Why must I suffer?

In The Word of God are texts published and offered which Bertha Dudde was permitted to prophetically receive and record. One promise of Jesus Christ was (John 14.21): ‘Whoever has My commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves Me. He who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I too will love him and show Myself to him.’

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Please take special notice of the fact that God’s Words addressed to us are non-denominational. The contents of the publication by no means intends to attract members of any Christian religious affiliation nor to recruit members into any other religious affiliation.

Its sole purpose is to make the present-day Word of God .... accessible to all people. May this Word of God become a blessing to many people.

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Distribution of the proclamations is very much desired. Only complete and unaltered proclamations must be passed on.

Who was Bertha Dudde?

Bertha Dudde wurde am 1. April 1891 als zweitälteste Tochter eines Kunstmalers in Liegnitz, Schlesien, geboren.

Bertha Dudde was born on 1. April 1891, as the second oldest daughter of a painter, in Liegnitz, Silesia. She became a dressmaker and began to receive pronouncements from God through the ‘Inner Word’ on 15. June 1937.

“In a clear dream I was moved to write down my thoughts after devout prayer. Understandably this often gave way to doubt and inner conflicts until I was convinced that I was, myself, by no means the initiator of these exquisitely gracious words; but instead it was the spirit within me, in other words, the love of the Heavenly Father was obviously responsible for them and introduced me to the truth”.

“I was given knowledge of the spiritual world which far exceeded my elementary school education. I received and receive this knowledge as a dictation in a state of complete consciousness; I write down everything I am told in shorthand, in order to then transfer it word for word to clean copy. The procedure does not take place in a state of compulsion, for example in a state of trance or ecstasy, but in an absolutely level-headed frame of mind. However, I have to want it to happen and then I can receive these dictations voluntarily; they are neither bound by time nor place.”

“Now I only have one wish, which is to be able to make these gifts of grace accessible to many more people and in accordance with the will of God Himself to be allowed to do much more work in His vineyard.”

(Quotations from an autobiography from 1959).

Bertha Dudde died on 18. September 1965 in Leverkusen, Germany.

Published by friends of the New Revelation, Hans-Willi Schmitz und Wilhelm Wegers

http://en.bertha-dudde.org

Autobiography of Bertha Dudde

At the request of many friends Bertha Dudde wrote the following biography in 1953:

I have been writing messages received through the inner Word since June 15, 1937. In answer to the many requests of my friends I will give you a picture of my earthly life, a short explanation of what I received spiritually, and my own feelings about all this.

I was born April 1, 1891, the second oldest daughter of an artist of Liegnitz in Silesia, today's Poland. I had a normally peaceful childhood, with six sisters in our parent’s home. I learned the cares of life at an early age. The desire to make money to help my parents made me learn the trade of a seamstress. As the financial needs of my parents continued, so did the burden, and in this way I made myself useful.

My parents belonged to different denominations. Father was a Protestant - Mother a Catholic. We children were brought up in the Catholic faith but never experienced pressure or force to follow the practices of the church so that each child in later years was able to pursue their own chosen course.

I myself was religious but could not accept the doctrine of the Catholic system although I respected the church. I could not represent something on the outside that my inner conscience had not accepted. So I did not continue to attend church, heard little preaching and had no knowledge of the Bible. I did not read any religious books or scientific literature and did not join any other group or religious sect.

Anyone knowing the Catholic teaching knows what a conscious struggle one finds himself in when he wants to release himself from it. I was not spared from this either. But the question as to what is the Truth and where it is to be found, remained.

Often when I prayed the Lord's Prayer I would beseech the Lord to allow me to find His kingdom. This prayer was answered in June 15, 1937, as I prayed quietly and waited for the inner voice. In this attitude I persisted often, for a wonderful peace came over me and thoughts which came to my heart, not my head, gave me comfort and strength.

Still I did not know that these thoughts were given to me until, in a strange dream I experienced something which later proved to be the Truth and caused me to write down these thoughts.

So on a certain day as I listened inwardly a stream of words came to me, which I wrote down. This was the first message I wrote which started like this: "In the beginning was the Word, 'a Te-Deum' to the Creator of Heaven and Earth."

Then came doubt, …. did you write this by yourself? In short, I have wrestled, prayed and gone through many struggles, but again and again the words came to me like a stream, a wisdom, which made me tremble. Then God Himself took away my doubts. He answered me and I acknowledged Him as our Father, in His Word. My faith grew, doubt diminished, and I received and wrote daily.

The contents of the writings were beyond my understanding. Phrases, which I had never heard of or read about, strange and scientific expressions and references continually came to me. Then came unheard of expressions of the Heavenly Father's Love giving refuge and providing enlightenment to all the questions of life.

The Words came to me in the following manner: After sincere prayer and a short period of composure I listened inwardly. Thoughts then followed coming to my mind, clearly, distinctly, and the words flowed smoothly always three or four, one after another, like writing a radio announcement or a weather report, slowly so that I could easily keep pace, writing line after line.

Now I write the words in shorthand as a dictation without having any constructive or intellectual part in it. I am in no way in a 'trance', nor do I even form the sentences, but it comes to me one word at a time, neither do I understand the context while I am writing the words down.

After days, sometimes weeks, I transcribe the shorthand writings into longhand without changing or correcting a syllable. Each dictation takes about half an hour. I must stress that this could not happen forcibly or in a state of ecstasy. It all takes place simply and consciously, without any excitement or influence of my own will. I can interrupt myself at any time and finish the sentence after hours or days without reading the previous writing the dictated words continue again.

My will is under no compulsion, all that I desire is to serve God and do what His will wants me to do.

I can truthfully say that I was led into this Truth, and these concepts were, in every respect, foreign to me. It was only after years that I found confirmation of what I received when I came to know the writings of Jacob Lorber. No one can imagine my joy when I discovered the literature of Jacob Lorber; ‘The Great Gospel of John’ and ‘The Youth of Christ’. Then I understood that other people were also given the Word of the Lord, that God had spoken to His children at all times and that God will continue to do this in His endless love and mercy.

I found in Lorber's writings the same as was given to me. I often could not understand the Word that came to me, but in His love the Heavenly Father gave me the explanation. How wonderful are the innumerable manifestations in which the Father displays His exceedingly great goodness.

It became clear to me that my limited education due to lack of money, and my lack of time to read good books or visit performances, became my advantage. I was now able to concentrate on my work from early morning to late at night, and each day I received that precious spiritual Word without knowing for whom I received it.

It is because of my ignorance of the Bible and the Catholic doctrine that I accepted the Word from above without resistance. In my experience, an earnest Catholic or Protestant whose knowledge is rooted in dogmatic theories is too much bound to dogma to accept and embrace divine revelations without resistance.

Still, there are scientists at several faculties who earnestly discuss these divine teachings with increasing interest. Their interest not only concerns the irrefutable explanation of the origin of matter and the possibility of its dissolution, but also the principle of the wrong teachings of different religions, systems and confessions. In the messages I received, these errors are recorded and everyone is urged to give instructions concerning these doctrinal errors whenever there is an opportunity. But everyone is free to take the Lord's Word to heart or not. But whoever understands the spirit in the Father's Word and does not act accordingly increases the distance between himself and the Father even more. When he does not follow the warning Words of love he puts himself inevitably under the law. He will also, in the same measure, lack in grace by disregarding God's commandment of love.

In God's grace people are led anew to the Gospel, which emphatically points out the purpose of man's being. For the merciful love of God seeks to save all who still can be saved before the turning point comes. And it will come. The end-time which seers and prophets have proclaimed is now here. According to the revelations given to me, the Lord does not differentiate between His children. ‘Come ye all to Me’ sounds His call and blessed is he who hears His call and follows Him. God loves His children. He wants to make them all happy, even when they do not want to know Him.

