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Iran's Sacred Defense helped to develop the culture of Resistance

The following is the full text of the speech delivered by Imam Khamenei, the Leader of the Islamic Revolution, in a meeting with veterans from the Sacred Defense and the Resistance field. The meeting was held in the Imam Khomeini Hussainiyah on September 20, 2023, inaugurating Sacred Defense Week.

In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful

All praise is due to God, Lord of the Worlds, and peace and greetings be upon our Master, Muhammad, and his pure, immaculate, chosen Progeny, particularly the Remnant of God on earth.

I profoundly thank Almighty God for giving me the opportunity to attend this magnificent, comprehensive, meaningful meeting. I would like to extend my thanks to those who organized this event.  Also, I would like to thank the brothers and sisters who presented various programs for an hour or so at the beginning of this meeting. The recitation of the Quran was good, the anthems that were sung were excellent — in terms of both the poetry and the music — the elegy was very good, and the speakers spoke about very good matters. Almost everything that is in our hearts and in our minds regarding the Sacred Defense and its relationship with the people were mentioned by these ladies and gentlemen. Nevertheless, there is a need to reflect on and to think about these matters in order to find solutions, God willing.

What I would like to say is that the event of the Sacred Defense is a prominent, important period in our country’s history. We should understand this period and this important event properly and introduce it to future generations. I strongly believe that if our succeeding generations learn about the important, meaningful aspects of the Sacred Defense and realize how the Iranian nation was able to reach the heights of victory in this important event and to stand up there with power and pride, they will learn great lessons from it and they will achieve great things. This is my firm opinion.

The greatness of this event must be recognized. Much has been done [in this field], books have been written, films have been made, and memoirs have been narrated; however, in my opinion, there is still much more room for work to be done. Up until now, we have not been able to recognize or make known the details of this great, colorful painting. We are looking at it from a distance. But if we look at it closely, we will find that in every piece of it there is so much beauty, so many fine points, and so much meaning and depth that one is amazed. Each piece of it is like this, and this information must be made known to people.

Of course, I obviously do not intend to carry out this goal in this meeting, it is impossible. It is a large, extensive, comprehensive task. Nevertheless, I would like to speak about some aspects of it. We want the greatness of this event to be known. The greatness of this event can be looked at from several angles and perspectives. One of its angles concerns what was being defended, because we are talking about a Sacred Defense. So, what were we defending? That’s the first issue. If we look at it from this angle, an important part of the greatness of this event will become apparent.

Another angle is who was the defense confronting? Who was it that had attacked us that necessitated a defense? This is another angle which I think is important. The third perspective or angle is who were the defenders? This is also a novel and important thing that I will mention two or three sentences about. The fourth angle is what were the results and achievements of this defense?

Now I have mentioned these four aspects, but of course, it can be viewed from other angles as well. So, we need to discuss this. We need to think, study, and ask ourselves what was being defended? Second, who was the defense confronting? Third, who was doing the defending? Fourth, what was the result of this defense? I believe that each one of these issues is very important. We need to think and study each one of these issues. This is very important.

As to “what was being defended,” the Islamic Revolution, the Islamic Republic —which was the product of defending the Islamic Revolution — and the country’s territorial integrity were being defended. These were the three important things that were being defended. The other side had attacked these three things. Of course, the target of the main, important part of the front of the enemy, which I will explain later in the second part of my speech, was not the issue of territorial integrity. That was Saddam’s goal. Their target was the Revolution. They wanted to suppress this unparalleled, great, important Revolution that had taken place in Iran thanks to the sacrifices that had been made by the people.

Why do we say it was unparalleled? Because it was a phenomenon that had not taken place before in major revolutions. It was democratic, it was religious, it was authentic, and it was not dependent. It was related to a nation. It was by the people. It was not like coups, revolutions by political parties, or things of that sort.

 

This Revolution was able to remove the dependent, corrupt system that was ruling the country and establish a new system and a new voice in its place — the Islamic Republic. “Republic” means democracy. “Islamic” means religion. Religious democracy was a new term in the world. We have had religious governments throughout history, but there was no talk of democracy in them. We have had democratic governments, real or fictitious, but there was no talk of religion in them.

