0637 Joys of the world.... receptacle of the divine spirit....

October 24, 1938: Book 14

Do not be beguiled by the charms of the world. For you are in great danger and the salvation of your soul shall be more important to you than anything in the world. If you want to serve the lord you have to give up everything that connects you to this earth, you have to consciously defend yourselves against the temptations of the world. The fight against these strengthens the spirit in you, and you become as it were conquerors of matter free from the power of evil. Everything you see and feel harbours immature spirituality which you must resist, for the earth with all its glamour and outward appearances is given to you as a stone of offence.... as a temptation.... so that you should test yourselves against it and learn to resist this temptation of your own free will. Once all the glamour of the world has taken possession of your heart, the struggle is unspeakably difficult and then you must use force to acquire the kingdom of heaven. Only in the constant battle against temptation is it possible to lift the soul's distress and redeem it from the dark night. It languishes all too much in the bonds of the matter surrounding it, and its desire is to be liberated from it. That is why man must avoid everything that could thicken its shell.... He must try to bring it relief by willingly giving up everything that binds him to the earthly world and turning his thoughts to the spiritual world. As a result, the soul becomes light and bright and its state becomes freer and more.... It seeks connection with the divine spirit slumbering within it, which can unite with the soul the freer it becomes from matter. Thus, resistance to all worldly desires is always a prerequisite for the awakening of the spirit within.... For the state of the soul can never improve if the body gives in to earthly desires, and therefore the soul can never become a receptacle for the divine spirit. The world is indeed very tempting and is therefore a constant danger for the soul, but since man has all kinds of help at his disposal during his life on earth, he still has the power to resist it. The divine creator leaves no being defenceless and powerless through earthly life.... he can procure every protection and every help through prayer, and whoever makes use of this means can become master of every earthly temptation, for through prayer he becomes partaker of all the lord's grace and need never again fear being defencelessly at the mercy of all the temptations of the world. He increases his spiritual possessions to the same extent as he makes use of prayer, thus he himself has the possibility and the power to figuratively separate himself from the earth and to fully satisfy himself spiritually in return and to exchange far more beautiful things for the soul than the earth can ever offer the body in terms of worldly fulfilment. And thus man gives up nothing when he avoids the pleasures of the world, but gains unspeakably much, for the pleasures of the world are not of lasting.... they are fake and fleeting.... but the spiritual pleasures outweigh all earthly things and will last for all eternity....

Amen

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