Recorded November 22, 1953

Bertha Dudde

Bertha Dudde was permitted to leave her earthly shell on September 18, 1965 to return to the Father’s heavenly house.

Table of Contents

Why am I ill? What is disease, punishment or blessing? A path to God

0373 - Purpose of suffering - Trials.... Lethargy of the spirit....

6987 - Process of purification through strokes of fate....

3610 - Cause, purpose and aim of suffering.... Awareness.... Transience....

4672 - The soul matures through suffering.... God’s care.... World and God....

4957 - Love for the world - disease.... No-one can serve two masters....

5920 - God's love can also be found in suffering....

5194 - Blessing of illness and suffering.... Maturing fully....

8593 - Suffering spiritualises soul and body....

7028 - Illness and suffering are necessary to purify the soul....

0579 - Diversity of earthly existence.... You would pray for suffering....

6242 - Punishment for sin? Self-inflicted fate....

5048 - Explanation and reason for an arduous destiny....

6124 - Words of comfort.... Suffering - Illness.... Connection with God....

0839 - Blessing of deformity....

6240 - Jesus took all suffering upon Himself.... Why suffering?....

0646 - People without suffering.... Suffering is love....

0659 - Even suffering is grace....'Father, Your will be done....'

4959 - Suffering proves God's love.... Fire of purification....

3379 - Life on earth is just a moment in eternity.... Suffering and pleasures....

4117 - Much suffering - Much grace....

7248 - Suffering purifies the soul....

4352 - Unity with God.... School of suffering....

5282 - Jesus came to the weak, sick and needy....

Why am I ill? What is disease, punishment or blessing? A path to God

Purpose of suffering - Trials .... Lethargy of the spirit ....

B.D. 0373 from April 11th 1938, taken from Book No. 8

Many things in life discourage the human being .... it is like a bond which binds the heart of such a person. Time and again doubts in the goodness and mercy of God arise when grief and suffering occur too often .... and yet they only give you an inner maturity which otherwise would take much longer to achieve. And since your earthly life only lasts a short time it is necessary that such depressing or painful occurrences must take place frequently and sometimes one after another so that you may derive blessings from them, that you look upon your life earnestly and carefully and that your desire turns more and more away from the world and its attractions, which are a serious danger to you. Life often seems unbearable for the individual, sometimes such an earthly child tires and loses heart .... it drifts without making any effort to change this discouraged existence. And yet it would be so easy for you as soon as the right attitude towards God shows you the way you have to go. But consider the many seemingly insurmountable obstacles in your life .... would you have escaped from them if you had not been given help from above every time ....

But you do not always recognise this help as sent from above, yet every occurrence is a flow of God’s grace .... whether good or bad .... it always has the same purpose: to have a refining effect on you, My earthly children. If you can see in every test a means of improvement then you will also recognise your own shortcomings and failures, and with this recognition comes the quiet will to overcome them .... Then every trial has already served its purpose .... and therefore you must realise in every difficult situation that they are necessary to achieve a higher degree of maturity .... that they are steps on the ladder which leads the soul to perfection, so to speak. A life without struggle would only mean to stay on the same level, however, the battle against oneself is far more difficult to carry out than the battle against enemies who approach the human being from outside.

Every awakening from the lethargy of the spirit is a step forward .... the alert human being will remember his spirit and not let it starve, for lethargy is a relapse and cannot be called ‘enlivening’ in any way, it will defeat every urge to be active and can never have a beneficial influence on the soul. Therefore do not be alarmed when life’s difficulties seem hard to bear .... if they make you aware of your shortcomings and you fight them then they will disappear again in not too long a time, for the Lord only allows such trials until they have served their purpose and improved the heart of the human being. Because it is not His will that you should suffer except that through this you are made worthy of everlasting joy ....

Amen

Translation handled by Heidi Hanna

Process of purification through strokes of fate ....

B.D. 6987 from December 8th 1957, taken from Book No. 74

No matter how your earthly lives shape themselves, they are determined by My will in order to give you ever more opportunities for your souls to mature. But you will only become psychologically fully mature if you faithfully accept My will, if you humbly bow down and completely subordinate yourselves to Me .... Then you will also experience My obvious help in every earthly and spiritual adversity. The aim of life is the spiritualisation of your soul, the purging of all impurities which still cling to you, so that it can be completely permeated by My divine light of love when it leaves its earthly body. This purification, however, will not take place if the human being's earthly existence passes by without any struggle .... unless the person lives an exceptionally loving life. Then the layers will disintegrate and the soul will have achieved its goal at the end of its life.

But often it will still have to accomplish this process of purification through suffering and adversities, through personal struggle. And since My wisdom knows this, My love always takes care to help it to mature. Consequently, you will not be able to live your earthly lives in constant calm, storms will rage around you, and often enough you will be despondent as a result of your fate .... And yet you need not be afraid, you will be able to overcome everything by merely joining Me even more firmly the harsher you are affected by fate.

I Am mindful of everything and you are never alone, even if you are earthly entirely on your own, even if you believe that you have been abandoned by all people .... I will truly never leave you, and to be united with Me compensates you a thousand fold for the loss you suffer or have suffered. But you also always have to recognise Me Myself in every happening that comes your way. If I Am your first and last thought you will be strong, no matter what happens to you.

But if you distance yourselves from Me by complaining and grumbling and rebelling against your fate, then you will also get steadily weaker and the adversity will burden you ever more .... because then there is no other available means for Me to win you back, to make you bow down to My will again .... I truly only have your best interests at heart, and nothing will happen to you without My will or My permission. But in constant contact with Me it will be easier for you to carry your burden .... And then everything that at first looked like an inextricable tangle will be beautifully resolved. And the soul will have achieved a great benefit if, during the greatest difficulties, it has not severed its bond with Me.

Especially in these last days before the end people are at great risk of forgetting about Me in their hunt and rush for worldly goods .... And if I want them to remember Me again then I can only employ such means which will shake their very way of thinking, by using hard blows of fate I have to put them into a situation of wit's end, so that they then will remember the One, Who alone is able to help them. For their souls are still wrapped in dense layers, they have not yet done much to purify their souls, that is, they neglect to do unselfish deeds of love, and a different process of purification is therefore necessary to make the soul transparent enough for just a little bit of light, for which it will be extremely grateful to Me one day ....

And no person is exempt from experiencing misfortunes, because I love all human beings and want to help them find their way back to Me one day if they are still distant from Me, or to encourage a closer unity with Me whereby they can receive increasingly more strength to improve their souls and to achieve full maturity while still on earth. For I want them to pass over with a degree of light already, so that they will be spared the agony of darkness in the kingdom of the beyond; I want that their earthly progress should not have been in vain .... And for this reason you humans should only ever see My will or My permission in everything that happens to you and humbly submit yourselves to My will ....

Amen

Translation handled by Heidi Hanna

Cause, purpose and aim of suffering .... Awareness .... Transience ....

B.D. 3610 from November 22nd 1945, taken from Book No. 46

Worldly minded people are so far removed from the truth that they are unaware of how much strength they can draw from faith and a heartfelt bond with God, and thus they only ever take notice of world events and do not realise that this wrong attitude towards God is the cause of every world event which results in human suffering. And as long as human beings lack this insight, the state of suffering cannot change either. Time and again the suffering will merely adopt different shapes, so that the diversity of their hardship and sorrow will eventually make people understand that a power other than human will is behind the sorrow, that human will alone is not the cause but that the will of a higher power simultaneously steps into action, and that they will develop a certain opinion about this higher power. The knowledge of pure truth explains everything; it makes the immense hardship comprehensible because its cause, purpose and objective are identifiable. Change is only possible when people adapt themselves to the purpose and objective, i.e. when they try to solve the cause of sorrow and hardship which, however, is and remains incomprehensible to the worldly minded person as long as the world is his priority, as long as he provides his body with all privileges and starves the soul.