Never before had there been a government or a system in which religion and this world, this world and the hereafter, and people and God were all involved and were the builders of it. But such a thing happened and they wanted to crush it, overcome it, and eliminate the Islamic Republic. This was their target, and this has remained their target up until today. They come up with all different types of excuses, but as to those who are against the Islamic Republic, are opposing it, and are hostile toward it, their problem is with the “Islamic Republic.” Other marginal issues are of less importance. This is their main issue and it was back then as well.

Of course, there was a wicked, greedy person such as Saddam in the midst of this who was far removed from any aspect of human decency. He had another goal as well, which was to destroy the Islamic Republic, to invade and assault the country’s territorial integrity, to take the oil-rich regions of the country, and to divide the country. These were his goals, but the other parties didn’t care much about these things. Their main concern was that [the Islamic Republic].

There is a big difference between a war that takes place with the aim of changing a part of the border between two countries and a war that takes place to destroy the thing that constitutes the identity of a nation. Many wars take place in the world. There are border wars, which aim to seize lands. However, a war that targets the identity of a nation, all a country has, and the achievements that a nation has gained with its sacrifices — such as the Islamic Revolution — is different from those wars. This event is different from those events.

So, what was defended were these basic, important points. The issue was not only about a part of the border being moved back or being pushed forward or about changes in geographical borders. Of course, even if that were the case, that would still be important. But the importance of this cannot be compared to that. So, this was about what was being defended, the issue of defense.

Now, let’s consider the second angle, which is [the question of] “who were the aggressors?” If we look at the matter from this perspective, the greatness and importance of the Sacred Defense will become clear. There are times when a country attacks another country. Or at times an alliance of two or three governments or two or three powers attack a place. But there are times when the entire world attacks a country. This was the case. I am not exaggerating about this, and when I say “the entire world,” I am not referring to some remote country that has no influence on what is taking place in the world. All of the world’s important powers back then formed a common front and contributed to the attack that was launched on us, on the Islamic Republic and the Islamic Revolution.

The US contributed in one way, various countries in Europe contributed in another way, and the Eastern Bloc, which was led by the Soviet Union back then, contributed in their own way [to this attack]. It was said that the Americans were the main instigators behind the attack on Iran. Now, of course, documents have been published about this, I have not seen or carried out any research in this field, but that is what was said. It was widely talked about that the US was the main instigator behind Saddam’s war on Iran. Then, during the war, the most critical form of assistance, which was assistance in intelligence, was provided by the US.

At that time, it was not like today. All these facilities did not exist at that time. But aerial maps were readily available to the Americans. They would easily map the positions and arrangements of our forces and continuously put these at their [the Iraqi forces’] disposal, one after another.

It is obvious that the Americans provided this kind of support [to Saddam]. They provided Saddam with tactics for warfare. And there were the Europeans [and their support]. The French provided the most advanced aerial equipment to Iraq, including Mirage fighters, Super Étendard [aircraft], and Exocet missiles. These were the most advanced equipment in the world at that time and they provided these to Saddam.

The Germans provided Saddam with the opportunity to procure chemical weapons, which caused all this tragedy in Iran and even in Iraq itself, in the city of Halabja and other places. Such crimes were committed by the very countries that make so many claims today!

The Eastern Bloc, the former Soviet Union, and countries in Eastern Europe gave Iraq whatever it needed in terms of ground and aerial equipment. They provided whatever it needed. Missiles were costly at that time, so they decided to provide it with artillery that could reach Tehran. In other words, they equipped Saddam’s artillery systems to a degree that he could target Tehran at a low cost and cause disruptions. They did whatever they could to assist him.

The Arabs in our region, the Arab countries, provided him with unlimited amounts of money. All these things that he imported and bought from European countries were bought with the money given to him by our Arab friends. They gave him both money and transportation routes. The region on the border of the southern part of the Persian Gulf was the place where trucks and heavy vehicles were constantly bringing equipment to Iraq. So everyone helped Saddam, everyone! The aggressors were these.

But what about us? We didn’t have anyone to support us. Even the provisions and weapons that we were prepared to purchase were not given to us except on rare occasions. There were a few very minor cases where we were able to buy and import a product from a place by paying more money than was conventional and usual with great difficulty and with much effort. But this had absolutely no effect on the inequality in the war, nor was this able to reduce this inequality by even a bit, [no] that is not how it was.

So, in a battle like this and in such a confrontation, the Iranian nation was able to stand on the heights of victory and demonstrate its magnificence to the world. This is greatness.

