Question from Lúcia Helena Mesquita Viola Tomaz (45 years old, female, lay leader of Sorocaba/Jundiaí Church) Masaaki-sama, it is a great honor to participate in this service with your presence. In your Sacred Word from the 2021 Paradise on Earth Service you said, “…every one of us must determine something: even if you lose the entire world, even if you have to sacrifice everything, will you go forward on this path of eternal life, or not?” What might I need to sacrifice? Our human consciousness, our ego, or something more? Thank you. Masaaki-sama: Thank you very much, Lúcia, for your question. You asked a very good and important question for us. Well, I think that sometimes, when we think that we can offer or sacrifice something to God, we think of important things like our consciousness, our soul. These things are invisible, are they not? Our ego, our consciousness are things that we cannot see. So it seems to be very difficult. I don’t want to say more difficult, but visible things, in truth, are very difficult to sacrifice. We sometimes think that it is very difficult to offer invisible things, but to offer visible things is very hard. For example, in the Bible, there is the famous Abraham and his wife Sarah (Genesis 17:1–17, 21:1–7, 22:1–14). She could not conceive a child for a long time, until she was 90. And during this time, Abraham was Abram—his name changed before the birth of Isaac. But to simplify a little, when Abraham was 99 years old and Sarah was 90 years old, God appeared. God appeared and said, “You, Sarah, will have a child.” And they could not believe it because at 90 years old, they thought that Sarah would not be able to have a child. But God promised this to Abraham and Sarah. And when Abraham was 100 years old and Sarah was 90, or maybe 91, Isaac was born. So this child was very important to them. They wanted, for a long time, to have a child and finally had this baby, Isaac—who would become the founder of the people of Israel. But God said to Abraham, “You must sacrifice your only son, Isaac”—he had another son with another woman, but at that time, the only son that he had was Isaac. Even so, God said to Abraham that he needed to sacrifice his son for God. I do not know what Abraham thought about this, or what kinds of thoughts came to his mind, but even so, believing in God, Abraham took his only son to the mountain and decided to kill him with a knife. And just as he was about to kill Isaac, God intervened, I think with thunder—sent some kind of thunder—and said: “You do not need to sacrifice your only son.” In truth, visible things such as this, things of this world, are very hard to sacrifice. Invisible things, our hearts, our consciousnesses and souls, we say we offer them to God, but nobody can see them, so it is very easy to say. We can say to those around us, “Ah, I offer my soul to God.” This type of thing cannot be seen, so, it is easier. But in truth, it is harder to sacrifice things that are invisible. But, in the same way—take Kyoshu-sama, for example. As Meishu-sama’s grandson, if he had listened to what Sekai Kyusei Kyo wanted, he would not have had to lose everything visible: the museum, the artworks Meishu-sama, his own grandfather, personally purchased, and also the Church itself, the members, the sacred grounds. All of these visible things. I think that for Kyoshu-sama, to do something against the Church must have been incredibly difficult because he knew that by doing so, he would lose all of these visible things. However, just as God’s will superseded all for Abraham, so too, for Kyoshu-sama, Meishu-sama’s will supersedes all. And truthfully, Kyoshu-sama believes—I believe—that Meishu-sama’s wish is that members receive the true will of Meishu-sama. So I think Kyoshu-sama sacrificed the sacred grounds, not only in Japan, but in Brazil and Thailand as well. These were places Kyoshu-sama had cared for over many years, and his responsibility was to envelop all the sacred grounds with the light of Meishu-sama. So I believe it was a very difficult decision for Kyoshu-sama to sacrifice everything. Even so, I think Kyoshu-sama wanted to follow the true path that Meishu-sama prepared for him. I think that when we think about sacrifice, we say that the spirit—spiritual things—precede physical things, correct? But in truth, to sacrifice visible things is very hard. This will vary from person to person. To some it might be the sacred grounds—to the members of Meishu-sama, this is something important. But to others, it is not. But I am sure that God will test each one of us. He will test each one of us: whether we choose God or the world. He will test each one of us. This day will come. Or rather it is already arriving, and He will test whether we are ready to choose the path of God or not. I do not know what this will mean for you, Lúcia, but when God tests us, our faith will be tested as well. It will be very difficult at times, but for this, we have our brothers and sisters to overcome the challenges of the world and always choose