The knowledge of truth can only be given to the person who detaches himself from the world, for if the knowledge is conveyed to the worldly minded person he will not recognise it as truth and reject it. Thus increased suffering will put him into a situation which will make him receptive to truth .... by learning to understand through suffering and hardship the worthlessness of worldly goods and reducing the longing for those same goods .... The desire for truth will increase accordingly, providing he is not influenced by negative forces who completely confuse his reasoning and attempt to divert him from the truth, who incite hatred in the person the more the world and its joys disappoint him. But such people will not find the connection to God on earth anymore, and every means employed by God is in vain. Nevertheless it is an advantage for the human soul to recognise the transience of earthly values while it is still on earth, where it can learn to despise them and is no longer excessively bound by them to earth when it departs, even if it enters the beyond with a low degree of maturity. In that case, overcoming matter in the spiritual kingdom will not be quite so difficult and the process of higher development in the spiritual kingdom can progress faster once it has finally started. The soul will then accept the truth more readily in the spiritual kingdom, it will not oppose God as much as on earth.

Consequently, the fate of the departed souls is not as hopeless if intense suffering on earth had made them aware of the transience of earthly possessions even if they lose their earthly lives as apparent victims in times of hardship. And thus even suffering and hardship caused by evil human will is of benefit for the souls who are still very distant from God, hence God allows human beings to rage against each other of their own free will until He Himself commands an end when it fulfils His plan of eternity. And as long as people live in ignorance, as long as they do not want to hear the truth, He will allow them to mature through their own actions and experience untold perils and suffering, because this is what they want and therefore they are the instigators of their own suffering ....

Amen

Translation handled by Heidi Hanna

The soul matures through suffering .... God’s care .... World and God ....

B.D. 4672 from June 18th 1949, taken from Book No. 53

Whatever serves to benefit your soul has been foreseen since eternity. Therefore you can regard every difficult and upsetting, joyful and edifying experience, which only aims to achieve your psychological maturity, as having been imposed on you by Me. And if you consider the course of your life from this point of view then nothing should bother, burden or frighten you .... for all is for the best .... Every experience enables you to mature, you can derive benefit for your souls as long as you always recognise Me as the One Who allows it to happen, and remain in contact with Me by constantly glancing towards your Father above, Who wants to shape you into His children on this earth.

Fear and worry are unnecessary if you hand them over to Me and ask for My help. You are never alone if you allow My presence next to you, if you do not want be alone and never exclude Me from your life, if you leave your thoughts, needs and actions entirely to Me, if you let Me take care of them, so that I will guide you and you are merely the executor of My will. You could travel your earthly path carefree and without worry if only you would always walk with Me .... Yet the world frequently stands between you and Me and separates us, the world is close to your eyes, and you neglect Me even though you want to belong to Me. The world is still too important to you, you do not realise its triviality because you are still involved with the world. However, as soon as you are able to value Me above the world, as soon as you are able to put Me first, the world will no longer burden you, it will not disturb you, you will be able to cope easily and be master of everything that approaches you on a worldly level.

Make the attempt, let Me take care of you and entrust yourselves to My protection and care with complete faith. First fulfil your duty towards Me by living in accordance with My Word and working for Me and My kingdom. Then you should also inform other people of My will by always reminding them of their true destiny, by motivating them to improve their souls and by passing on My Word, which you have received from Me and which will enlighten them where they are still in the dark. Draw your fellow human beings' attention to the fact that I Am in charge of all people's destiny, that nothing happens to people without meaning and purpose, that higher development is the purpose of every experience, and that everything is bearable if I Am approached for help, acknowledged as Controller and Creator of eternity and prayed to for My Fatherly care. Caution them not to forget Me for the sake of the world, then every individual person's earthly path of life will be easy and safe and his soul will derive benefit from every experience. For I only want your soul to mature when you have to go through suffering, but you can make it bearable for yourselves if you take heed of My Word and always allow Me to walk with you. For I Am your Father and only want the best for My children ....

Amen

Translation handled by Heidi Hanna

Love for the world - disease .... No-one can serve two masters ....

B.D. 4957 from August 27th 1950, taken from Book No. 56

The love for the world is a creeping disease which will definitely lead to spiritual death. And thus you can appreciate that your Father in heaven will quite often have to resort to painful means in order to rescue you from this death, in order to enable your spiritual recovery, in order to make you relinquish the world and its pleasures and attain eternal life .... It would be misguided compassion were I to shy away from such means only to prevent you from suffering during your earthly life; it would be misguided love which would not be a blessing but only a disaster for your soul. My wisdom, however, looks ahead and My love tries to help you. The fact that you have to relinquish the world in order to attain Me is inevitable, and if you do not sacrifice it voluntarily I will have to take what is dear to your heart. And this is why you so often have to suffer on earth, even if your way of life is not blatantly evil. Yet you are still permeated by wrong love, by love for matter, by the kind of love which first has to be redirected if it is to make you happy. And as long as you don't eliminate this love from your hearts I cannot enter them, for where I stay all earthly longing must have been overcome.

And again I must say: No-one can serve two masters .... I Am not content with shared love, however, My adversary, the prince of the World, will not allow that you do not give him the sole right over your soul either. And thus the human being has no choice but to make a decision .... for Me or for him. But as long as he desires the world his decision is for him, who pulls him down into ruin. He will indeed give you plenty during your earthly life, but after your death you will be utterly poverty-stricken in the beyond, and torment and darkness will be your fate .... My gifts, however, are less enticing on earth for they consist of spiritual possessions which have little attraction for you humans during your earthly life, but after your death they represent an immeasurable wealth which makes you blissfully happy and turns you into children of the kingdom of light forever. I offer incomparably more than My adversary, yet his gifts dazzle you and make you hanker after them. But remember life after death .... remember the hour of your passing away is not known to you, that it can be very soon and that you then will lose whatever earthly goods you possess. Then you will have to fear the hour of death .... Yet you will yearn for it if you have gathered spiritual treasures, if you renounce earthly goods in order to exchange them for gifts offered by Me. Then you will long for the hour of death, for you know that when you leave the earth it will be the hour of entering eternal life. Earthly life will seem like a fleeting moment to you, and yet it is decisive for the whole of eternity. And therefore you should understand it when I afflict humanity with all kinds of calamities and take everything away that seems desirable to them. It is not cruelty but love and wisdom, which indeed realises and understands why you humans are in danger and wants to rescue you from it.

Anyone who must suffer should know himself loved by Me, but anyone who receives the possessions of life in abundance is already subject to My adversary, for I know his will and do not compel him to change it. Yet even these people will be approached by Me through their fellow human beings who shall touch their hearts so that they will change their nature into love. Then even they will still be redeemed with certainty. But if their hearts are hardened their good living standard will noticeably continue to get better, for the 'master of the world' will give to them in abundance, because they sold their soul for the sake of earthly possessions and their spiritual death will be assured to them ....

Amen

Translation handled by Heidi Hanna

God's love can also be found in suffering ....

B.D. 5920 from April 1st 1954, taken from Book No. 64

Whichever way your earthly lives will shape themselves, you must never doubt My love and care for you which only ever intends what is best for you. Yet only I know what serves you best .... but I also know what dangers are threatening you and how they can be averted. If you were able to judge My love for each one of you earthly children you would truly feel reassured and live your earthly life without worry, for then you would trust your heavenly Father to arrange everything so that it will be bearable for you and you would never be without help, if you just turn to Him ....