The third aspect which is about “who were the defenders?” is also an exceptional matter. Well, there was the Army, there was the IRGC, and the Basij forces were present in the form of IRGC units. These are more or less similar to what we see in the world today. In other words, their appearance was similar to present day armed units, but they weren’t just that. They weren’t that. Yes, the appearance of those who were defending, the appearance of the Army, and the appearance of the IRGC seemed to be similar to the conventional settings we see around the world, but they were something else internally. Internally, they were not at all similar to the world’s military campaigns.

First of all, the commander of this collection, the magnanimous Imam Khomeini, was a divine man. He was a unique, divine person who, along with his knowledge, thought, experience, and maturity in various areas, possessed a clear soul and spiritual purity. Therefore, his words were influential.

For example, consider when he said, “Paveh must be rescued.” I heard this from the late [Mustafa] Chamran who said, “As soon as Imam Khomeini’s message was broadcast on the radio at two p.m.” — they were under siege in Paveh and the enemy had surrounded them — “as soon as this message was broadcast, although no forces had yet arrived, and perhaps they had not even been deployed, we saw that the way had opened up around us.” This message, these words were effective in themselves. I heard this from Chamran himself, our dear martyr.

[Or when Imam Khomeini said], “The siege on Abadan must be broken,” there was no question about this. The siege was broken. In various instances, for example, in the case of Susangerd and the conflict over the attack on Susangerd, there were questions about whether we should go there to defend it or not. There were problems with regard to it. When Imam Khomeini’s message came, via a mediator, the issue was resolved. [We had] a commander like him whose words were so influential and benefited from spirituality, purity, and a strong spirit.

Furthermore, there was the religious color of the Sacred Defense, the religious color. When there is a religious color, what happens is that this young man takes action while eagerly awaiting martyrdom. Read the biographies that have been written [about the martyrs]. They set out with the hope of being martyred. They would cry because they wanted to go to the battlefield in the hope of becoming a martyr. This is what happens when there is a religious color. The families of these young men, their fathers, mothers, and wives, would give their approval and send them to the battlefield, for the cause of God.

I have often visited the mothers of martyrs who, for example, had one or two children who were martyred. They would say that even if they had had ten children, they would have been prepared to offer them as martyrs. They were honest. They were saying this in truth. Now in this exhibition here, they showed us a few instances. There was a woman who was the mother of nine martyrs! Is this a joke? A mother of nine martyrs or eight martyrs — can you even imagine such a thing? But this happened. 

I myself saw a family in Kurdistan where seven people from one family, what comes to my mind now is that there were seven people, were martyred. The first time I saw them their mother was alive and their father was also alive. Later on, their father passed away. Seven martyrs from one family. What else but a religious factor can cause such a thing? This is the factor of "religion." These people were the defenders.

The front lines of our battlefield were mihrabs [the place in front of the mosque where the prayer leader leads the communal prayers] of worship. In the middle of the night, a young man, a commander, or someone who was not a commander, a company, or a battalion would sit down, shed tears, cry, and pray. This did not happen in just one, two, or ten cases. This was happening in all the various areas of the front. Where in the world, in which war, in which military conflict, has such a situation ever been seen? Where has there been this passion for martyrdom, these invocations, such attentiveness to Almighty God, a desire for martyrdom, and such things? There was also the general presence of the nation. In other words, the battlefield did not just consist of the area where there was a conflict taking place. Areas behind the fronts were also part of the battlefront, like the places from where the forces were being supplied.

Around the world, military bases are the place where forces are supplied from. But here, they came from the military bases, mosques, heyats, universities, seminaries, and schools. A schoolteacher would go to fight in the war and his students would follow him. There were many martyrs who were [high school] students, many who were university students, and many who were seminary students. A large number of people from the mosques and a large number of those who spoke for the people on the minbars served this magnificent movement. These people were the defenders.

There were families, housewives, and others in various sectors who were supporting the effort as well. In places where they were working to support our troops, they would wash the blood-stained clothes of the soldiers. This has been written about in the book The Pool of Blood, and I have mentioned this book before. The entire nation was involved in these affairs.

Now, I am not saying that every single person in the nation was involved, but this movement took place among the general public and among different levels in society. It was not limited to a group of people who would leave the barracks to fight and return. The greatness of an event can be well understood from this factor and factors of this kind.

