A Mother’s Love: Happy Mother’s Day 2021
FFWPU-USA
As we celebrate this coming Sunday, May 9, we are wishing a Happy Mother’s Day to all the mothers out there, including our very own Mother of Peace, Dr. Hak Ja Han Moon!
Dr. Moon, co-founder of Family Federation for World Peace and Unification (FFWPU) with her late husband, Rev. Dr. Sun Myung Moon, is the mother of all humanity and the mother of 14 biological children. Together, she and Rev. Moon began the international Marriage Blessing movement in the 1960s—which centers on God and true love to create ideal families—transforming the lives of millions of couples and families worldwide.
While devoting their lives to world peace and establishing one global family under God, our Heavenly Parent, Mother Moon has also been a champion of women. She has traveled throughout the world initiating a range of international projects that uplift and empower women in this new age of leadership. Among her endeavors, Dr. Moon launched the Women’s Federation for World Peace (WFWP) in 1992, which unites women to “establish a culture of heart in the family, community, nation, and world in order to achieve genuine and sustainable peace under God.”
In 2020, Mother Moon penned her memoir Mother of Peace, dedicating Chapter 8, “The Mother Builds the Family, the Family Builds the World,” to the role of mothers.
Below is an excerpt from her memoir:
Until now, neither men nor women have known the true value of womanhood… To be a clear mirror that reflects this age, each woman first needs to be clear and pure within herself. Each needs to find the indomitable power within that is necessary to overcome self-centeredness. She needs to become a true daughter who attends her parents with filial piety, and a true wife who completes her husband with fidelity and devotion.
Moreover, she needs to become a true mother who raises her sons and daughters with love and dedication. She needs to form a family of true love that attends God. God will raise up such true women as leaders on the path to world peace… As the Mother of one family under God, I feel the pain of each person as my own pain… God gave us the blessing to ‘be fruitful.’ That means to have spiritual psychological and physical health… When I see people in need, I cannot pass them by. That is the nature of true love that originates in the deepest heart of Heaven…
‘What comes first, life or love?’ When asked this question, most people answer that life comes first. ‘After all,’ they say, ‘only when there is life can there be love.’ In my view, it is love that comes first. Thinking externally, we define our birth as our starting point, but love came before our birth. Our body and mind came from our parents. If not for the love of our father and mother, we would not be in this world. We should never give up love, even if it means having to give up our life. We were born through love, so we should walk the path of love and we should die for love.
True love is the power that unites a man and a woman eternally… The term ‘hyojeong,’ which I created, includes giving one’s whole heart… the beautiful love, care and deep heart of parent and child. However, the term hyojeong that I have been using has a much deeper and wider meaning… ‘Hyo’ means duty motivated by love, duty that is not compulsory but is happily voluntary, and that provides one’s life its deepest meaning. Of course, that includes sincerely honoring and truly loving your parents. ‘Hyo’ is a beautiful Korean tradition and also is the foundation of life…
When I hear the word ‘hyojeong,’ I think of my oldest son Hyo-jin and my second son Heung-jin, who hold special places in my heart. Both have passed into the spirit world; Heung-jin passed on first… A filial son considers what he can do for his parents and courageously follows through. A filial child has the spirit of serving and is welcomed everywhere. Such a child always fills God’s hopes. This is why the spirit of hyojeong is great; it seeks to serve others and not oneself…
The filial devotion of our sons, Hyo-jin and Heung-jin, lives on in my heart, along with the spirit of my beloved husband. When we convey filial devotion to all people, and everyone lives for the sake of others and looks after each other, that will be the Kingdom of Heaven. Filial devotion is a pre-eminent practical virtue as well as an eternal pillar of life. We must practice filial devotion while our parents are alive. After they are gone, no matter how much we want to sacrifice for them, it will be too late. We must know how precious this moment is and be proud of it.
Let’s strive to be true filial sons and daughters, honoring our mothers and fathers today and each day. Thank you Mother Moon, and all mothers, for the tremendous work you do as a parent!