The strength of My love would truly explain your earthly destiny to you, since it only wants what is best and most beneficial for you and not to burden you with pointless sorrow and adversity, which weigh you down and make you doubt Me. You should only believe My Words and wait quietly .... that is, humbly entrust yourselves to Me and My help will not fail to materialise. And you will also achieve progress for your soul, which you would hardly gain without suffering. As yet I still ask for the individual person's love and will, as yet people have not completely decided for Me .... as yet My adversary is also making an effort to gain your souls, and there is a considerable risk that he will be victorious. And for that reason I often make it impossible for people to follow him impulsively .... I first motivate them to consider what he has to offer and what he is asking in return .... I draw the person's attention onto himself in order to distract him from what the adversary alluringly presents to him ....

I send illness and adversity, sorrow and suffering, for these will then only be a blessing for the human being, even if he doesn't recognise it himself. But I love him and don't want to lose him to the one who is devoid of all love .... who only gives you illusive possessions, who wants to deceive you and plans to corrupt you. His only true objective is to keep you distant from Me, because he is without love. But you humans don't know him and allow yourselves to be deceived by him when he entices you with earthly possessions but demands your soul in return. I, too, want to shower you with possessions, but they are everlasting and you don't recognise their worth. But a good father will not give something harmful to his child, even if the child eyes it greedily .... Instead, he will stop the child if it asks for it despite the warning .... And thus I, too, often have to stop you if you endanger your lives through misguided intentions .... If your goal is threatening to become any other one but striving towards Me .... For I love you and want to possess you and therefore I will do whatever it takes in order not to lose you ....

Amen

Translation handled by Heidi Hanna

Blessing of illness and suffering .... Maturing fully ....

B.D. 5194 from August 23rd 1951, taken from Book No. 58

The body's decline is often a useful warning for a person who is still too earthly-minded and thus endangers the soul. Sooner or later he must learn to realise that nature can impose a limit and as a result of this realisation become aware of what will happen after the body has become completely unsuitable for this earth. As long as the human being fails to think about his soul of his own accord he must often be warned and admonished. Physical ailments, diseases and the loss of bodily abilities must therefore also be regarded as means for maturing the soul, since they can change a person's thinking considerably and consequently are often used as a remedy for the soul if it is at risk of succumbing to spiritual death. Yet they don't always serve their purpose .... then a state of obstinacy ensues, a complete avoidance of all divine-spiritual issues, and despite disease and misfortune affecting his body the human being tries to live life to the full.

Nothing that is inflicted on a person is without meaning .... the body's illness often achieves the soul's recovery; then it has been a blessing because the person learned to despise the world after he had to go without and looked for and found a substitute in the spiritual world. He will receive precious possessions as compensation for the goods denied to him by the world and which he now knows to be worthless. But that involves that he humbly submits to the fate imposed on him for the sake of his soul, that he obediently endures what indeed seems arduous to him but what can also be overcome. As soon as the human being gains just a little faith he feels the hand of God above him and humbly submits himself to God's will; and then he can only win but never lose, thus he need not be pitied either because he owns infinitely more than someone completely healthy and full of physical vitality without contact to the kingdom which one day will also be his abode after the death of his body.

Only the degree of the soul's maturity on passing away from earth is relevant .... Everything that can contribute towards becoming more mature is used by God, even if the human being does not experience it as a benefit while he is without realisation .... One day he will recognise the blessing of suffering and illness and be grateful to God for using successful remedies without curtailing the human being's free will. A sick body is not as bad as a sick soul, and if it is to become healthy the body must endure illness until the soul has become charitable, until it looks up to heaven and has learned to regard the world merely as a temporary school of trials .... One day it will be able to soar freely and without hindrance up into high spiritual regions and be eternally grateful to its Creator for the grace bestowed upon it of letting the body suffer so that the soul can recover ....

Amen

Translation handled by Heidi Hanna

Suffering spiritualises soul and body ....

B.D. 8593 from August 21st 1963, taken from Book No. 90

You only need to enter My flow of strength, that is, you only need to fully consciously submit yourselves to Me and open your hearts to My illumination of love and My strength of love will become active in you, yet your soul will always experience this influx of strength more than your body and subsequently advance spiritually again. Remember that the body is meant to help you achieve this but that immature spiritual substances are still inside of you, for you are not perfect yet. And these immature substances require your help in order to mature on earth as well. Your help consists of entrusting these spiritual substances to Me by asking Me in silent prayer to impart strength to them. My adversary often tries to prevent your spiritual work by using these unspiritual substances to bother you physically or psychologically .... But you should know that your prayer on behalf of these still immature spiritual substances within you will always be successful, and therefore you should appeal to Me for My help and protection from all attacks by My adversary. And believe that nothing is impossible and that I can also take unusual actions if you have this strong belief .... Then these immature spirits will have to leave you, if they do not allow themselves to be calmed and spiritualised by you, but they forfeit a great blessing which was granted to them in the privilege of being allowed to join you in order to also reach full maturity in your physical shell, in your body. Keep reminding them of this blessing and try to persuade them to accept your will and to mature like your soul, so that they can shorten their process of development if they take your advice to heart. Yet whatever suffering you can bear accept it humbly and patiently, for it will surely mature you and one day you will even thank Me for the suffering you had to endure.

However, if, due to your submission and patience, the immature spiritual substances also reach maturity, then you will attain a high degree of maturity on earth, so that you will be close to perfection when you have to relinquish your earthly life. But My strength is always at your disposal and it is truly sufficient for the spiritualisation of the substances which are at the beginning of their development; yet you should consciously request My strength and let it radiate into your heart .... you should pray to Me, your thoughts should look for Me and only ever desire My presence .... You should yearn for My ray of love which I will gladly fulfil .... You only need to give yourselves to Me and be willing to receive the flow of My love's strength, which always requires heartfelt contact with Me. If you become absorbed in thoughts which only ever involve the spiritual kingdom, your God and Creator, then you are also ready to receive My flow of strength, then you will open your heart and I can illuminate you again as in the beginning when you were blissfully happy in burning love for Me. My love for you has remained the same, only your love has diminished but shall reach the same degree again which gave you unspeakable pleasure in the very beginning. And therefore you must come to Me yourselves and I will always be ready for you, I will give you what makes you happy and permeate your body and soul with My strength of love, which then will also lead you to full maturity, to final perfection. In association with Me you will no longer be able to suffer, even if it seems like that to your fellow human beings. A close union makes you insensitive to all pain, then My strength will be stronger, and it will permeate you .... either resulting in your body's complete recovery or .... if your hour has come .... in your painless passage into the spiritual kingdom, for if you are intimately united with Me you will also have attained your goal on earth ....

Amen

Translation handled by Heidi Hanna

Illness and suffering are necessary to purify the soul ....

B.D. 7028 from January 29th 1958, taken from Book No. 75

Bear your cross with patience and don't waver in faith .... and remember that your Father in heaven knows about everything, that you are not alone in your adversity, that I walk next to you every step of the way as long as you remain mentally in contact with Me through prayer and kind-hearted activity, then you can confidently consider yourselves as one of My Own upon whom I keep My protective hands even if you are apparently helpless. However, you must trust Me and never doubt My love which only wants to shape you for an eternal life in beatitude. It concerns the salvation of your soul, the nature of which depends on the degree of light with which you enter the beyond after your physical death. Even if you only take thin layers across they will lessen the ray of light which can permeate your souls. If, however, you had discarded all layers then the unimpeded emanations of light will enable you to enjoy supreme pleasure ....

