perfected, they would have experienced their Blessing ceremony. In other words, Adam and Eve were to have been the substantial object partners of God.
With Him as the subject partner, they automatically should have become the object partners. As the object partners, they should have achieved individual perfection.
This would have been the foundation upon which they could have connected their objective love to God, the subject partner of love, and fulfilled the Blessing through marriage. In the end, perfection refers to marriage, and marriage refers to the manifestation of God's love.
If marriage did not exist, love would never have begun in the human world. The owner of that love is not humanity; it is God. When that love of God appears within human beings, it becomes true love. When that heavenly true love is realized for the first time within humanity, it becomes the pride and joy of God. That is the feeling of God's love. (76-040, 1975.01.26)
20. The most precious of all blessings is to receive the love of God. The first thing is to receive the blessing of God's love. Next, one is to inherit God's authority over creation. Just as God created Adam and Eve based on love, thereby feeling joy and hope, all people, equally and universally, are meant to have the authority of creation.
They receive this same joy when they have children. Why is it that you cannot help but love your children? It is because having children is equivalent to inheriting God's great work of creation in the horizontal realm. People can feel the joy that God felt after He created Adam and Eve.
We can inherit the love of God and God's creative power. God oversees the earth, the heavens, and all created things. Even though we occupy a horizontal position, God gives us the authority of dominion over all the creation. (76-046, 1975.01.26)
21. You must know the value of the Blessing. In the age of the Second Coming, we should complete the standard of the Blessing. The new heaven and new earth begin when God resolves all the issues representing history, heaven and earth, all people, and the entire providence.
Then He will decide all things and transfer everything to one place. The gates of the Blessing are astonishing. The Blessing is so great that you could not buy it even if you offered the nation of Israel, or the countless prophets and patriotic martyrs, or all the works of God for six thousand years, or all of Jesus' and the Holy Spirit's works for two thousand years, or even all the suffering endured by all humanity to this day. (158-167, 1967.12.27)
22. I consider the Blessing to have been the most precious gift in my life. For you also, the greatest gift in human history is the Blessing. Those who have received God's Blessing represent God.
Therefore, when you receive the Blessing, you must start a family and bring Satan to his knees. You have to bring Satan to judgment. Thereafter, you need to actualize the four-position foundation and become a victorious person with dominion over the creation. (23-317, 1969.06.08)
23. The marriage ceremony is how the Heavenly Parent and the earthly parents become one through love. The man and woman join into one on the first day. You have heard the phrase “joining in virtue,” haven't you? The place where you become one body is where God enters.
Two worlds unite into one when God, who is the inner internal nature and external form, enters Adam and Eve, who are the outer internal nature and external form, through the power of love. The invisible internal nature and external form of the spirit world are the plus, while the internal nature and external form of the visible world are the minus.
A large plus becomes one with a large minus for the first time. The place where they unite is the love organs. It is only when they unite that way that a baby born through the bodies of Adam and Eve will not only be God's child but also True Parents' child. (286-088, 1997.08.09)
24. If you do not receive the Blessing after attaining perfection, you will lose the chance to be God's external form and also to be the object partner of God's love. For things to happen in line with God's Will, He must first take on an external form and find an object partner for His love.
Then He needs sons and daughters who will serve the family, descendants, and nation. That is the family. On the day the family is perfected, God comes to have an external form. He comes to have an object partner for His love and sons and daughters. How is all this unified? It is unified through the lineage.
The central root, stem, and buds are all one. You have to receive God's lineage. The root is one. You have to receive the lineage of the invisible God and the lineage of the visible God. (286-016, 1997.07.01)
The attitude of those who receive the Blessing
25. The Blessing is the most precious thing in all heaven and earth. It is also the most frightening. If a husband and wife have different thoughts, they may do each other harm. It is from you that good ancestors, good land, and good nation will appear.
Therefore, people who have received the Blessing should think of heaven and earth at all times. The Blessing is so that we can share blessings with others. Husbands and wives must become mothers and fathers to each other in heart. They should inspire the people of the world to say to them, “We want to make families like yours.” (13-067, 1963.10.17)
26. The Unification Church honors the tradition of the family. That is why I am telling you there is something of value in the Blessing I give to you that cannot be replaced with anything else from any past age.
If you leave a stain or a wound on your Blessing, it will be the shame of your family, the shame of your nation, and a shame throughout human history. With that in mind, you must give all your strength to the re-establishment of the family. (242-091, 1992.12.27)
27. The Blessing is a magnificent thing. You cannot receive the Blessing based on your desire. The value of life is more precious than that of the whole universe. That is why when you make vows to take responsibility for a person, you should be ready and willing to do so forever.
The Blessing is concerned with these issues. For this reason, if a person can receive the Blessing during his or her lifetime, he or she is truly a happy person. You must have a stronger resolve than ever before if you are to take part in receiving this great Blessing. (30-186, 1970.03.22)
28. The occasion of the Blessing is where the most precious among your relationships is decided. The Blessing can only come once in your lifetime.
Therefore, you need to pray a lot. I am telling you to offer your utmost sincere heart to God before you come to receive the Blessing.
Don't even think of trying to find the person who is to become your spouse. You have to be willing to marry even the least attractive person. You should think, “I will live happily, even if it has to be with that homely person over there.” It's problematic if your mind is all excited, without any foundation, and flies to one person and then another.
People who pray for themselves are greedy. It would be better not to pray and instead think, “Heavenly Father, I leave everything in Your hands. Isn't there a partner even for an unattractive and foolish person like me? Please do everything according to Your wishes. Even if You tell me to grow old and die alone, I will do so gladly.” (30-191, 1970.03.22)
29. Marriage is not something you should enter into casually. It's not something people should do who meet just walking down the street. If people marry simply because they feel affection for one another, as soon as they wed, some misfortune may occur.
You should not stand in the position in which you try to succeed based on your perspective. The Blessing is something we do for the sake of the nation and the world. It is also for the sake of future generations. (30-205, 1970.03.22)
30. Whether it is men or women when they did not know the Will, they probably lived just as they pleased. If you are a virgin only in name because you have some blemish from the past, you must repent with endless tears. If you do so, God will forgive you through the time of the Blessing.
The most blessed thing is for a pure girl and a pure boy to be wed by Heaven's will, in a place where God can be joyful. Such a person is lucky in front of all heaven and earth. He is a successful person in all matters in the course of human life on earth.
If you cannot do that, you must repent earnestly to the point where your stomach hurts, your heart turns over, and heaven and earth are turned upside down. We say to God, with a clean body and mind, “Father, what should I do with this shameful body of mine?”
The Father says, “I know your heart. It is my joy that I can forgive even worse than you have done and that you overcame such painful obstacles.” You must participate in the Blessing with the attitude of receiving the power of Heaven's compassion within you, telling you that God knows everything you have done but is forgiving you. This is the principled attitude to have. (157-344, 1967.10.16)
Sun Myung Moon