God over the world. So to answer your questions, I do not know what these things personally are for you to sacrifice, but I think that each of us has something that is very difficult to sacrifice. So I wish that at that moment, God grants us the strength to overcome this challenge. This is what I think.Question from Celina Keiko Watanabe Oyama (36 years old, female, lay leader of Litoral Church) Masaaki-sama, it is a true joy to serve and receive your Sacred Word here, directly from you today. I have two small children and would like to know: how do you share the Sacred Word with your children in this new phase of the divine plan? Masaaki-sama: Thank you very much for your question. I think it is a very good question. Well—Kyoshu-sama and my mother—when I think back as to how they taught me about this path of God, Kyoshu-sama and my mother almost never forced it. And, in truth, I do not remember a time when they might have said, “Ah, you need to believe in God. You need to believe in Meishu-sama. You need to believe this or that.” So when I was young, I couldn’t recall the entire Amatsu-Norito or the Zengen-sanji, which is a much longer and harder prayer to memorize. That’s because they never forced us to pray and would let us—I have an older brother—do as we pleased. Even so, today I am striving to believe in God. It is strange, isn’t it? Sometimes you try to make a person think in a certain way and the person ends up not believing in God. In my case, my parents never pushed me. However, some years back, my mother said that we, my brother and I, before going to sleep, would say, “Good night, God!” before sleeping. And in the morning, “Good morning, God!” So I think that my parents were teaching me about God’s existence, but I have no recollection of this. For my family, as my parents did with me, I try not to force them. But, for example, on important days when my daughters go to kindergarten, I try to say, “Ah, if you face some difficulty, remember that God is inside you, Jesus is inside you, Meishu-sama is in you.” And sometimes I say to my children, “You think I am your father, but the true father exists—He is called God.” I think it is also important to remember that we, sometimes, think that we are in the position to teach our children, correct? But in heaven, when we left heaven, our children were there waving goodbye to us, in heaven, because they had not been born on earth yet. This means that we, in my case 1980, at that time, in heaven, probably my children were waving goodbye to me saying, “See you later.” Sometimes we think that we are in the position to teach, but maybe, they understand more about God and truth than we do. And if truly God exists within them, naturally the truth will appear. When babies are born on earth, they cry. We think that this baby is crying because of pain or lack of air, or something. But maybe, babies cry because they are sad to have separated from God, because they were with Him in heaven. To be born on earth, babies need to say goodbye and separate themselves from God. So maybe, babies cry—because all babies cry—maybe they are crying out of sadness, “Ah, I miss God.” (applause) So I think it is important for us to remember that they have the truth within them, and we only need to assist them. Maybe they will teach us much more important things. This is how I think. I think that if we do in fact cry when we separate from God and are born on earth, then what we are doing now is seeking this reunion with God. Maybe we will face many difficulties, because when we were babies, we remembered God, but little by little, we forgot God. Little by little, we began to live in the reality of the world—always preferring the world more than God. So God, wanting to reunite with us, gives us all these difficulties so that we return once more to God and accomplish this reunion with God. Question from Amadeus Valdrigue (38 years old, male, Regional Director of Southeast) Masaaki-sama, with deep respect and fear of God, I express my gratitude for the permission to participate in this service in your holy presence—Kyoshu-sama’s representative—and for all the love that you are bestowing on us. I believe you have touched the hearts of all those here. I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude. Would it be possible to receive your Sacred Word about your expectation for us, followers of Meishu-sama, here in Brazil? Please. Masaaki-sama: Thank you very much, Amadeus, for your question. My understanding is that you are asking about Brazil’s mission and the mission of members in Brazil. I think that you, the Brazilians, have a mission that is very big and very important because Meishu-sama’s wish is to complete the salvation that Jesus started. Therefore, we need to complete Christianity in some way. Brazil is a country with many Christians. And we—we believe in Jesus, we believe in the Bible. However, we are now trying to make it so the Christians too, awaken to the truth that we all need to be born anew as Messiahs: the truth that all of