Source: https://www.bertha-dudde.org/en/proclamation/1751

1751 Imperfection.... free will.... justice....

December 26, 1940: Book 27

Only that which contributes to the redemption of the soul is of importance in earthly life. The prayer for strength for this will always be answered. God's love tries to present to you humans the hardship of your soul by letting the body feel earthly hardship and worries. Yet its suffering is minimal in comparison to the torments of an unredeemed soul, and again, the agonizing state is willed by the soul itself, i.e. the being itself has brought it about and must also overcome it itself. No being can do this for the other, only help it through love. This is what people do not want to understand, that God is not the author of torment and suffering but the being itself, but that God cannot arbitrarily end the state of suffering despite His greater than great love, because then something immature would remain which would have no justification to live in eternity in bliss. In order to be allowed to dwell in God's presence, the being must be perfect and its free will must have overcome everything imperfect.... But the imperfection was its own fault, in that the free will turned to that which was the opponent of the perfect. In order to become perfect, the being must turn its free will back to the perfect. If it does not do so, then nothing but an agonizing state can be its fate, for it is then distant from God, and this means suffering and agony for the being. God is merciful, kind and loving, but also just. In His love, kindness and mercy He can certainly open up all possibilities for the being to develop into perfection, but He cannot circumvent justice by sparing the being suffering and giving it eternal glory in an imperfect state. But neither can He allow the being to become perfect without its will, since perfection is inconceivable without free will. Every state of suffering, whether on earth or in the hereafter, is only a side effect of imperfection, because it is at the same time supposed to be the means to remedy it. If a person's prayer is directed towards the soul's state of maturity, then he will receive unmeasured strength and it will become easy for him to overcome earthly suffering, for then he will have grasped the meaning and purpose of it. Therefore do not think so much of what seems unbearable for the body, think of the fact that the soul has to suffer far more under its unfree state, and try to help it by requesting the strength from God in prayer to be able to help it, i.e., that you do everything to ennoble your nature, that you are lovingly active also in trouble and suffering, that you thereby loosen the fetters around the soul, so that now also the fetters of the body, the suffering, can be loosened and peace is granted to you inwardly and outwardly. For God does not send suffering upon you to enslave you, but to set you free....

Amen

Translated by Doris Boekers