You will be incredibly happy in return for having endured just a very short painful earthly life .... Consider this and trust that I know this and also what you are capable of putting up with. However, in view of the near end My might will occasionally manifest itself as well, but only after a goal has been reached, after the soul's process of purification has been successful and the soul has recovered so that the body can be healed too, so that it can still be of service to Me in the last days. For it concerns the redemption of the souls, and every person who has not yet entirely handed himself over to Me suffers psychological hardship .... His soul is still ailing and in need of the right medicine which it shall receive from you, My servants of the last days. Soon the opportunities will have passed which at present can still help people to redeem their souls .... soon the end will have come for every person when he can no longer take care of his soul, when there is impenetrable darkness unless the soul has become receptive to light and its tribulation is over ....

But as long as the earth still exists and as long as a human being is still allowed to live on this earth he should make sure to cast off his thick layer so that his soul attains the light before nightfall. For the end is about to happen to you humans without fail, the night will take you by surprise without fail if you don't listen to Me or don't believe My Words. By no means need you be afraid because you can always rely on My love and mercy, but you must also request it .... You must also do something so that I can give you My love and mercy .... You must make an effort to dissolve the impurities surrounding your soul .... And because you often fail to do so I intervene and send adversities and diseases upon you which can achieve what you don't do of your own accord: to improve your soul so that it can enter the kingdom of the beyond in a light-receptive state. For even a low degree of light will make the soul happy .... But you can still raise this degree of light on earth if you humbly take everything upon yourselves .... if you bear your cross patiently and meekly and thereby participate in Jesus' path to the cross, if you follow him .... in love and in suffering .... Then your soul can spiritualise itself on earth already and be granted a fate in the kingdom of light which will make it inconceivably happy. And yet even the most arduous suffering shall not make you despondent, for I know when the cross becomes too heavy for you and will take it off you and carry it on your behalf .... You will truly find strong support in Me, since everything is possible for Me at all times .... But you must also appeal to Me for it with complete trust in My love, My wisdom and My might .... For they want to express themselves to My children, to those who are and want to remain My Own for all eternity ....

Amen

Translation handled by Heidi Hanna

Diversity of earthly existence .... You would pray for suffering ....

B.D. 0579 from September 11th 1938, taken from Book No. 12

You see, My child, in the world of your parents you accepted a destiny that allowed you to mature considerably and your earthly life was rich in experiences which stimulated your thinking, and the way to ascend could be revealed to you more easily. Although people’s circumstances of life are often even more difficult and with far greater poverty and aguish but then their souls are even less mature and can only purify themselves in such hard conditions; and thus people’s burdens are as different as are their results. Before its incarnation as a human being each soul longs to utilise its embodiment as quickly and as successfully as possible and therefore inhabits a body which has a predetermined difficult fate. On the other hand, many souls must go the path of purification which requires other circumstances of life .... which leads to their goal sooner through an easier and more pleasant existence but where other dangers have to be fought which the soul has to overcome.

This is arranged by the Heavenly Father in His wisdom even if people on earth can’t yet understand it and often become indignant about the uneven distribution of earthly wealth. But He Who knows all, Who understands every deficiency of the soul and would like to see the same perfection in everything also knows to offer the right help and only places upon each human being what is necessary for the benefit of his soul. Every day is a step closer to happiness .... so take care that you climb one step after another .... and not step back ....

You will eternally thank Me, your Creator, for every sorrow that I have put upon you and will praise the wisdom of Him Who created you and Who wants you to be near to Him forever .... You should always know that the Father does not want to lose even one of His children and that He cares for every being. And this care often necessitates methods which seem hard to you, since you cannot imagine the magnitude of the calamity that threatens you .... if you could fully understand you would pray for suffering only to avoid this adversity, but you must live your life without knowledge of your situation and strive to ascend of your own free will and in order to achieve the highest reward ....

Amen

Translation handled by Heidi Hanna

Punishment for sin? Self-inflicted fate ....

B.D. 6242 from April 21st 1955, taken from Book No. 67

No-one can avoid being punished for his sins since with his sins the human being himself creates a state which is painful to him .... I do not punish him for his sins, yet according to the law of eternal order every action, every wrong thought and deed has an effect, and precisely this effect is caused by people themselves and experienced by them as torment, as punishment, which, however, only ever corresponds to the law of eternal order. And this is why the adversity and torment is inconceivable which people are approaching who lead a sinful life, who blaspheme and mock Me, who think they can pull everything that is divine and pure into the mud without having to pay for it. They commit one sin after another and will be horrified how the consequences of their violations will affect them .... Yet they cannot avoid their judgment .... For I cannot give them anything they didn't want themselves, I can only give them the reward which corresponds to their life and their deeds, and therefore they will have to endure much pain. And they can consider themselves fortunate if they are still pulled up on earth to make

Amends for their guilt of sins, if they still have to suffer on earth before they are called away from earth. For they can still come to their senses on earth, they can still recognise their sins on earth and turn around on the path they had travelled so far ....

In the kingdom of the beyond, however, the realisation of their guilt can often only be expected after an infinitely long time, for a sinful person enters the kingdom of the beyond with a completely darkened mind and it takes a long time before he can clarify his thoughts and regret his way of life on earth .... because he is without light and strength, yet he feels every pain which he nevertheless had prepared himself .... Anyone who presents Me as a punishing God does not know My law of eternal order or he would never be able to speak in this way .... For My love tries to protect all people from the fate they are preparing for themselves and which can never be called blissful. And I truly will do everything in order to make it easy for people .... However, if they don't want this, if they won't let themselves be guided by Me and act wrongly of their own accord, then they will also have to accept the consequences, but they will never be able to say that I have prepared the fate for them which they are creating for themselves .... For I know about the dreadful agonies and try everything in order to avert these torments from the beings .... But I will not take your free will away .... And anyone who sins must also accept the results of sin, because this corresponds to My law of eternal order. People can indeed act heartlessly and make their fellow human beings suffer, but I Am Love Itself and I only ever want to provide you with happiness .... But where human will does not allow for this there cannot be happiness .... For anti-divine desire also creates an anti-divine fate, a fate of excruciating torment and darkness, a fate of most bitter captivity .... a state of bondage and weakness, which is always the consequence, the result of sin and therefore the punishments were precipitated by the being itself .... which lived on earth in opposition to My eternal order ....

Amen

Translation handled by Heidi Hanna

Explanation and reason for an arduous destiny ....

B.D. 5048 from January 24th 1951, taken from Book No. 57

An arduous destiny on earth will profit the salvation of your souls. For every day brings you closer to the end and the end is near. And do you know whether you will experience the last days? Do you know that you won't be called back before the end and that your earthly life might only last a short time yet? Always consider that tomorrow could be your last day and that you will then be grateful to have reached that particular degree of maturity which entitles you to enter the realm of light. Consider that earthly life is only the means to an end and that it won't last forever. Everything is temporary, joy and sorrow, desire and pain. Only the soul is immortal and its suffering should be reduced. Therefore the body has to suffer as long as the soul lives on earth. Those who are spared suffering on earth cannot expect a painless hour of death because the soul will still have much ballast which it will take across into the spiritual realm. Yet the agonies in the beyond are considerably greater and can often last an endless time if a soul is hardened and thus will find little help.

People still have to endure much adversity because time is passing swiftly and rapidly bringing the end. Only the soul which has been purified by grief and suffering will have the strength to resist during the last days .... because such a soul can receive My strength, while a soul within a dense cover cannot be touched by My emanation. For this reason the human being should look at each day as a gift of grace and be grateful, he should use his time well since he does not know when it ends, because one day he will regret every day which has not brought him spiritual progress. Suffering and love mature the soul and therefore you human beings must patiently endure what is given to you as this is in your best interest; everything My will inflicts on you can lead you to perfection ....

Amen

Translation handled by Heidi Hanna

Words of comfort .... Suffering - Illness .... Connection with God ....