humanity can be the Second Coming of Christ. The foundation is the atonement of Jesus. Foundation. Having this as the foundation. For example, in countries like Japan, Christianity is not so strong. So sometimes to accept this truth, to accept Jesus, is very difficult. But in Brazil, many of you already accept Jesus and the Bible. So there is a foundation. You don’t need to make an extra effort to have people believe in Jesus. If many Brazilians can wake up to the truth that we can all be born anew as Messiahs—and Brazil is a country of many races and ethnicities—accordingly, I believe that if Brazil awakens, the world will change, the whole world will change. Japan will change as well. Therefore, I believe Brazilians must be the first. Brazil must be the first country in the world, to show the world the prototype of us being truly brothers and sisters united in the name of Messiah. If you are able to do this, the world will change. (applause) (Suddenly, a female member in the audience said) This is not going to happen anytime soon. This is not going to happen in Brazil anytime soon. As soon as Rev. Watanabe passed, all the corruption came out, and the leadership of the other Church made a mess. Masaaki-sama: In truth, having difficulties is necessary too. For what would be the value of faith if we could already see the outcome so easily? When we feel we have no future at all, and if God opens the way, we then can believe. If we can already foresee, this is not faith. Because the stronger the light is, the darker the shadow becomes. (applause) Therefore, to have difficulties is not an obstacle for us. On the contrary. It means that God is shining very brightly trying to save and envelop all of humanity with His light. That is why the shadow is strong, darkness is intense. (applause) That is why we feel so much in our hearts. Because our heart is intensely receiving God’s light 24 hours, always. “That person, this person, now I have this illness, and now I have this problem”—our hearts are always suffering in some way, because God is shining His light on us. And this light is the true Johrei. True Johrei. 24 hours. (applause) Everyone at this moment is receiving God’s Johrei 24 hours a day. Totally different concept, isn’t it? (applause) If Meishu-sama hadn’t said that Johrei was not so important and that we had entered the world of sonen—well, it is possible that we would have continued practicing Johrei with our hands raised—but Meishu-sama said that the world of sonen has already arrived, and that we need to pray in our hearts. Meishu-sama said it. He really said this. When we practiced Johrei, at that time, we were taught to “just raise your hand, relax and channel Johrei.” But now, Meishu-sama is saying, “You need to pray in your heart.” So this means that we need to use words with God, “Ah, I am receiving your light. You are enveloping me 24 hours a day.” People think that the light of Johrei is getting weaker. No! It is the opposite. Look! Our hearts: all kinds of thoughts are coming, aren’t they? This means that the light of God—Johrei—is getting ever stronger. He is trying to save everyone through our hearts. This is the true Johrei with which we need to serve. So I went quite off track, didn’t I? (laughter) President Santos: Your digression has been wonderful. (applause) How wonderful that you have gone off track! Please feel free. Masaaki-sama: Thank you very much. So you, the Brazilians, really have a very important mission. I am glad to be Japanese and not have a mission like this. (laughter) Just kidding. (laughter) But I really believe that Brazil, in God’s plan, in Meishu-sama’s plan, is a very important country. Maybe during Meishu-sama’s time, the reality of the world was a bit different. Meishu-sama didn’t write much about Brazil, but the mere fact that we have so many members in Brazil means something for Meishu-sama. I believe that if Brazil changes, the world will change. Even if we—I am not saying we do not have difficulties and challenges; yes, we have many and will have many more—but I believe that you will bring this gospel, the true gospel of salvation to all of Brazil, and Brazil will change, the world will change, and the ideal world, paradise on earth, will concretely manifest in this world. Therefore, I am counting on you. I want to return to Brazil many times. Why? Because I believe that you have an extremely important mission and I want to walk with you to bring this truth of Meishu-sama and save the world. Agreed? (applause) President Santos: Thank you very much, Masaaki-sama. (applause) (As applause continues, President Santos says) Thank you very much, Masaaki-sama. Another round of applause. (applause) Thank you, Kyoshu-sama, for allowing us to receive you here to strengthen us, give us direction as to how to proceed from here on. Once again, Masaaki-sama, in the name of all holy members of the Church that follow Meishu-sama one hundred percent, from the bottom of our hearts, our most precious gratitude. Thank you very much. (applause)