Rev. Moon's Holy Hankie

I just realized that although I often reference the holy handkerchief, I've never really explained how this sacred object is used. Considering the important role Rev. Moon plays in conservative politics--he is the messiah and our True Father after all--that's an oversight I feel have to rectify immediately.

Please open your books to True Father's instructions for the "Three-Day Ceremony:"

Procedure of the 3-Day Ceremony

1. Preparation

A. Selection of the place

Select as holy a place as possible. For example, one might use a Unification Church center, a house which belongs to a member, the house of physical parents if they have accepted the Principle, or some other place with a good spiritual atmosphere.

B. You must have

Holy Handkerchief
Holy Salt
Holy Gown (clothes)
2 Basins or bowls
Picture of True Parents

Optional:

2 cushions to designate the places of True Parents
Shim Jung candle
[...]

(2) The Ceremony

Put on the Holy Gowns

Stand in the positions as shown below

Since the Fall took place out of the sight of God, the Father, the photo of True Parents plays the role of Father. To begin, the man and woman stand before God and True Parents as in Sunday Pledge service and make three full bows (Figure 1). Then, the woman takes a position between the places of True Father and True Mother and seats herself facing the man (Figure 2).

Note: The woman is on the right side (opposite from pledge) because she stands in the subject position.

Her place is slightly forward of True Parents' positions; her back is to the photo of True Parents. She sits with dignity as the Messiah's wife and the mother of the man who is going to be born. The man stands in front of the woman and again bows three times just as in the Pledge service. The he kneels in front of the woman, remains silent and keeps a prayerful heart, while the woman extends her hand over his head and, with the dignity and heart of a mother, offers a prayer.

[...]

(3) For the Act of Love

The man, in the position of subject, lies above the woman and takes the initiative. The woman cooperates and responds to the man.

(4) Care of the Holy Handkerchief

After the act of love, both spouses should wipe their sexual areas with the Holy Handkerchief. Hang the handkerchief to dry naturally and keep them eternally. They must be kept individually labeled and should never be laundered or mixed up.

(5) After the Act of Love

Both husband and wife put on the Holy Gowns. The woman bows to the man once. The man then offers a prayer of thanks for the 3-day ceremony. (Both stand for this prayer)

[...]

A few notes:

(1) It is best to mark the handkerchiefs before using them so there is no problem of mixing them.

(2) The act of love should be a complete act (penetration and ejaculation). In the event that it is difficult to achieve this, strive to achieve as much penetration as possible and continue with the remainder of the ceremony.

(3) The Three-Day ceremony must be done on three consecutive nights. The time in between should be kept free of any other physical relationship.

(4) Because the purpose of the Three-Day ceremony is for restoration and not to conceive a child, it is better to do this at a time when the woman is not fertile.

(5) It is necessary to do the "act of love" in the correct positions.

(6) Do not do the contents of two days in one day. For example, do not do one in the morning and one in the evening. It is all right to start around the same time each evening, even if you finish after midnight. If the wife gets her menstrual cycle during her three days, she may get special permission to postpone the ceremony from her local BFD representative or central figure; otherwise, the ceremony should always be completed within three days.

Notice:

For the act of love, it is all right to caress each other. Insertion must be accomplished. The couple should continue the act of love until ejaculation, but if it is difficult to reach ejaculation, the act may be stopped at that point. However, insertion itself must be accomplished. If insertion is not possible because the husband does not have an erection, the wife must take her husband's sexual organ in her hand and guide it into her sexual part in order to successfully do the ceremony. If the act of love is not fulfilled and it is delayed, it must be fulfilled within 24 hours starting from the beginning of the ceremony. It is not permitted to use a condom or any other apparatus during the act of love.