B.D. 6124 from December 2nd 1954, taken from Book No. 66

Always rely on Me and the fact that I will show you the right path. Even if it seems to you as if you determine your own destiny, as if you can use your will to turn your earthly life in another direction .... as long as you connect yourselves with Me, as long as you desire contact with Me, I shall guide you and you shall merely comply with My will which I likewise place into your heart, because your resolve to be in contact with Me enables Me to do so. Once someone has joined Me, once someone wants to be in contact with Me, he can stop worrying about his future destiny .... for this will develop such that his soul can derive benefit from everything and it will, indeed, do so if the human being faithfully entrusts himself to Me, if he voluntarily subordinates himself to Me and My guidance .... if he lives his life with Me, if he constantly bears Me in mind and makes an effort to gain My love .... Then he will also possess all My love which only wants his soul's salvation that consists of the attainment of eternal beatitude.

Believe Me that you then will only have to struggle in earthly life if you refuse to help voluntarily .... Hence you can be spared effort if you actively serve in neighbourly love .... yet suffering and disease can still contribute towards your soul's purification but it will nevertheless be bearable for you if you take refuge in Me .... I Am always available to you in all earthly and spiritual adversities, and it is My will that due to these you shall join Me ever more intimately until you are so firmly united with Me that I can constantly walk beside you and you are in continuous communication with Me .... that you are always aware of My presence .... and thus live a life in and with Me .... Everything you experience shall only contribute towards you forming an inseparable bond with Me, and then nothing will frighten or worry you again, for the awareness of My constant nearness gives you strength and security in everything you undertake .... And your will shall be My will because you utterly submit yourselves to My will and therefore can only want, think and act as is good before My eyes ....

Amen

Translation handled by Heidi Hanna

Blessing of deformity ....

B.D. 0839 from March 31th 1939, taken from Book No. 17

The human being has to undergo an involuntary yet very beneficial test of life if he, due to his external appearance, is unable to enjoy earthly pleasures, i.e. if the opportunity of undivided enjoyment of life is taken from him due to some kind of deformity and he is forced to give up earthly joys. He could then be in great danger to think of his Creator in bitterness or even reject Him completely because the will of a Deity who, in his opinion, imparts gifts to His earthly children unfairly, is incomprehensible to him. However, if he remains faithful in spite of his misfortune, spiritual progress will be possible for him much sooner since he will find it easier to resist the world and its temptations and in absence of worldly pleasures will be far more able to occupy himself with spiritual problems, which will lead him to the state of maturity much sooner. Consequently, such human beings often achieve the right understanding of their life in a short time .... They no longer demand complete fulfilment in life and patiently await the time when their earthly existence comes to an end, convinced that only then true life will begin and that their time on earth will have an appropriate effect in the beyond.

Hence, a deformed person on earth has a certain advantage in as much as the denial of worldly pleasures is easier for him than for a well proportioned person who is constantly confronted with the temptations of the world, but only if he contributes towards it himself, that is, if he, in submission to God's will, accepts his imposed destiny and thanks his Creator that He had given him life. If such a human being is spiritually active he soon will no longer consider his body a misfortune but consider spiritual life a desirable goal. He will always strive to increase his spiritual knowledge; he will also love his fellow human beings and not grumble at his fate or even fight God ....

Amen

Translation handled by Heidi Hanna

Jesus took all suffering upon Himself .... Why suffering? ....

B.D. 6240 from April 17th 1955, taken from Book No. 67

I took all people's suffering upon Myself .... Thus you can live a carefree earthly life and strive towards ascent unimpeded, you can truly live your life on earth as if you were in paradise already .... if only you lived with your final goal in mind, if you consciously strove for unity with Me, which would certainly be possible for you, because I paid for the original sin so that you can take the path of ascent without a burden. However, you are still exposed to My adversary's influence, and from this influence you ought to release yourselves .... For your time on earth was given to you so that you can test your will, My adversary can still influence you during this time and you must pass this test of will by offering him resistance and consciously striving towards Me. His influence will not bypass you entirely without a trace, you will more or less react to it and therefore, as a result of My counteraction, become subject to afflictions and adversities which should let you seek a heartfelt bond with Me so that the danger of being captured by him will be eliminated .... Your soul still belongs to him in body for as long as it is still physically bound and encased and surrounded by immature spiritual substances .... I died for you on the cross so that you would be able to detach yourselves from My adversary's chains, yet the soul has to achieve this detachment itself, i.e., it must sincerely want to separate itself from My adversary ....

And in order to influence your will accordingly you need to experience adversity and misery .... unless your will fully belongs to Me and no longer allows itself to be influenced by My opponent .... In that case, however, your earthly life will be more bearable, then you can already rightfully claim that you are redeemed from sin and death, from weakness and bondage .... But then you will fit into the missionary work of redemption for your fellow human beings of your own accord, for then you will know the significance of earthly life and want to help your fellow human beings' to also become liberated from the power which keeps them captive. And then your earthly life will not be without distress so as not to force your fellow human beings decision of will, for as long as the person's soul is still immature he looks for a carefree life of happiness and would only try to change his life again for the sake of achieving selfish goals which, however, would not lead him to attaining perfection .... Through My death on the cross I wanted to facilitate your entry into eternal beatitude .... and not purchase you a paradise-like life on earth .... Nevertheless, you can make your earthly life bearable, as long as you only live in heartfelt unison with Me .... Then nothing can depress and burden you anymore, then everything that happens to you is just evidence of My love for you and then you will also know its purpose and voluntarily submit to your fate .... You will no longer suffer but consciously evaluate everything and consider it a gift of grace because it guarantees you a higher degree of maturity, because one day it will increase your bliss, for which you will only ever be grateful. So therefore you only carry a cross for your fellow human beings' sake .... for yourselves, however, it is a sign of My love which has destined you to participate in My act of Salvation ....

Amen

Translation handled by Heidi Hanna

People without suffering .... Suffering is love ....

B.D. 0646 from October 30th 1938, taken from Book No. 14

Those of you who long for it in your heart shall always hear My voice. Behold, My child, your life on earth is indeed a constant struggle and has to remain so until the end of your life, for this will uphold your strength of will; were you to find complete fulfilment of your wishes on earth already you would slow down in your endeavour to reach Me, and therein you can always find the explanation for days and hours which weigh heavy on your mind. Nevertheless, My love is close to you and protects your soul from being harmed. The state of constant satisfaction on earth is extremely perilous for the soul .... and My love wants to avert such danger from you and nurture ever greater spiritual activity and longing for Me in you, for this is the true driving force for the spiritual work of improving yourself .... And I Am always close to all of you, but you often fail to recognise Me and do not look for Me nor listen within yourselves, where I affectionately speak to you .... Just persevere and don't let your longing for Me diminish, then I will take complete possession of you and give you blissful peace one day, when you have victoriously overcome the battle of life.

And thus let Me tell your heart the following: To taste of unmixed rapture here Is never to a mortal given .... This frequently used saying describes the state of suffering on earth in a nutshell, and anyone who enjoys many pleasures in earthly life is truly not considered by the heavenly Father's love. He can only ever speak of true Fatherly love if he also gets to feel the Father's strictness .... unless he so willingly gives himself to the heavenly Father that the Lord has already blessed him in earthly life. Yet anyone who is loved by the Father will also have to purify his nature through the fire of love or through suffering .... If his heart is willing to love and ready to lend a hand then the suffering will not depress him, in his anguish he will even look up more to the heavenly Father and become pure love in earthly life. Yet anyone who is spared suffering is indescribably poor on earth, and this as a result of his own fault .... He did not love his fellow human beings and therefore will not receive the same from the Father either. His earthly life of undisturbed enjoyment and untroubled days will indeed be far more agreeable to him, yet the state of his soul is lifeless and agonising beyond words ....

