Source: https://www.bertha-dudde.org/en/proclamation/0820

0820 Danger of becoming lukewarm.... regression.... extreme struggle of the soul....

March 21, 1939: Book 17

It is a long way to perfection. Once the soul has asserted itself in resistance to the power striving for its downfall and has recognized its exit from God, it certainly remains in the permanent care of its spiritual friends who stand helpfully by its side, but its striving for perfection must find the driving force within itself, its will must remain active, as it were, without interruption in order to reach perfection. Every deviation from the right path, every sluggishness and carelessness must be made up for by double devotion and work on oneself and cannot be replaced by external strength or help. With its own will the soul achieves everything, without its will nothing.... Therefore no standstill may occur in the desire to reach the height, for a standstill is tantamount to a decline. A person whose soul is no longer active for its eternal salvation will certainly turn to the world again just to have some kind of activity and re-establish the connection with matter instead of separating from it, which is his actual task. And thus the danger of regression is always far greater than that of standstill, for the latter only lasts a short time, and then the human being again pursues his spiritual work, or he distances himself from it, which everyone should anxiously endeavour to prevent. For the opportunity of a step backwards is immediately taken advantage of by the bad forces which always lie in wait for him and for their part affect such a soul with all the means at their disposal. And the struggle begins anew and demands the fullest power of resistance and readiness for action. Every soul should therefore only ever take care that it does not tire in its striving upwards, it should daily assure itself of divine grace through constant prayer and in every adversity and in the danger of becoming lukewarm trustingly turn to the father in heaven for help. This already presupposes the earth child's will, and as soon as the will becomes active precisely through prayer, the soul remains in constant work on itself, and the danger of regression is eliminated. Its struggle has already lasted an inconceivably long time, and even if great demands are placed on the soul in earthly life, the soul should nevertheless wrestle tirelessly precisely now in order to pass the final test and to be able to leave its state of compulsion and, as a free light being, to behold all God's glories and to find eternal happiness in union with the supreme being. And therefore it should consciously renounce that which still connects it with the world and matter, even though its body still dwells on earth.... but the soul can hurry ahead into the realms of supreme bliss if only it continues to let its will become active and prevents or fights against any slackening of spiritual striving....

Amen

Translated by Doris Boekers