In my opinion, dozens of clarifying and artistic works can be produced with regard to this aspect, especially with regard to this third aspect [“who were the defenders?”]. Work should not be limited to merely writing books. Now, I was just told that apparently they are making a movie based on the book The Pool of Blood. Hundreds of interesting works of art can be created like this and, God willing, they should be created. Some work has been done already, but more things need to be added.

In terms of achievements, these are not limited to just a couple of achievements. If someone were to look into the achievements of the Sacred Defense, they could write tens of volumes of a book in this field. I will just mention a few points regarding this. First of all, the country’s territorial integrity was preserved, which is very important. The entire world had united with Saddam to infringe upon the borders. They tried for eight years, but they failed to take over even an inch of the country’s land. This is not something easy or insignificant at all. This is very important. This is one of the achievements, but the other achievements are more important.

One achievement was that the Iranian nation discovered the greatness of its capabilities. Consider the younger ladies and gentlemen who came and spoke here today. They keep saying that we should apply and use the techniques used during the Imposed War, the Sacred Defense, in the administration and management of the country, in the economy, and in other such areas.

What does this mean? It means that during the Sacred Defense, the capabilities of the Iranian nation were seen so clearly that everyone wants to follow those approaches in all sections of the management of the country, the development of the country, and the growth of the country. In other words, the Sacred Defense brought an image in front of the Iranian nation that allowed it to recognize itself. What we were told throughout history and the way we were treated was the opposite of this. During the period of the Qajar and during the period of the Pahlavi, it was continuously instilled in us that we can’t, that we aren’t anyone important, that we aren’t worthy of anything, and that the world powers are able to wipe us off the face of the earth with one motion. This is what we were taught.

They had always told us that we should learn from them, that we should follow them, and that we should ask them for things. The Sacred Defense showed us otherwise. It showed us that those very people, whom some [still] depend on and pin their hopes on, join forces and take action against our nation, but can’t do a damn thing! [The Sacred Defense] showed the Iranian nation this.

So, we discovered our own capabilities. We realized that a young man like Martyr Hasan Baqeri — not to mention those who are alive as we have plenty of similar people who are still alive — gets up and goes to the battlefields and becomes a strategist in a short period of time. In other words, he becomes a defense and war strategist. Is such a capability a joke? Where was this talent? Martyr Hasan Baqeri was a young man. He was a newspaper reporter. He wrote articles for the Jomhuri-e Eslami newspaper.

This talent flourished. We have thousands of similar examples of such talent, such as talent in construction. Is it a small achievement to build a bridge over the turbulent, wild Arvand Rud [border river between Iran and Iraq] and to have several armies cross while being bombarded by the enemy? Was that even possible? The enemy couldn’t believe such a thing could happen, but it did! That was a capacity. It was a talent. It was hidden, but it became apparent.

This is one of the important achievements. By referring to the work that our youth carried out in those days during the Sacred Defense, we can now confidently say that our youth can solve all of the country’s problems today. When it is said, “In changes of circumstances, the essences of humans become known” (Nahj al-Balaghah, Wisdom 217), it is not just about people. It is about societies as well. You can see the true colors of a society in difficult, problematic events.

We did not know ourselves and neither did other people. The world did not know us either. During the Sacred Defense, we learned about ourselves, and others learned about us too. Those who were making so many [false] claims in the world realized who we are.

Another achievement of the Sacred Defense was safeguarding the country. It safeguarded the country. In other words, the Sacred Defense safeguarded the country against possible military attacks to a large extent. They kept saying that military action is also on the table. But it did not even budge from the table, because they knew that if they were to enter this field, they may be able to initiate it, but they will not be the ones to finish it. This was what the Sacred Defense demonstrated. This is another achievement.

Deep, sincere faith, strong, firm determination, the intelligence of the Iranian youth, the ability of military and non-military elements to use initiative and innovation, and the ability to overcome global aggressors were the things that were revealed and seen about our nation and our soldiers during the Sacred Defense. Well, the nation itself recognized these things. Naturally, when we recognize and understand that we have these abilities, our hope will increase, our vitality will increase, and we will try to use these capabilities even more. We can use these capabilities in other fields as well. This is one of the important achievements of the Sacred Defense.

Another achievement of the Sacred Defense was that it expanded our frontiers. I am not speaking of geographical borders. We did not seek to expand our geographical borders, neither at that time nor now. We are not seeking to expand our geographical borders. The Sacred Defense expanded our other frontiers, such as the frontier of resistance. This is an example.