His alienation from the Father's heart will noticeably express itself in the fact that all his thoughts and wishes only apply to his greedy striving for earthly pleasures, for due to his heartless nature he becomes subject to the power of adverse forces, turns towards them increasingly more and will be drawn by this power into the whirlpool of the world with all its temptations, glamour and sensuality. This is why you should never envy people who are apparently well-off in earthly life .... their life is so unproductive .... They gather nothing for eternity, do nothing for their soul .... yet everything for their downfall and spiritual death. And earthly life is short but life in the beyond is infinitely long .... they have forfeited much and received little on earth and are poorer than the poorest people on earth who have to endure suffering and troubled days. The more lovingly active you are on earth the more you will also be fraught with suffering .... your own and even more so your fellow human being's suffering, for a loving heart also feels his loved-ones pain .... Yet all suffering is love again .... your heavenly Father's tender love Who thereby wants to make you worthy of His presence and the heavenly paradise .... And if you are in a position of suffering then you should know that you are also loved by Me .... know, that you then should take only your Saviour ever more into your heart so that all your suffering will be changed into blessings ....

Amen

Translation handled by Heidi Hanna

Even suffering is grace ....'Father, Your will be done ....'

B.D. 0659 from November 9th 1938, taken from Book No. 14

Abide by your inner voice which will always remind you to do what is right, and remember that the Father will in fact instruct His child correctly if only it wants to hear it. For there is a far greater possibility that an orderly accomplishment of the work will no longer be possible, but all means will nevertheless be at your disposal, and therefore you should not worry about obstacles which the Lord will be able to remove time and again if it is conducive to the work He wants to be done.

And now draw closer and receive our message: What can possibly happen to you humans if the Lord keeps His protective hand over you .... He will protect your body and soul from being harmed, He will guide you according to His will, and whatever is inflicted on you for the purpose of overcoming it only serves to benefit your soul. Therefore, don't worry, and submit yourselves to your heavenly Father's guidance with complete confidence. Everything on earth has its purpose; no human being knows the eternal Deity's plans and therefore cannot easily recognise how well and wisely everything has been arranged for people's benefit. His severity, which people often consider cruel, is always just a loving means in order to offer you something incomparably more magnificent one day. And since you do not voluntarily want to make yourselves worthy of it, it is the Lord's will to lead you by way of suffering and sorrow to the path which makes these glories accessible to you. One day you will realise it and wholeheartedly thank the Father for every reprimand in earthly life. People on earth constantly receive God's grace and even suffering is grace .... which is still incomprehensible to you humans. But if you completely entrust yourselves to the Lord you soon will feel the blessing of suffering on yourselves, you will realise how infinitely lovingly you are being guided by the Fatherly hand so that such suffering will have a favourable effect on you even in earthly life, however, the benefit on your soul's life will be incomparable. And therefore meet everything the Father sends to you with complete submission, consider that not one sparrow shall fall on the ground without your Father's will, and that everything he sends to you is only an expression of His will and mercy, the full extent of which you can only comprehend when you have become perfect. For at the moment you are still incapable of judging what is helpful to you or what is to your disadvantage, you must only ever devoutly sacrifice your will to your Father in heaven and in all suffering and sorrow pray to Him in your heart ....'Father, Your will be done ....' Then you will also always be comforted ....

Amen

Translation handled by Heidi Hanna

Suffering proves God's love .... Fire of purification ....

B.D. 4959 from August 31th 1950, taken from Book No. 56

Accept every burden of life and know that it is necessary in order for you to deliver yourselves from every impediment which is still encumbering your soul. One day you shall freely and without hindrance dwell in spheres that are permeated by light, by that time your soul must have discarded every layer or it will be unable to receive the abundance of light, otherwise the light would meet with resistance which prevents it from entering the soul. What you have to endure on earth only makes it easier for the soul to detach itself from its oppressing shell, so that it can repel what is still tormenting it, what is still tying it down and thus keeping it enslaved. But the kingdom of the blissful spirits knows no impediments, this is why it can only accommodate the pure and wholly spiritualised soul which is free of all impurities that could prevent the permeation of light. The soul must have attained its original state again when, being light itself, it was divine and in intimate contact with the eternal Deity, because it was part of It, a spark of the Eternal Light. All impurities must have been removed first, and that means that the soul must have experienced a fire of purification, which can be the result of intense suffering but also of profound love, but which is always successful.

Hence you humans should not complain if you have to suffer, instead, consider suffering as proof of God's love, Who only ever has your soul's purification in mind in order to provide it with a blissful fate once it enters the spiritual kingdom. Then the soul will bless the suffering and with tremendous gratitude look back on earthly life which, through suffering, resulted in the state of being receptive to light and enabled it to stay close to God in blissful happiness. On earth it is incapable of appreciating the Father's great love and kindness and often rebels against its destiny. Submission, however, guarantees more of God's love, but more suffering also assures higher maturity of soul and life in spiritual spheres in eternal beatitude ....

Amen

Translation handled by Heidi Hanna

Life on earth is just a moment in eternity .... Suffering and pleasures ....

B.D. 3379 from December 25th 1944, taken from Book No. 44

Earthly life is only of short duration, even if the human being reaches old age, for it is a phase of eternity which can be compared to an instant. And every pleasure and suffering the human being has to live through passes by like a fleeting moment leaving nothing behind but a memory. Yet every moment can affect the whole of eternity .... Every human being's fate, however, has been wisely considered by God and shaped by His love. Consequently, nothing will be without meaning and purpose, regardless of what the human being has to endure, it will be beneficial for the soul as soon as he completely entrusts himself to divine guidance and accepts his fate without grumbling. God wants to achieve the human being's total submission, since only then will He be able to fully work in him; He demands total dedication to Him in order to permeate the human being's soul with His love .... And therefore his heart has to abandon all longings which do not relate to Him ....

Earthly life is short and has to be made the most of, it has to be used to achieve complete union with God, and every day is lost if earthly goals preoccupy the human heart. This is why God frequently takes from people what they refuse to give up by themselves, in order to then offer Himself as a substitute for what they had to relinquish. And then it will truly not be to the person's disadvantage, for he will exchange something worthless for something precious, and one day he will be very happy when he realises how loving God's guidance had been which wanted to help him reach eternal beatitude. For He demonstrates His love and grace by the fact that He rules with wisdom because He knows what benefits the human soul and what might damage it forever. He keeps His protective hand over His children who strive towards Him and are at risk of separating from Him because they are approached by the world with all its temptations .... Nevertheless, the human being should entrust himself completely to divine guidance, he should know that his life on earth has been determined by His love and that he will be grateful to Him one day when his short time on earth is over, which is just a moment in eternity ....

Amen

Translation handled by Heidi Hanna

Much suffering - Much grace ....

B.D. 4117 from September 7th 1947, taken from Book No. 50

Excessive suffering is an exceptional grace, even if you find this incomprehensible; for My love does not want to let you humans slide into the delirium of the world and confronts some of you with hours of starkest adversity in order to bring you back to your senses, or the soul would remain empty-handed and not progress in its spiritual development. Suffering must always be considered as a means to render the human being helpless and make him aware of his weakness, and as soon as the suffering has contributed towards the fact that the soul turns to Me, that it appeals to Me for help and humbly entrusts itself to Me, it is a great blessing and should therefore be viewed as a gift of grace. For suffering leads to Me, whereas the joys of the world as well as all earthly pleasures will achieve the opposite. Suffering motivates people to pray, without prayer it is impossible to make contact with Me. Without prayer you cannot be given the gift of grace, because prayer expresses the will and the longing for Me and thus enables Me to meet the human being and, as fulfilment of his prayer, give to him what he needs.

