The Mount of the House of the Lord
FATHER DIVINE said:
"When you get this Love in your heart, when it is once established in reality in your heart from the depths of your soul, to you, GOD, the reaction of such a real conviction will give desirable blessings such as you may be seeking whensoever you concentrate in that direction. Can you not see the mystery?
"Then I say, it is a privilege to know, by reiteration you produce and bring into outer expression and into conscious consideration and realization that which you are reiterating:
'I feel mighty happy when I love the Lord!'
Then you feel happy when you love everybody, for it puts a ban on discord and puts a ban on prejudice; it puts a ban on every expression that would motivate the act of violence or any destructive enactment within yourself. It cause the CHRIST within to express and be resurrected, that you might know definitely, CHRIST is Risen!
"You do not know CHRIST is risen, only theoretically, until HE has risen within you. But when HE has risen within you, you can say for sure,
'I know that my REDEEMER Liveth for HE Liveth in my soul.'
"I need not say more. I had arisen merely especially to say, we have visiting friends with us and as usual we are pleased to have any stranger or visitor, regardless to your religious affiliation, regardless to your political or social affiliation. The Spirit of MY Presence in these, MY True and Faithful, is endeavoring to be, and it is really hospitable; hence you can be entertained at all times.
"Now I would like to say, we also have the special honor this morning or this afternoon, whichever, of having the Archbishop Francis with us and one of his staff in the priesthood. We appreciate their presence and always do. We hope that he will have something to say as he usually does. I AM sure he will if he cares to, because he knows we are accustomed to allowing everybody to speak according to the dictates of their own conscience without criticism.
"If any others would like to speak, they are welcome to speak as well as he, but I AM sure we all would be pleased to hear from the Archbishop Francis this afternoon. I thank you. I thank you. I thank you."
(Directly after FATHER finished speaking, Archbishop Francis arose from his seat at the Banquet Table and spoke, his remarks being in part as follows:)
"Peace FATHER! Peace, angels, and Peace, all Children and Friends! You could have gone around the world many times and you never would have heard such a wonderful sermon as you heard from FATHER this afternoon. You are especially privileged in hearing these constantly.
'What FATHER has spoken about the expression of His Children in happiness and the expression that they give forth to what is within, is very true, as all of His Sayings are. If you knew how I, as a public speaker, as a bishop, as a teacher, have to face congregations sometimes that seem to be of the living dead I might just as well be talking to tombstones sometimes! I get up in the high pulpit and look over the people's heads and they are motionless. They have been motionless all the time and their faces are motionless most of the time and they have none of that which FATHER has said the CHRIST that is risen within you that is the hope of glory. That is what all of you Children have found, thanks to FATHER!
"So, of all of the pleasures and privileges that we have, the greatest is in coming here to catch some of Your Spirit, hoping that we can take it away with us to the dark corners of the earth among the people who have not yet heard of FATHER DIVINE the way that they should have heard.
"I want to assure you, after the many years of close friendship with FATHER and the MOVEMENT, there is nobody escapes my presence without knowing of FATHER DIVINE. It is a privilege to be able to tell of this Movement, which is an exponent, the only real exponent of PEACE! PEACE, you know, is not the state of not being at war. That is a wrong interpretation altogether. We have PEACE societies all over the world that do not know what PEACE means. They have not a ghost of an idea what PEACE means! PEACE comes from the Greek word it means a wholeness of soul. It means a complete happiness. It means having the GOD within you, the hope of glory. It means what FATHER in your lives and what you are showing as a reflection of what FATHER has shown to you.
"This last week-end has been one of greater happiness to me than most week-ends. I am always happy. I live a very happy life, as a rule. I am very thankful of the many things I have and of the things I do not have. I was happy in taking Father Victor and Father Boniface to the Promised Land. We went up on Saturday. I had business nearby, very important business, but the most important, of course, was really visiting the Promised Land. The other business was an excuse the reason was the visit.
"We went to Hope Farm and we were surprised and delighted at the happiness there, the orderliness, the welcome, the courtesy! It was exquisite! Then we went to stay at the hotel where friends put us up. But why should we stay in a hotel in such a different atmosphere when we could go to the Meeting at Greenkill Park? So we jumped in the little car and went down there. We saw some new faces, some old; all of them hoping and waiting that FATHER might be there in the Body. Singing, happy and beautiful it was, and we had a very happy Meeting.
"On Sunday morning we went to Krum Elbow and there we found the followers not doing like most so-called Christians do remembering the Sabbath Day to keep it holy because FATHER teaches you to remember the week day to keep it holy. So many people you know pray to GOD on Sunday and prey on their fellowmen all week long. FATHER doesn't teach anything like that, and we found a lot of the Children all busy not pious in religion, I mean in the real sense of the word, industrious at Krum Elbow, and there was a hearty welcome there. We did not see all of it we saved a few things because we want more surprises later on. And so we just looked a little and went on. Then we went to the Artists' Colony at Milton, and what a glorious thing we saw there! If there are any people here that have not been up there, I strongly advise you to go, and you have heard the Words of FATHER DIVINE: 'And by their works ye shall know them.'
"Go up there and you will see what FATHER is bringing to pass. You will realize the KINGDOM of GOD is among men. You realize that there are Kingdoms of PEACE and SERENITY, which is really most impressive. And then we came back to New York to this chaos, this modern Babel, on Sunday night. My heart was a little heavy because I realize there are so many that have not touched this great WELLSPRING of PEACE; so many, and what can be done to make them realize this PEACE? They will! You and Your Movement is growing; prejudice is dispelling and the KINGDOM of GOD is going forth!
"I just whispered to FATHER that this summer we are going up to the Promised Land to live ourselves. So you see FATHER is drawing all men unto Him. So to tell you how happy I am, is carrying coals to Newcastle. If I were not happy, I would be the most ungrateful person in the world. I am happy to know FATHER DIVINE and what FATHER is doing. All of you remain faithful, all of you bring others like Andrew did, bringing Peter, to your MASTER, and your reward will be great. It must be great because the treasures that FATHER is opening to you are as yet untouched. I thank You, FATHER! I thank you, Children."
Taken from The New Day, July 13, 1939 A.D.F.D., Pages 91-93