Today, the concept of resistance and the element of resistance is an established element. There is resistance in Palestine, there is resistance in West Asia, and there is resistance in various other countries. There is resistance in Iraq. There is resistance in Iran and in various places. The Sacred Defense raised and promoted the idea of resistance around the world. It established resistance in many parts of the world. We ourselves may find it hard to believe that the actions of the Iranian nation have had such an impact in distant countries. But they have had such an impact. We have information about this.

I do not wish to name the countries. A large number of the Iranian nation’s activities have served as a model for many people in the East — in Asia — in Africa, and also in Latin America. This is what expanding frontiers means. Our intellectual and cognitive borders have expanded. This is a nation’s greatest success to be able to expand its own culture, understanding, knowledge, and wishes in the world. This mainly took place by way of the Sacred Defense. The eight years of the Sacred Defense worked miracles in this aspect. It spread the culture of self-reliance.

Now, when we speak about resistance, we want to see whom this resistance is standing against. Our region, West Asia, is one of the regions that the world’s power-seekers have been focused on for various reasons. The powerful countries of the world have focused on this region and tried to interfere in it because of its resources, because of its geographical location, because of its being a center for Islam, and for multiple other reasons. Even now, we can see that the powerful countries interfere and intervene whenever they have the opportunity. The resistance is standing against these things. The culture of resistance against the domineering presence of powerful countries that have no right to be in this region has now spread widely. 

This is the reason why the issue of the presence of Iran in this region has angered the US and some other countries. What is understood is this: Iran’s presence means Iran’s interference. However, we do not interfere. Yes, we are present, but we have a spiritual presence. Others have official bases in many of the countries in this region. We do not [have bases], yet we are spiritually present. Our spiritual presence is much more than theirs. This is what angers them. This is what the Sacred Defense gave us.

One of the effects of the Sacred Defense has been the growth and reinforcement of the idea of resistance within the country itself. My dear ones, over 30 years have passed since the war. During these 30-some years, we have been attacked on many occasions. We have seen numerous seditions in different areas, many of which were not noticed by most people. But they took place. Some of them took place before everyone’s eyes as you have witnessed during different years. All these seditions failed due to the Iranian people. Why? Because the Iranian nation has institutionalized the practice of resistance within itself.

The culture of resistance has become institutionalized in the country over the past 30-plus years due to the eight years of resistance during the Sacred Defense. Our country is indebted to the Sacred Defense for its continued existence. Some people want to damage it, some create doubts about it, some distort the truth about it, and others tell outright lies about various issues concerning the Sacred Defense. In response to these actions, those who are able to clarify matters should clarify them. We must talk about and clarify the greatness of the Sacred Jihad and the Sacred Defense more and more every day. This is one of our duties.

The current activities that are being done, which were reported to us now, are good, but these should be increased a hundred fold! We have the capability, we have the resources, and we have the talent. We can make artistic works, we can make good movies, we can write good books, and we can write novels based on real events. We can do these things, but we must also not forget or lose sight of our goal in the process. 

Sometimes work in the field of the arts is done with the intention of supporting this path, but that’s not how it turns out at the end. This is because confusing, worried thoughts come up on the way that cause people to forget and lose sight of the goal. You need to be mindful of this. Abundant work needs to be done in the field of the arts. Everyone should do this in the way they are capable of doing. What I have said [so far] today was regarding the Sacred Defense.

But I would like to say a few words about the Armed Forces, which is also appropriate for today. During the war, our Armed Forces worked hard, and they truly made great sacrifices in different areas. I would like to say a few words about the Armed Forces.

First of all, the Armed Forces are one of the definite honors of every society. Their presence and existence is one of the main elements without which a society cannot survive. Consider the fact that someone like the Commander of the Faithful (pbuh) says, “The army is the fortress of the people” (Nahj al-Balaghah, Letter 53). It is the people’s fortress. The Commander of the Faithful is saying this. This is not a joke. The army is the fortress of the people. In other words, the Armed Forces provide security.

We must appreciate the Armed Forces. The honor and dignity of the Armed Forces must be considered to be one of the essential, necessary issues. We must respect the Armed Forces. The Armed Forces provide security. Security is everything. If there is no security, there is no science, there is no economy, there is no peace of mind for families, and there is no comfort. Security is everything in a country. The Armed Forces provide security.