If, however, the human being is spared suffering, the body will continue to reject the spirit when it wants to communicate with the soul in order to give the person the right guidance and instruction. But it is absolutely essential for spiritual progress, for reaching a high degree of maturity, that the soul be instructed by the spirit and that the soul will thus unite with the spirit. For this purpose I must absolutely grant help to the soul with My strength and therefore must first be asked for it, because the human being's will is decisive and suffering impels its decision. Suffering can also harden a human heart, in which case the person will drift away and no longer strive for ascent, and then there is no other means that would be more successful. But as a rule suffering leads to Me, generally a human being perfects himself through suffering and then it has fulfilled its purpose. Subsequently, you should be grateful for it and also acknowledge it as a grace; for earthly suffering is not a permanent condition and extremely beneficial, providing you want to mature. Then you will be eternally thankful to Me, and in the state of realisation earthly life will be easier for you to understand and you will also be able to cope during the time of great need, for then you will not live your life alone but with Me, because you will open yourselves to Me in prayer and thus receive strength which you, in turn, can use after your own will and with certainty will use for your spiritual ascent, as you are destined to do ....

Amen

Translation handled by Heidi Hanna

Suffering purifies the soul ....

B.D. 7248 from January 7th 1959, taken from Book No. 77

You will be given far more than is taken away from you, for you will receive spiritual possessions in exchange for relinquishing earthly goods. Thus you will feel apparently neglected, you will think yourselves weighed down, you will feel earthly under duress and depressed, but just as certainly you will 'receive' spiritually .... even if you just receive ever greater purification of your soul as a gift in return for these earthly limitations or all kinds of oppositions. You can only mature through opposition. If, however, your earthly life proceeds smoothly there will be few or no opportunities for maturing and your soul's development will lag behind. But as soon as you feel encumbered turn to Jesus Christ and he will help you carry the weight or take it from you. And be in no doubt whatsoever that he will hear you .... He knows why you have to struggle on this earth, and therefore He always stands beside you just waiting for your call which offers Him the opportunity to place Himself between you and the enemy .... This request has to come from yourselves but then it will certainly be successful. However, your weakness of faith or the smallest doubt will time and again give God's adversary the right to encroach on you and to steadily weaken you .... And then you will have to defend yourselves by handing yourselves over to Jesus Christ, by calling upon His help to displace him and to protect you from him. And truly, no appeal will be in vain .... For His love does not leave you but it requires your love and request for Him in order to take effect.

But every successful test provides your soul significant advancement and one day you will realise how much these inner struggles contributed towards the soul's purification, which yearns for its perfection and still has to assert itself until the end of its life. Therefore bless every hour of your suffering on earth, physically or psychologically, and know that you are nevertheless advantaged compared to those who go through earthly life cheerfully and unburdened and don't experience this purification process of the soul because they don't seriously aspire towards it and are therefore still offered many attractions in earthly life to take pleasure in. They don't surrender anything and therefore cannot receive anything either .... They get out of the world whatever they can and their souls' condition is of no interest to them, on account of which the soul does not suffer, yet it will have to suffer twice as much at a later time when it realises its imperfection and has to admit that it had done nothing to purify itself on earth. Every suffering human being on earth is advantaged compared to those who live an easy and carefree earthly life .... Nevertheless, a true Christian can also be cheerful in confidence of the fact that he only ever needs to encumber Jesus Christ with his worries and burden and that life will also always become bearable. For his trust will not be disappointed, and the certainty of always having a helper by his side will also result in this cheerful joy which should grace every good Christian. Therefore, once again: Bless the suffering as long as it impels you towards Jesus Christ, to Him Who will help you carry your cross providing you appeal to Him for it ....

Amen

Translation handled by Heidi Hanna

Unity with God .... School of suffering ....

B.D. 4352 from June 25th 1948, taken from Book No. 51

You cannot grasp how much I yearn for unity with My living creations which motivates Me to constantly let you go through a school which shall result in your soul's maturity, for unity cannot take place without a specific degree of maturity. My love is truly only concerned for your well-being, yet the fact that I use means which let you doubt My love is due to your own will, albeit unconsciously, for your attitude towards Me provokes this use because you won't conform to the laws of order which promote your maturity of soul without suffering .... because you won't live up to the law of order, which cannot be avoided if you want to mature fully. And thus My teaching methods will become increasingly harsher the further you distance yourselves from love .... But now the time of learning has come to an end and every human being will have to take the test. Anyone who passes it will become blissfully happy in unity with Me, however, anyone who fails cannot be spared repeating the school, which he will have to attend under harder conditions if he wants to reach the goal one day. I won't let My living creations fall, and sooner or later the final union must and will take place, nevertheless, it can still take infinitely long periods of time in view of the fact that the human being determines the time of his redemption himself, for he voluntarily has to enter into unity with Me, I can only ever support him but will never force him.

Let Me tell you that I love all My living creations and that My love will never cease, but I will nevertheless bring My eternal plan to fruition even if you humans cannot discover any love therein. But it concerns you, your spiritual ascent, it concerns your eternal life .... At the moment you, who live on earth, are still spiritually dead with the exception of a few who are spiritually reborn. As yet you don't feel the life within you, and if you finish your earthly life in this state you will descend into a weakness which is the equivalent of death for you, you will be in utter darkness and completely without control and strength but conscious of the fact that you exist .... This state is so agonising that My love wants to save you from it, and this is why I try to motivate you into coming alive on earth already, I try to enlighten you so that you will strive towards the state of life of your own free will. All obstacles in your life shall help you become active, and activity is life. Earthly activity comes to an end at the moment of physical death, but you shall be active in the spiritual kingdom and for this you must have passed the school of the spirit successfully which also has to be a school of suffering for you or you will not reach full maturity. Nevertheless, you have My assurance that I love you and that every event which causes you sorrow is only based on My love. I want to bring you up to become My children because My Fatherly love does not want to lose you and because it is My will that you, My living creations, should not live far-away from Me but unite with Me and become blissfully happy ....

Amen

Translation handled by Heidi Hanna

Jesus came to the weak, sick and needy ....

B.D. 5282 from December 27th 1951, taken from Book No. 58

I came into the world for the weak, sick and needy, for the strong and healthy did not require Me, they found their own way, at least they believed they could, and only when they went astray did they recognise their weakness and called for Me .... when their own strength did not suffice to master their lives. All those who call for Me, who need Me, are weak and their souls are ailing, and all those will be helped by Me, because by calling for Me they acknowledge their distressed state, from which they hope to be rescued by Me. All you humans are weak and ill, and good for those who recognise it .... However, those who feel strong and healthy are in a bad way, for they cannot be helped .... And there are many who believe that they don't need help, there are many who are convinced of their own strength and very easily use the strength of the one who wants to gain them for himself, who increases their arrogant belief and therefore gives them strength, but not without a service in return .... He wants the soul and in exchange gives the body what it wants ....

I, however, Am the physician of the sick and weak, I Am the comforter of the sorrowful and the hope of the disheartened .... They all come to Me and they will not ask in vain, I agree to help them all even if they do not experience it immediately. But in that case I also know why, and yet you are not abandoned, for no one who calls to Me for help from the bottom of his heart will ever call to Me in vain. Come unto Me, all you who are weak and heavily laden, I will refresh you .... Thus I have promised you My help, and so you will certainly receive it .... Always remember this when you are confronted by hardship, when you feel physically or psychologically distressed, when earthly life is a heavy burden to you, when you need help. Then remember that I once and at any time came to the poor, sick and weak and only await your call to reveal Myself to you, but that I want to be called upon, so that you freely recognise your weakness and ask for Me, your physician and helper, that your call demonstrates your faith that I can and will help you .... and I will never allow this faith to be destroyed ....

Amen

Translation handled by Heidi Hanna