Everything that can be described as a labour of love is conducive to the soul's higher development, thus every labour of love is spiritual progress. But then also every overcoming of earthly desires as well as the resistance against all evil is to be seen as such, for the latter means a weakening of the opposing power and an increase of one's own strength. Man must inevitably reach the heights if he only longs upwards, towards God, and wants to escape the depths by believing in Jesus Christ, the divine saviour and conqueror of death. For anyone who asks God for strength in faith in Him will also receive it, and every influx of strength from God has to increase the soul's state of maturity and signify the being's spiritual advancement. And again only the strength of will is decisive as to whether the path upwards has to be travelled with great struggle or without a fight. For when the will is still weak the adversary also struggles to turn the will towards himself again and then it requires inner struggle to become master of the adversary. A strong will, i.e., a will which is unconditionally turned towards God, is not a field of attack for the adversary and therefore the spiritual resistance will not be so great. Yet the human being can easily overcome all opposition if he is active in love, for then God Himself will support him. He does a work for his neighbour which reduces his hardship, thus God distributes the same, He also reduces his hardship and helps where the human being is in danger of failing. And therefore the human being who is active in love must inevitably ascend, his state of soul must reach a certain maturity, for he is in love and therefore also in God,.... for God Himself is love....

Amen

This proclamation is not used in any themebook.