The Armed Forces should be taken care of in different ways. Their presence should be valued and their efforts should be respected. This applies to those who establish this security on our borders as well as those who ensure security inside the country. Some have safeguarded the borders so that insecurity does not creep inside the country from outside the borders. Some others have confronted those that create insecurity inside the country. This latter group is also valuable. They need to be taken care of.

Well, the enemy has concentrated on this point as well. One of the things that our enemies stress is harming the value of the Armed Forces or damaging the honor and dignity of the Armed Forces. They work in these areas using all kinds of methods. We need to be mindful of this.

There is a point that I would like to bring to the attention of the Armed Forces that I believe is very important. And that point is that the logic of power in Islam is not the logic of “supremacy.” In materialistic systems, what is meant by power is supremacy. Supremacy means lording over others, considering yourself to be superior to others, imposing yourself on others, putting your problems on other people’s shoulders, and humiliating others. This is the definition of power [in materialistic systems]. The one who gains power gains supremacy as well.

One of the negative concepts in the Holy Quran is this issue of supremacy, “Indeed, Pharaoh tyrannized over the land” (28:4). This is supremacy. The logic of power in Islam is not the logic of supremacy. In other words, the more your power increases and the more your capabilities increase — either your inherent capabilities or your legal capabilities — the more humble, flexible, and attentive to God you need to be!

Most of you have probably heard the story about Malik Ashtar. Malik Ashtar was a brave, strong commander in Imam Ali’s (pbuh) army. He was a strong arm for the Commander of the Faithful. That is who Malik Ashtar was. He was walking in Kufa — this story apparently took place in Kufa — when a young boy who didn’t recognize him saw him and started to ridicule him. Maybe his clothes or his turban were in a way that seemed funny to the boy. The boy ridiculed him and laughed. He [Malik] didn’t say anything and left.

After he had passed by and left, someone asked the boy if he knew who he had just ridiculed. The boy said, “no.” He told the boy, “That was Malik Ashtar.” The boy became frightened and said, “Now that I have treated Malik Ashtar in such a way, what will he do to me or my family. What should I do?” The man said, “Go apologize to him.” The boy went looking for him to find him and to apologize. He saw Malik Ashtar go into a mosque and become busy with praying. The boy waited for his prayer to finish, then the boy went up to him and said, “Sir, I am sorry. I didn’t recognize you. I was rude to you. Please forgive me.”

Malik Ashtar said, “I came to this mosque and performed two rakat of prayers to pray for you.” After all, a young person who acts in such a rude way requires prayers, and we should pray for him. [He said,] “I came here to pray for you.” See, this is the type of man that Malik Ashtar was.

The higher your military rank and power, the humbler and more compassionate you should be. Having authority is not in conflict with being polite. Authority is not in conflict with kindness. You heard how this gentleman spoke about a young man who took part in a sedition. He then went to prison, was pardoned and came out [of prison]. Rahian-e Noor [religious caravans that travel to the former battlefields of the Iran-Iraq war to narrate the events of that time for the younger generation] started their trips and he joined a group, not for the sake of seeing the battlefields but to go sightseeing. He decided he would just go to walk around. When he went there, the narrator [describing the events of the Sacred Defense] spoke a few words and the young man started crying and sobbing loudly. He cried saying, “That [what I did in the sedition] was dishonorable!”

Having authority is not in conflict with being soft-spoken. You can sometimes achieve more and better things when you are soft-spoken. Of course, some places require you to act differently. Every place has its own requirements. The Armed Forces should value, respect, and give importance to their work. They should be proud of what they do. People should also appreciate them.

All of us should know that as long as we work, move, and speak for the cause of God, He will help us. This is God’s promise: “If you help Allah, He will help you” (Quran 47:7); “Allah will surely help those who help Him” (Quran 22:40). If your intention is helping God, Almighty God will definitely help you. At times we understand and recognize how we are being helped, but sometimes we don't. We see that we are being aided and we see that our work is progressing smoothly. That is God’s help.

Let’s make our intentions for God. Making our intentions for God does not mean that whenever we want to do something, for example, we need to say [out loud] that we are doing it to seek God’s pleasure. No, when you show mercy to people, this means your intention is for God. When you seek to serve your country, this means your intention is for God. When you want to create a work of art that guides a few people, this means your intention is for God. When we do something with the intention of pleasing God, Almighty God will help us.

 

May God’s greetings, mercy, and blessings be upon you