Source: https://www.bertha-dudde.org/en/proclamation/2065

2065 Reasons for the fight against the spiritual.... weakness and strength....

September 11, 1941: Book 30

The awareness of his own lack of strength determines the human being to entrust himself to a strength-giving power and to request such a power, and therefore the feeling of weakness is always an advantage, even though earthly it is considered to be the greatest disadvantage. The world, i.e. the people who live in the world, only seeks to fulfil earthly tasks and requires more or less strength and willpower to do so. It sees a decline in these as a shortcoming and now seeks to fathom the causes of this, namely.... as the influence of the adversary.... it believes it has found them in spiritual endeavour. And that is why it is fighting against it with all means at its disposal. Precisely that which alone is beneficial and successful for the soul is seen as a disadvantage and is therefore fought against. It is assumed that the belief in a higher power and in its assistance or imparting of strength reduces the human being's earthly endeavours accordingly, that the human being's own development of strength thus diminishes and he expectantly abandons himself to the working of that power and one tries to prevent this by trying to destroy the belief in a higher power, especially the belief in the imparting of strength without one's own effort. The world seeks to invalidate the strength and power of prayer. It demands precisely the opposite.... extraordinary strength or development of the will without the help of a power from above, because it regards physical strength or intellectual thinking alone as valuable, which is capable of mastering earthly demands. Such a view, however, prevents any spiritual endeavour. For spiritual progress can only be achieved through the mediation of grace and such grace can only ever be gained through prayer. Prayer, however, presupposes the recognition of a power that can and wants to impart grace and strength, and this strength should also be requested. Man should not only try to overcome the feeling of weakness through increased earthly activity, but he should turn to the one Who alone can change this feeling through His grace, through the imparting of that which man lacks for spiritual higher development. For the highest earthly development does not bring a person spiritual success; only when he feels small and weak does he take the path to God, and only then does he fulfil the actual earthly task, which may bring him little earthly but all the greater spiritual success....

Amen

Translated by Doris Boekers