Source: https://www.bertha-dudde.org/en/proclamation/2779

2779 Weakened will of man.... Meaning of the work of redemption....

June 19, 1943: Book 37

The human being can do nothing without God's grace.... i.e., his will is so weakened and his strength of resistance so low that he would not mature spiritually on earth without divine help because he is constantly harassed by God's adversary, who influences his will and thus renders him incapable of fighting against him. The influence of God's adversary is so great on the human being because he holds the pleasures of the world before his eyes and the human being can now determine himself in a state of free will. Endless times before, his will was bound and nothing was accessible to him except that which corresponded to his nature. Free will now lets his thinking, feeling and wanting come into its own, his desires grow and are now directed towards things which still harbour completely immature spirituality, thus they are part of the adversary of God, which he now uses as a lure in order to also win back the spiritual, which had already drawn closer to God again. Through these lures he now weakens the human being's will in such a way that he would not be able to fulfil his actual earthly task if God would not assist him with His grace.... with His help.... The influence of God's adversary on people was enormous before Jesus Christ came to earth, and people's will was so weakened that almost no human being was able to detach himself from matter, from the immature spiritual substance which tries to chain the already more mature spiritual substance to itself. The opponent of God ruled the world, i.e., the will of man subordinated itself completely to his will, and therefore he had great power. The will of a human being now put up resistance to him.... Jesus Christ recognized people's weakness and its dreadful consequences, and in His immense love for people He tried to help them.... He offered Himself as a sacrifice for them in order to buy them a strong will, a will which was able to resist the adversary's activity.... This was a gift which was therefore acquired for people undeservedly, and again it depended on their will as to whether they wanted to accept the gift or not. God's adversary uses all means to prevent people from availing themselves of the grace of the work of redemption by trying to weaken or completely deny it.... And again it is God's love and grace which is likewise extremely effective.... that people are offered the truth from above, that they are enlightened about everything and also the necessity of acknowledging Christ as saviour of the world is made so understandable to them that it is easy for them to believe in Him and thus to place themselves into the blessing of the act of salvation.... People's will is weak, but God constantly endeavours to impart strength and grace to them because without it they cannot withstand the adversary's temptations, because they constantly need God's help in order to be able to master their earthly task, in order to be able to free themselves from the influence of the one who wants to bring about their downfall. Despite his weakness the human being is not helpless, for all the blessings of the act of salvation are at his disposal, i.e., if he believes in Jesus Christ as saviour of the world, in His death on the cross out of love for humanity, which was under the adversary's spell.... if he calls upon Jesus Christ for His help he will also receive the strength to resist; he will be supported and held by Him, in Whom his soul believes, in all adversities and dangers threatening his soul; he will constantly find help from Him, divine grace will constantly flow to him, he will be able to separate himself from earthly possessions and strive towards God without obstacles; his spirit will recognize the truth brightly and clearly, his love will grow and thereby he will constantly receive new strength.... the graces of the work of redemption will have an overpowering effect on him and help him towards his own redemption....

amen

Translated by Doris Boekers